We always see the Brants in the winter time out on the “islands” past Boat Meadow Beach, but rarely near the shore by the beach. So when these two Brants swam in and had lunch right in front of us, we were thrilled. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
They were far enough away that I could get out of the car and get a few photographs without scaring them away. We watched them for a while while they had their lunch which consists mostly of eel grass found in the tidal flats.
On the distant shores of one of the peninsulas were about 100 other Brants scavenging about on the edge of the shore. They are such a beautiful bird with that broken collar pattern on their necks.
What a treat! Have you ever seen a Brant?
I saw my first Red-winged Blackbird of the season yesterday morning at Fort Hill. I love it when they arrive in March as it signals that spring is just about here!
This guy was singing away on top of the branch way out in the meadow. As soon as you hear their sound, “Cuck-a-ree,” you know you made it through the winter.
Welcome back, Red-winged Blackbirds!
We’ve seen this houseboat out in the waters at the end of MacMillan Pier and never knew what it was. In doing some research I found several articles on this “dune shack” and how it washed ashore at Chatham’s North Beach and was moved to Provincetown Harbor.
A few years ago the new owner “salvaged the shack from the eroding sands of North Beach in Chatham, purchased it for $1 from its owners, and used his professional resources to move the 16-by-32-foot structure out to the harbor.” It really is pretty cool.
“The spell cast by the sounds of sea — the lapping of waves, gulls, the occasional seal, and fishing for your dinner at night — is hard to resist.” I guess he likes living there… what an adventure!
With the white Swan and all of the other water birds diving and dunking, there must be some good fishing at Herring Pond. I watched them for a while as they all stayed together while fishing furiously in the water. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
It looked like a family of birds all hanging out together and fishing together … it really was quite cute!
