Just as we were going to sleep the other night our Motion Detector lights went on in the back yard. I thought it was probably the racoon that comes by periodically, hoping to raid the bird feeders. But I got up anyway, just to see what it was. And there…standing by the bird feeder was this huge coyote. It looked like a silhouette against the dark woods and the light in front. He was big and muscular and looked just like a wolf.
So I went online this morning to read about coyotes on Cape Cod and this is what I learned:
“It has been known for several years that the coyotes in the Cape Cod area have much in common with wolves. Mainly wolf DNA. Some coyotes in MA that have been tested have come up as 90% eastern wolf. I have received a number of reports where people claim to have seen large, wolf-like canines on Cape Cod.”
This certainly looks like what I saw. Wow!
(This is a photograph of a coyote that I took a few years ago in Colorado as the one I saw here was gone before I could get my camera and get a good photograph. But the one I saw here looked very similar.)
Hiking at Fort Hill in Eastham on Cape Cod is such a treat. You never know what you will see and every time you go it is different. Different wildflowers, different butterflies, different birds, etc.
The other day I saw some wild Blackberries along the side of the trail.
I saw my first Eastern Kingbird at Fort Hill on Cape Cod the other day! I heard some rustling in the trees and thought it was a Cedar Waxwing. But, out flew this bird which I learned later was an Eastern Kingbird.
Eastern Kingbirds are about 8″ with slate colored wings and back, a white throat and underparts and a black head. Its tail is black with a white terminal band. My bird book says it perches on the tips of trees near fields which is exactly where I saw it.
I’ve seen so many Cow Vetch wildflowers along the trails in Eastham on Cape Cod. Cow Vetch is a climbing plant with many blue-violet 1/2″ flowers on one side of a long, hairy stem. These plants grow to 2-3 feet from May to August.
You can see them in the fields and meadows of Cape Cod, as well as along the roadsides.
Have you ever see Indian Rock at Fort Hill on Cape Cod?
For thousands of years before the Europeans landed, the Nauset Indians lived beside the marshes of Cape Cod. Among the evidences of their occupation is this grinding rock, one of four such boulders found in the Nauset Bay area.
The Nauset Indians used this rock to grind, polish and sharpen their implements made of stone and animal bones, as well as shape their fish hooks.
It is so cool to see things like this and give tribute to the Nauset Indains who thrived in this area.
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
