Category Archives: Cape Cod Wildlife

Snapping Turtle Crossing The Road In Eastham On Cape Cod

We were driving home the other day  when this car in front of us stopped  and was waving for others to stop. There was a Snapping Turtle crossing the road. I didn’t get to snap a photograph of it until it was almost by.

There are many different species of turtles here from Snapping Turtles to Terrapins to Box Turtles to Leatherback Turtles to Painted Turtles and many more. The Audubon Sanctuary in Wellfleet works very heavily with turtles.

Snapping Turtles are large turtles of about 15″. They have a massive head and a long neck. Their powerful jaws can give a serious bite, so  don’t ever get near one.

Horseshoe Crabs In Cape Cod Bay

I took a walk along the beach the other day at high tide and there were Horseshoe Crabs everywhere! I counted 55 in one little area. I contacted the expert at the Massachusetts Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet to tell him what I had seen. He said that with the warmer weather now, the Horseshoe Crabs will be very active.

Did you know that Horseshoe crabs are an ancient group of arthropods whose bodies are encased in a hard, oval shell? They have a long, rigid tail and five pairs of legs that they use for crawling, swimming, and gathering food.

It was really quite a site to see!

Coyote Looking For Breakfast On The Salt Marsh On Cape Cod

We were driving across the salt marsh early the other day when I saw this coyote out hunting for breakfast. I had never seen a coyote on Cape Cod and this one was just a little ways from our home.

coyote1

He was way out on the salt marsh as he prowled about.  You can see how he is pouncing as he finds something that looked interesting in the grasses.

Cool photo, don’t you think?

Who Has The Right of Way On Cape Cod, The Fox Or me?

We were driving down the road in Orleans on Cape Cod when this Fox started running across the road. We thought it was going to cross the road and head into the thicket on the other side.

No, this Fox decided that he wanted to run right down the middle of the road for quite a while. We just followed behind…

Funny, don’t you think?