Seals at Bass Rocks

A popular photo opportunity is the seals resting on the rocks at low tide near Butler's Toothpick at Salisbury Beach State Reservation.It looks very relaxing.

Ice on the Jetty?

Recently while walking the beach I glanced up and saw what looked like ice covering the top of the north jetty. The photo below shows what I initially saw.

I zoomed in with the camera to get a close up photo of what I thought was ice and got a bit of surprise. The "Ice" was moving and flying up into the air. The gulls had decided to congregate on the tip of the jetty.

 

Another Major Snow Storm (February 12-13, 2017)

February 13, 2017

I was intrigued by the "coastal flood warning" posted for parts of eastern Massachusetts at the end of the latest major snow storm. It hinted at the possibility of strong wave action at the jetties. I arrived for high tide the best tide for dramatic waves. I wasn't disappointed. Immediately along the beach the winds were blowing fiercely, the snow at moments was making everything white, and the waves were crashing over the jetty. I was careful to keep a safe and respectable distance. This is where a long zoom lens comes in handy.

These two photos were taken only about a minute apart from each other. It shows how quickly conditions can change. The second photo has a white hue to it due to wind blown snow. When photographing in these conditions it critical to have your camera on a tripod to buffet against the winds.

With a bit of luck you can catch a wave crashing and shooting spray high into the air.

Here is video of the waves crashing over the North Jetty. 

The best part about visiting in the winter is there are plenty of empty seats to view the show.

The wind blown snow reduced visibility at moments.

While the storm raging on the ocean side, things were remarkable calm on the opposite side of the dunes. Along the road horned larks and snow buntings searched for seeds among the exposed stalks of grass.

Horned Lark

Snow Bunting

February 14, 2017 (Day After)

At the end of storm on February 13 we had a northwest breeze which was keeping the waves from getting as high as they could. The day after the storm, the winds shifted to the northeast and improved the wave action. Some of the waves were as much as ten feet higher than the jetty itself.

And a few fun photos ...