We’ve seen this Northern Harrier many times at Fort Hill searching for food. The diet of this large hawk consists of rodents, reptiles, insects, frogs and birds, including water birds, so this environment fits them well being so close to the woods, meadows and water. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
I have learned to identify them by the wide white stripe on their tail when they are flying. Have you seen the Northern Harrier at Fort Hill?
After seeing all of the erosion at Nauset Beach two days ago, I thought I’d take a walk on Coast Guard Beach to see what it looked like. I was so surprised to see that beach access was closed. (Click on blog link for more photos.)
You can see how high the sand is by the height of the handrail on the left side in the 2nd photograph. I wonder if there is a dangerous drop-off at the end of this new path and that is why its closed.
I thought maybe I could see what the beach looked like by walking down from Nauset Light Beach. But, that beach was closed too. Hmmmm…
You could see all of the damage in the parking lot at Nauset Light: the metals fences had all blown down, the porta-potty was blown over, the trailer looked askew… It was just a mess. The winds must have been treacherous there during last weekend’s storm storm.
I called the Salt Pond Visitor’s Center to see if they knew why the beaches were closed. They said that the rangers were assessing the situation at the beaches. I guess I’ll have to try again in couple of days. I sure hope that the new path to Coast Guard Beach is not in jeopardy. Does anyone else know any other information?
Note: I heard this afternoon (2/4) that Coast Guard Beach is now open.
Yesterday I took a ride to Nauset Beach and was so surprised to see all of the erosion and destruction from the Nor’easter last weekend. It was incredible! It almost looked like the ocean went right over the dunes into the parking lot. (Click on blog link for a series of other photos.)
The first photograph is of the bench right in the parking lot covered with sand. The 2nd photo is of the beach fence installed to stop dune erosion a couple of years ago. The 3rd photo is of the newer sand fence installed on the dune last fall. You can see the old fence almost buried right next to it on the left.
As I walked onto the beach I could see the bath houses which are almost covered in sand up to the roof. They now look precariously close to the beach. There’s not much of a dune left there.
The last photograph shows the first walkway up to the beach from the parking lot. You can see the handrails are covered in sand. In the top part of the photo you can see all of the sand that has washed over the dune and down toward the parking lot.
It is quite unbelievable at Nauset Beach. Mother Nature sure has her own ideas. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the winter brings…
Yesterday was gorgeous on the beaches on Cape Cod Bay, but treacherous to walk on. The tide was high and moving fast and there were huge ice chunks everywhere. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
In the first photograph , those 2 bigger “icebergs” on the shore in the distance were about 6+ feet tall. They were huge! In the 2nd photo, the chunks of ice on the grass island were well over 4+ feet tall. Wow!
We’ve had quite a few Yellow-rumped Warblers hanging about in our yard this winter. I have never seen this many in any season, so it’s been a big treat! This little guy was enjoying a drink at our heated birdbath.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is usually identified by its bright yellow rump which is most easily seen when it is flying. It also has yellow patches under its wings.
Have you seen any Yellow-rumped Warblers this winter?
