How Nantucket opened up the natural world of Boston

 

Crossbill, Salisbury Beach

White-winged Crossbill

Red Crossbill

After Josh and I spent from March through October on Nantucket because of the pandemic,  I had a hard time adjusting to being back in Cambridge.  I could do my Zoom meetings from anywhere,  and I really missed Nantucket's natural beauty.  

Since then,  I have eagerly sought out beautiful places and bird-haunts around Boston:  Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord,  Belle Isle Marsh in East Boston,  Deer Island in Boston,  Squantum in Quincy.  I have become entranced by the north shore,  and in particular the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (Plum Island)  and the Halibut Point State Reservation in Rockport.  

I used to count on harlequin ducks at Sankaty Head;  now I can see them at Halibut Point.  I used to see Snowy Owls in Madeket and Coskata,  now I have seen them at Parker River.  But I've also seen bluebirds in Concord,  crossbills in Salisbury and a peregrine eat a lesser yellowlegs at Belle Isle.  

Nature presents us with such a bounty,  and it is not just in the "faraway"  places.  While Nantucket has given me an abiding desire to be in nature,  this winter has enabled me to enjoy it around the city as well.

Harlequin Duck, Halibut Point, Feb 6

Halibut Point, Rockport

Long Tail Ducks off Halibut Point

Surf Scoter, Eastern Point, Gloucester, Feb 6

Loon in Gloucester

Common RedPoll at Deer Isle

Common Goldeneye at Deer Isle

Northern Harrier at Northern Tip of Plum Island

Winter

I love Nantucket's winter.  There are fewer people,  there are fewer leaves obscuring the contours of the trees and landscapes, there are fewer  distractions.  The sun rises from the south, and the angle of the light gives the land a crispness not there in the other seasons.  On a rainy or misty day,  the lichens bloom bright green, creating a contrast with the maroon and gray branches.  

The weather seems more extreme, bringing huge storms and their aftermath.  There was a huge nor'easter on February 1.  The wind had blown over 40 mph on average for more than 9 hours,  and we had high gusts over 50 mph for  12 hrs. Wind speeds were up to  67 mph on the bluff, and tore one of our storm windows off.  I hiked on Low Beach to see the flotsam and jetsam. 

 

Flooded Low Beach Feb 1

Storm Wash at Low Beach

Low Beach Bearberry\

When I walk on the beach in the winter,  I see more death. At Low Beach,  I found 2 dead common murres  and an eider . When I hiked to Coskata Pond the next day,  I saw 2 more dead common murres and an eider.  The wrack line was far over the dunes,  and stretched across the road. 

This drama of the winter landscape speaks to the essentials of life.  Spring may be birth,  but winter makes death more visible.

Common Murre

Common Murre

Common Murre

Male Eider

 

 

Great Point

Josh and I drove out to Great Point this morning at 7. A feeding frenzy of gulls, razorbills and murres, long tail ducks and a shearwater was absorbing. I know there are dovekies out there too, but too far out for me to see those little ones.

Great Point Lagoon

Razorbills and gulls

More razorbills

Hundreds of gadwall flocking from the lagoon

Sunrise at 77

Feeding Frenzy

Dead baby seal

Bluebird
Great Meadows NWR- Concord

   It is November 30 and the season of hope, watchfulness and expectation has begun.  We celebrated this pandemic Thanksgiving as usual in Cambridge,  but with just son Charlie and daughter-in-law Kelsey rather that the extended clan.  The highlight was seeing close to a dozen bluebirds at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge  in Concord, MA yesterday.  Bluebirds are definitely visitors to ACK,  especially in late October and November,  but I am hoping to see more here!  

Bluebird 11.29.20, Concord MA

I am watchful and expecting that this surge of the virus will stay away from our family and friends. Nantucket was moved from a "red" zone according to the MA Department of Public Health,  to a "yellow" zone this week.

Today,  Josh  and I are back in Sconset. It's a mild but blustery day,  at 55 degrees with winds from the southeast at 25 mph.  During my 1 mile walk from home to Sconset,  I saw 3 dead birds  (2 eiders and a herring gull) on the beach;  only one had been touched by raptors.  It is a rugged environment in the late fall and winter.  

I explored a number of birding spots in the Boston area over the past couple of weeks.  At Belle Isle Marsh,  I got a great picture of a Tufted Titmouse,  a species that is relatively common on the mainland,  but does not live on Nantucket.  

Tufted Titmouse, Belle Isle Marsh, 11.11.20

Late Fall

 The groundsel has blown away,  the huckleberries are reddish sticks.  The trees are bare,  except for the oaks.  But the winterberries radiate,  and the harlequin ducks have arrived.    

The gannets, all three scoters,  the loons and the long-tailed ducks are regular visitors off the bluff.  The lesser black-backed gulls are regularly on the beach with the greater black-backed  and herring gulls. 

The raptors are again more visible.  When we returned home on Friday morning,  the crows had left us a rabbit,  with fur and entrails spread about.   The Sunday birding group watched a peregrine falcon each an eider from the Erosion Project viewing point,  and then saw greater black-backed gulls eating one at the UMass Field Station beach.

The drought seems to be ending;  we have had 3.22 inches of rain in October,  and already 2.38 inches in November.  The ponds are still very low.  

Huckleberry sticks on the Middle Moors

Last pond lily near Norwood Farm

Low Almanac Pond...
looking back  

AlmanacPond - height of the rock

Snow buntings at Gibbs Pond

Harlequin duck off Erosion Control Project

Winterberries

Coatue

Josh got a hot tip that there were scallops between First and Second Point on Coatue,  and my haul on Friday inspired us to go out and check it out.  Another great spot!  And a spot to see a huge flock of red-breasted mergansers arrive in Nantucket Harbor....and to see the relative sizes of a herring gull and a ring-billed gull...and a late oystercatcher...and the colors of fall on Coatue.

Great Point Light from Coatue

Unbanded Oystercatcher at Second Point

Ring-billed Gull

Compare the ring-billed gull, on the left,
  to the herring and great black-backed gulls

Cedar Highway also known as Coatue Avenue

Rosa Rugosa in fall colors

Late sickle-leaved aster