Phil and I were finishing a hike at Fort Hill the other day when we saw something white in the tall grass among the yellow flowers. It looked like an Egret, but what was an Egret doing in the middle of a meadow? We usually see them on the salt marsh on near the shore. (Click on blog link for other photos.)
We clicked away and then went home and did some research. It was a Cattle Egret which we had only seen once before in a little overflow pond a few years ago here on the Cape. “Cattle Egrets stalk insects and other small animals on the ground in grassy fields. They are much less often seen in water than other herons.”
An interesting fact is how it got its name: “The Cattle Egret forages at the feet of grazing cattle, head bobbing with each step, or rides on their backs to pick at ticks.” Pretty cool, don’t you think?
It was a beautiful, sunny day at Fort Hill and the light on Indian Rock at Skill Hill at Fort Hill was just beautiful. You can really see the carvings made by the Native Americans. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
Indian Rock was a “community grinding rock, one of four such rocks found in the Nauset area. The Indians used the abrasive qualities of the fine-grained metamorphic rock to grind and polish implements made of stone and animal bones, such as stone axes or bone fishhooks.
Indian Rock was originally located in the mud of the marsh below where it now sits on Skiff Hill. The National Park Service moved the 20-ton boulder to this site in 1965.”
I love the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill which has a boardwalk where you walk over the bogs which are especially wet this time of the year. (Click on blog link for full photo.)
There are many different trails that you can hike at Fort Hill… through the woods, across the boardwalk, in the meadows and more. I love this hike along Nauset Marsh with Coast Guard Station in the background.
My mantra is always, “Don’t ever leave home without your camera!”
I was so glad that I had my camera on my shoulder at Fort Hill the other day. I looked out into the field and saw a flash of blue. I quickly got my camera out and clicked. I only got one photograph and this is it.
I really liked the whole composition of the photograph. What do you think?
The Red Maple Swamp Trail has always been one of my favorite trails on Cape Cod. It is so pretty any time of the year. There is a section of boardwalk that lets you hike over the swampy areas which you can see in the photograph.
Have you ever hiked the Red Maple Swamp Trail?
Cape Cod photography & stories on Cape Cod hiking, Cape Cod wildflowers, Cape Cod birds, Cape Cod beaches, Cape Cod butterflies and the great Cape Cod outdoors.
