This was a first for me … seeing my first Ruddy Duck at Wiley Park. What treat! Another bird species that I can add to my Life List.
“Ruddy Ducks are compact, thick-necked waterfowl with seemingly oversized tails that they habitually hold upright. Breeding males are almost cartoonishly bold, with a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut body. They court females by beating their bill against their neck hard enough to create a swirl of bubbles in the water.”
They are uncommon in this area in the winter. I guess I was lucky!
If you haven’t hiked the trails at Wiley Park during the holiday season, you are in for a big treat! There are Christmas ornaments strung from the trees all along the trails. Each year there seems to be more ornaments and more fun for the whole family.
Thank you and Happy Holidays to the “Secret Santa” who puts a smile on all of our faces as we enjoy the trails at Wiley Park!
We were just commenting a couple of weeks ago that we hadn’t seen a Mourning Cloak butterfly here on the Cape in a couple of years. And then we saw this flash of flutter along the trail while hiking at Wiley Park a few days ago.
This gorgeous Mourning Cloak butterfly landed on an old log and stayed there long enough for us to get lots of photographs. Isn’t he just beautiful? I love the blue dots along his wings.
The unique Water-Willow is an 3-9 foot aquatic shrub with 1/2 to 1 inch magenta flowers that blooms in July and August. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
I’ve seen them growing in the shallow waters on the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill, the Silver Spring Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet or at Wiley Park by the bridge. It is really cool to see how they grow in clusters along the main stem.
Have you seen any Water-Willows this summer? #eastham #wellfleet
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
