We were at Hemenway Landing yesterday having our picnic lunch when we saw someone looking out in the distance with her binoculars. Hmmmmm…. what did she find? (Click on blog link for other photos.)
I got my camera and went out to see what she was looking at… a pack of Coyotes feeding on a Humpback Whale. Apparently this dead whale had washed up on the shores of Nauset Marsh a few weeks ago and then recently, with the big storm and huge tide, it washed way up on the shore of Nauset Marsh.
Three of the five Coyotes that we saw were feeding on the whale while the other two had finished feeding and were meandering out in the tall grass.
We just happened to be there at the right time. I never would have seen them without some help! Thank you to the lady with the binoculars… what a great sighting!
If you ever walk over the bridge on Bridge Road, stop and look over the side into the creek. You never know what you might see! (Click on blog link for other photos.)
Yesterday I was walking to the beach when I looked over and saw several Diamond-backed Terrapins swimming in the creek. They are so beautiful. I love it when they stick their little nose above water.
“Northern Diamond-backed Terrapins inhabit marshes which border quiet salt or brackish tidal waters. They can also be found in mud flats, shallow bays, coves, and tidal estuaries.”
Have you seen any of these terrapins swimming in the creek? It’s such a treat to see one… never mind several!
I was so surprised to see this family of raccoons with a mom and 5 little ones foraging about on the salt marsh early one morning. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
I had never seen raccoons on the salt marsh before. I watched them for a while; it was quite fascinating. Have you ever seen raccoons on the salt marsh?
Yesterday was a rainy morning when we went for a “car picnic” at Boat Meadow Beach. It was raining pretty hard, but still so pretty. (Click on blog link for other photos.)
All of a sudden a car drove up and a lady pulled two cages out of the back of her car. It looked like Wild Care was going to release a bird on the beach. I didn’t get to speak with her as the raindrops were coming down pretty fast.
We watched as she carried the cages to the beach and released one seagull and then another. We watched them saunter around the beach and then both fly off. Wow!
Wild Care Cape Cod is amazing. The work they do to rehabilitate birds and animals is incredible and so wonderful to see their releases back into the wild.
Kudos to Wild Cape Cape Cod! We are all so fortunate to have you so close by!
There have been over 110+ rescues of the cold-stunned sea turtles on the beaches of Cape Cod Bay in the past week. You could feel the dramatic drop in temperatures in just the past few days. (Click on blog link to see other photos.)
We were at Boat Meadow Beach the other morning when a car pulled up next to us. A couple got out and were dressed for extreme temps and with rubber boots. It was frigid with 25 mph winds. I thought perhaps they were here to walk the beaches and see if they could find any cold-stunned turtles.
They were out on the grasses when we saw them pick up 2 turtles and bring them back up to higher ground. They put one of them under the bench near us, covered it with dry grass and then went out to look some more. They were out there searching for a long time. The turtles will be treated at the Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, MA.
Thanks to all of the volunteers and workers who give up their time looking for these turtles. They really are life-savers!
When we saw this animal swimming in Little Cliff Pond, we definitely thought it was a beaver. And when it put its tail up in the air while it swam, we knew it must be a beaver. Wow! How cool was that?! (Click on blog link for other photos.)
To verify the animal’s identity I asked our good friend, who is also the director of Wild Care Cape Cod, if this was truly a beaver swimming at Nickerson State Park. I’m sure she got quite a good chuckle when she saw our photos.
She replied, “That’s a muskrat! There are no beavers on Cape Cod!” And we thought we had scooped her. She certainly got the last laugh!
Cape Cod daily articles about Cape Cod and the wonderful Cape Cod places to see, visit, hike and photograph.
