It’s that time of the year for cleaning out the bird houses. It’s always interesting to see what you find inside. This one in the photograph had 2 nests, one on top of the other. You can see the 2 distinct colors of the nesting materials. You can also see how tall the nests were, at least 6″ tall! I can’t believe they could fit 2-3 babies and the parents inside!There were Bluebirds for both clutches inside that house.
When we opened up one of the other birdhouses, it was very sad. You could see that there were also 2 clutches born. The eggs on the earlier one in July did not hatch. There were 5 little eggs still there. And then the Bluebirds build another nest on top of that one so the eggs were still inside. Oh well… I wonder why they didn’t hatch?
The 2 other birdhouses had one family in each. It’s amazing the stories that each birdhouse tell. Have you cleaned out your birdhouses yet?
Mouse-Ear Hawkweed windflowers are growing all over Cape Cod. They are a dandelion-like flower with 1-4 heads. The flowers are small, just 1/2 ‘ to 1″ while the plant grows from 3-30 inches from May through September.
I was meandering through the woods at my yard when I saw this shiny Mussel shell on the ground. How on earth did it get there? I walk there pretty frequently, so I know it hasn’t been there very long.
I looked up and there was the perfect branch to perch and pick at a Mussel shell for lunch, or dinner or whenever.
You can find some things in the most amazing places!
You can tell where the turtle nests are at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary by the little cages around them and the blue flag. The species in each cage is also identified. I saw some Painted Turtle cages and some Diamondback Terrapin nests.
It will be very interesting when the little ones hatch and try to make it back to the waters of Cape Cod Bay. I remember last year seeing some of them which the volunteers had collected to help them on their way and they were tiny, only about an inch.
Have you seen the nest cages at the Sanctuary? Or anywhere else?
I was taking one of my early morning bike rides when I must have disturbed this Great Blue Heron on top of a tree close by. He gave me a loud squawk and flew away. I stopped to see where he was going.
He landed on top of the tree in the distance. I thought it was so cool to see this huge bird sitting on top of a smallish tree and I loved the beautiful background morning sky.
What do you think?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
