Perhaps only in Maine would this be called a beach, but, while Maine does have some sandy beaches, mostly at the mouths of rivers, and mostly south of Portland, this is what most of the Maine shore looks like, and has to pass for beach. Of course, Snowy Owls, on their periodic irruptions into the state, love such beaches. Especially, as here, with a light coating of snow. Perched there, they are almost invisible. In fact, until this year, I have only seen Snowy Owls in Maine on such beaches.

Though the light is not particularly favorable here, I was happy to get this shot. This was the first of two Snowy Owl sightings last Wednesday when I went out specifically looking for them. There have been abundant reports this winter already. We are in the midst of a major Snowy Owl irruption. The E-Bird sightings map for ME, NH, and MA looks like a bad case of the measles. 🙂 Snowies only enter the US in winter, and only in numbers during invasion or irruption years, which follow a cycle that is not completely understood. The drawn arrow on the map shows where I live, right in the thick of it! So, of course, I had to go looking. And, while my other shots from the day, of a Snowy Owl on a chimney, are better shots, technically, this shot has the advantage of showing the Owl as we see it most of the time in a winter when they invade the US in any numbers.

Phonescoped with the Samsung Galaxy S4 through the eyepiece of a ZEISS Diascope 65FL. Processed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 using Snapseed.