It’s that time of the year when birds start gathering together for their winter migration. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
These Double-crested Cormorants were all enjoying some relaxing time crowded on these rafts by Little Pleasant Bay. There were hundreds of them! They must be getting ready…
We’ve hiked at Fort Hill for years but never seen this trail out to Nauset Marsh. It was just gorgeous! Have you ever hiked this trail?
It was a gorgeous fall day to take a walk at Kent’s Point. The sun was shining brightly and the reflections off of the water were spectacular!
We’ve only seen a Savannah Sparrow once before, so it was a big treat to see several of them hopping along the fence rail at Fort Hill. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
The Savannah Sparrow is a small, brown-streaked grassland songbird easily recognized by a distinctive yellow stripe or spot above or in front of its eye. Have you ever seen one?
Yesterday was a beautiful day for a hike at Fort Hill… the sun was shining and the winds were quiet. We had gone out to see whatever there was to see in nature, but these two paddle boarders caught my eye. They must have launched at Nauset Marsh pretty early as they were almost out to the outer beaches. What amazed me was the expansiveness of Nauset Marsh and how tiny these two looked…
I’ve seen so many of these red berry bushes on the trails and wondered what they are. In doing some research, I learned they are called Smooth Sumac. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
This particular Sumac is called Smooth Sumac, which is not poisonous, and grows from 8 to 15 feet tall. It provides winter food for hundreds of bird species and nectar for pollinators. An interesting fact is that you can also soak the red berries in cold water to make a tart, vitamin-C-rich drink.
Have you seen any of these Smooth Sumac bushes along the trails?
As I was hiking at Wiley Park yesterday, you could see the wind really picking up, as there were pretty big waves on Great Pond. It’ll be interesting to see how the weekend weather pans out… these waves might look small!
I always love hiking the Nauset Marsh Trail which takes you right along the banks of Nauset Marsh. The views are just beautiful! Have you ever done this hike?
After seeing all of the destruction to the dunes at White Crest Beach on the news from the storm last weekend, we decided to take a ride out there. We had read that the beach was closed until further notice.
When we got there, the parking lot was closed and we could see the backhoe piling sand on the ocean side of this new fence. They had already build a large berm all along the fence.
There were still pieces of fence lying on the ground. Was the fence going to go all the way across so that there was no access to White Crest Beach? Or would the fence have an opening so that people could still walk to the beach? Were the dunes safe to walk on?
We decided that we’d take another ride out there in a week or two to see what the finished product was. Anyone have any ideas?
I love riding the bike trail early in the morning, as you never know what you will see. This was such a beautiful sunrise over the bridge… wow! Look at those clouds!
