Category Archives: Cape Cod Blog

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Photography, Cape Cod Wildflowers

Beautiful Jack-In-The-Pulpit Wildflower At The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary On Cape Cod.

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I drove up to the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary the other day to see their new wildflower gardens and take some wildflower photographs. The gardens have just started to bloom so there were a few flowers to photograph, but peak season will not be for a few weeks.

After spending some time in the gardens, I decided to hike the Silver Spring Trail which is sometimes closed in the morning for bird banding,  and it was now the middle of the afternoon. Maybe there would be something new on the trail.

Wow! I certainly made the right choice! There it was… right on the side of the trail. I have not seen a Jack-in-the Pulpit since I was a little girl, so I was surprised to see one on the Silver Spring Trail. I had never seen one there before and  I almost missed it, as you can see looking at the 2nd photograph. It’s hard to see Jack-in-the-Pulpit.

A Jack-in-the-Pulpit gets it name because it looks like a preacher in a pulpit. It has a green and purple striped hooded tube the grows right beneath a large 3-part leaf. Within the tube is “Jack” (the preacher) that will be covered with miniscule flowers that become bright red berries in August. I will have to keep an eye on it this summer. So cool…

Have you ever seen a Jack-in-the Pulpit?

 

 

Cape Cod Birding, Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Photography

Adorable Mom Feeding Baby Hairy Woodpecker In Our Yard On Cape Cod!

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I was out in the yard yesterday when I kept hearing a little bird crying. There in a tree a little ways away was a Hairy Woodpecker chick clinging to the bark while crying away. He was so cute and so vocal! (Click on link to see more photos of the chick.)

The 2nd photo shows him crying in the tree. He looks like a little fluff ball! The 3rd photo shows him staring at me. He must’ve seen me taking his photograph. So cute!!

The next thing I knew, he flew to another tree and mom  flew right over to feed him as you can see in the first photograph. It was precious!

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Butterflies, Cape Cod Photography

Question Mark Butterfly On Our Front Porch On Cape Cod!

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Phil was making dinner the other night when he looked out the front window and saw this brown butterfly on the railing. I got my camera and went outside to take some photographs, not knowing what kind of butterfly it was. (Click on link to see other photograph.)

In doing some research, I found that the brown is the underside of a Question Mark butterfly and acts as camouflage. These Question Mark butterflies are frequently called “anglewings” for the shape of their wings which you can easily see in both  photographs.

It stayed on the railing until dark, so I never got a photograph of the upper side. The 2nd photograph is from Wikipedia so you could see  difference between the upper side and the underside. Quite a difference, don’t you think?

Have you ever seen a Question Mark butterfly?

Cape Cod Birding, Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Photography

Courting Wild Turkey In Our Yard On Cape Cod!

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There is never a dull moment in our yard here on Cape Cod! The other morning Phil called out, “There’s another turkey in the yard!” Sometimes they like to dig up the fallen bird seed which really makes a mess of the yard. So Phil went outside to gently nudge her into the woods when… (Click on link to see other photo.)

This gorgeous male Wild Turkey came strutting into our yard, his feathers displayed in regalia. He was following the female everywhere and he was magnificent!

“Male Ritual: The male Wild Turkey has a conspicuously bright coloring of plumage. In the way of attracting females,  they are very much like peacocks. They have fan-like fancy tails and a cocky strut.”

After about 15 minutes of watching him follow her all around the yard, they both sauntered into the woods.

Wow! What a show!

 

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Hiking, Cape Cod Photography, Cape Cod Trails, Cape Cod Wildflowers

Delicate White Canada Mayflowers Are Blooming On Cape Cod.

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The Canada Mayflowers are blooming all over Cape Cod. They are a small woodland plant with tiny 4-petaled flowers clustered on stems like miniature bottle brushes. They only grow to about 4.”

I saw this Canada Mayflower at Fort Hill. There were many around, especially along the boardwalk on the Red Maple Swamp Trail.

So pretty and delicate, don’t you think?