Coronavirus Diary March 27 2020

I am blessed to be able to see spring arrive to Nantucket.  It has been blustery,  raining each of the last three days,  with high winds.  It's settling down now,  with the temp at 51 degrees and the wind from the north at 7 mph.  

It hasn't stopped us from exploring.  On Wednesday,  the northeast winds brought the gannerts in.  Harvey Young pointed out how great to get a view from above. The angle of the bluff  (and my 400 mm telephoto lens) helped me out.

dozens of long-tail ducks fly north in the late afternoon,  along with all three kinds of scoters, eiders, gulls and red-throated loons.

Stump Pond

Yesterday we hiked Stump Pond in the clockwise direction.  Usually we hike it counter-clockwise.  The moss is greening up and we saw early growth of what look like pyrola rotundifolia.  Pretty quiet on the bird front:  turkey vultures, crows,  the dozen bufflehead on the pond,  4 canada geese, a red tail hawk.

Pyrola Rotundifolia? Didn't look like Trailing Arbutus, Mayflower

Sphagnum Moss...but what kind?

Moss envy