I took a walk to Boat Meadow Beach the other morning and was surprised at how many birds there were on the beach. It was mid-tide …so not too high and not too low. I had my phone but had forgotten my camera. Thankfully, I don’t do that very often.
You can see the larger Seagulls with about 50 little Semipalmated Plovers scurrying about. When I got home and looked on my computer I could see two birds flying above. I thought it was so pretty.
I kind of like the grainy way it looks from zooming in on my iPhone. What do you think?
This is the time of year when the Japanese Knotweed is growing all over Cape Cod, and elsewhere. It grows densely to 6 feet tall with tiny, white flowers in 3″ spreading clusters. The leaves are heart-shaped.
Japanese Knotweed grows from August through September in open areas. Although it looks pretty, it is listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the world’s worst invasive plants.
I have seen a lot of Smooth Sumac growing along the sides of the trails by the National Seashore. I wasn’t sure what it was until I did a little research.
Smooth Sumac is a large shrub which grows to about 10 feet with large, 12″ leaves. The bark is smooth and brown; the twigs are grey or red. The flowers are yellowish and bloom in June and July. The berries, which you can see in the photographs, are tiny, red, hairy, sticky and about 8″ upright. They grow in dense, conical clusters.
I also learned that it is not poisonous, like Poison Sumac.
It was fun to watch the Double-crested Cormorants diving for food at Rock Harbor. There were quite a few of them and they were quite busy. They’d swim around bit and then dive way under. You never knew where they would surface, so you never knew where to focus your camera.
This guy was right next to the pier before he went looking for lunch. They should be around at least for another month before they head south and are really fun to watch.
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has so much to do for the entire family. Inside the visitors center is a small museum with lots of educational material. The kids will love the fish and turtles in the tanks. They might even see a Wild Turkey outside the huge windows.
Outside there are walks and hikes through the woods and out to the beach. There are lots of birds and wildflowers and butterflies. And, when you get to the beach, there is an awesome boardwalk that you can walk over to get to the beach.
On the boardwalk the kids can see all of the Fiddler Crabs which they just love as they scurry in and out of their little holes in the marsh.
Put the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on your list when you visit. So much fun and so much to see!
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
