Bleached Out , March 6

 

Sunny blustery day...the sky seems bleached out...from the rich blue on high descending to whitish blue at the horizon.  Josh and I hiked to Eel Point, where the beach grass is bleached the color of the sand and the eelgrass was bleached white.  The birdscape was “ bleached out” as well, with only herring and ring-billed gulls taking advantage of the day.   Sanderlings scampered, two black ducks jumped into flight  and one  red-tailed hawk spied the scene on the osprey pole. Not a leaf remains on the bushes, even the oak leaves are gone.  The temperature has been less than 32 degrees for two days running.

Sunset in the cloudless bleached sky is like a fireball descending. It is a couple of weeks before the vernal equinox, and we can see the march of the sun to the north.  In the city it’s not so clear how the point of sunrise and sunset moves from equinox to equinox. Here it is a part of daily life.

Bleached eel grass and beach grass

Icy Milestone Bog, March 6

Sankaty Light in the distance

Sphagnum moss 

 Milestone Bog is covered in skim ice,  limiting the waterfowl's range of resting spots.  The northern harrier and red-tail hawk  hunted.  A flock of American pipits surprised me bobbing up and down in the short grasses before the bog, and whirled away in unison.  

Inspired by my reading of Basho's The Narrow Road to the Deep North,  I  composed some Milestone Bog haiku:

Barking geese aloft

Winter’s frozen bog below

Ravens on the dike

             Skim ice  on the bog

Open water  diamond shine

Breath of Northwest winds

Rustle in the bush

Savannah sparrow jumping

Yellow eyebrow winks 

The Gull Show, March 5

 

I had been thirsty for Nantucket, so as soon as we got back to Sconset , I grabbed my binoculars and headed to the beach. With winds from the west, walking south  was in the lee, the sea was calm and gulls fed along the shore where the red seaweed washed.  In addition to the usual herring and  greater-black backed gulls,  I was treated to glaucous and  bonaparte gulls.  The little "bonies"  are favorites.

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull

Bonaparte Gulls

Bonaparte Gulls

The glaucous gull had been eating a dead northern gannet on the beach,  along with seven turkey vultures and a few crows.  Winter culls the weak on this Atlantic coast.

Snowy Owls

 

All photos (at least 2 different owls)  from Jan 11, 2021 at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, MA

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