The road to Coast Guard Beach looked quite different before the Blizzard of 1978. (Click on blog to see old photograph from the Cape Cod National Seashore.)
Before the Blizzard of 1978, there used to be hundreds of parking places for people could access the beach. You can see these in the 2nd photograph. It all washed away in the Blizzard of 1978. Now people are shuttled to and from this gorgeous beach.
The first photograph is the old road by the Coast Guard Station that used to lead to the old parking lots. You can see the road on the top left of the old photograph. Now the road just stops on top of the dunes by the edge of the beach. You can view the ocean and the beach from there. You can walk to the beach along a path to the left by the bathhouses. But the huge parking lots and roads are no longer…
Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we took a walk down Coast Guard Beach. It was glorious… one of the Top 10 days!
We got part way down the beach and there were some new signs that said, “Nesting Nervous Birds” and “Area Closed.” We were surprised as the area was not closed a few days ago. We stopped and looked around getting ready to turn back.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a Piping Plover in the distance. Something else was scurrying by the water. My camera has an awesome zoom so I was able to take a few photographs of the family of Piping Plovers from afar.
I had never seen a Piping Plover chick before. They were so cute and so tiny. What an experience…
It must be that time of the year for the Lilies of the Valley to bloom. They are so beautiful. We’ve seen so many of them on our last few hikes. They are such a delicate little flower with such a pretty bell-shape.
I took the first photograph on the Doane Rock Trail heading out to Coast Guard Beach and the 2nd photograph on the Nauset Marsh Trail before you get to the overlook of Nauset Marsh. The 2nd one looks like a whole garden of Lilies of the Valley.
We have seen so many Willetts this summer, as they are very noisy and let you know they are around. They sound like they are singing “pill-will-willett.” It is a very distinct call. We saw these 2 Willetts on Coast Guard Beach, part of the National Seashore, last weekend and many more flying around.
I thought it was pretty cool that I got two of them in one frame. Have you seen or heard any Willets yet this summer?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
