Sumac and Groundsel, Cranberry Time

The moors are looking browner these days,  with the brightness and contrast coming from the flaming red sumac and the white groundsel.  But the groundsel is starting to blow away,  like dandelions in the early summer.  In the wet spots,  the Winterberry is bright.  The goldenrod is mostly gone,  with the exception of some seaside goldenrod in protected spots.  A few late asters dot the paths.  The cranberries sure are red!

 

Cisco, Oct 18

Milestone Bogs,  October 21

Tree Swallow over the Milestone Bogs

Squam Farm Sumac, Oct. 22

Quaise Point

 I have stowed the kayak in Polpis Harbor this summer,  and regularly kayak out to Pocomo Meadow and past Quaise Point.  I have been counting the hundreds of cormorants and gulls who are regulars,  but also the 25 great and snowy egrets which massed there the first days of October.  Black bellied plovers and ruddy turnstones are also regulars.  On October 19,  I also saw about 200 sanderlings there,  and three golden plovers mixed in among the black-bellies.

I've had a couple of mishaps with the kayak,  too.  Earlier in the month on a day with winds in the low 20s I beached the kayak on Quaise Point to get a better look at the shorebirds,  and turned around to see the kayak blown across the channel.  But I swam and rescued it;  happy that my dry bag kept its optical contents safe and dry!

After our collective failure (Josh, Charlie, Kelsey and me) to get many scallops at Pocomo on October 3,  I scouted out a spot in my kayak and came across some eelgrass near Quaise Point that looked promising.  On Friday, October 25,  I kayaked out there;  beached the kayak (this time more securely) and headed out to my scalloping adventure.  It was a very productive trip...but I hadn't counted on how heavy the scallops in the mesh bag would be as I made my tired swim across the boat channel back to Quaise Point.  I made shore, exhausted,  but  with the scallops!  

Ruddy Turnstone

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Ruddy Turnstone

Black-bellied plover

Sanderlings

Kestrel

The last time I saw a kestrel was a long time ago...when Josh and I were headed out to Eel Point and I saw the little red falcon flying over Linda Loring territory.  Last Sunday,  I was not on the list for socially-distanced birding,  so I took off to "The Mothballs"  to check out which birds might be out there.  I hadn't connected that Andre and Suellen,  who live on Mothball Way,  were living at The Mothballs!  Their neighbor Barry Sternlicht suffered a 40-50 foot erosion event in the past month.

In any event, I parked the car near Cisco Beach and was rewarded with sightings of a kestrel and a merlin,  as well as more nuthatches and pine siskins (prevalent this year).   I've seen many peregrine falcons cruising the bluff this year,  but  the hunt for the kestrel,  and seeing it's color and facial markings,  as well as its jet-fighter flight was really exciting. A red-tailed haw and the merlin also made an appearance.

Josh and I had biked Massasoit Plains the day before,  down to Clark's Cove,  without such great raptor sightings.  

Kestrel

Merlin

 

Sunrise

 We are incredibly fortunate to be able to see the sun (and moon)  rise over the ocean from the east.  There have been a string of beautiful sunrises...and at close to 7 am!   The peregrine falcons have been with us during this month,  and now  the scoters are moving south.   The sunrise has been moving southward since the summer solstice,  and will not start moving north again until the winter solstice.

Coskata Woods and Pine Siskins

 We saw a flock of pine siskins at the Sunday birdwalk  at Low Beach,  and now they are being seen all over the island.  It's an "irruption"  of pine siskins.  Here are pictures I took of the flock of 36  I saw at Coskata Pond on October 13. They are chowing down on the Marsh Elder,  also known as the High Tide Bush...latin name Iva frutescens.  I guess they also like pine cones!

There were beautiful fall colors on my hike out there. 

 

Lichen with Seaside Goldrenrod

Cedars fruiting

Bayberries turning

Pine Siskins on Marsh Elder

Colors of Autumn at Stump Pond

 A blustery day hike called for the protection of Stump Pond.  Although the tupelos' reds are mostly gone,  the sweet pepper is yellow, the sumac scarlet,  the viburnum mahogany and the   the fern fronds yellowing.   The light rain drops just accentuated the color.

Looking back on other seasons...

 

Sumac

Groundsel and Sumac

Cinnamon Fern

Compare to June...

June 18

April 11

June 18