Tag Archives: Fort Hill

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Hiking, Cape Cod Photography, Cape Cod Wildflowers

Climbing Nightshade Wildflower Berries At Fort Hill On Cape Cod.

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I was so surprised to see these Climbing Nightshade wildflowers turn into these bright red berries in the fall. I had never seen the berries before.  I posted a photograph of the purple wildflower on my blog  on August 1st. The wildflowers are tiny, only about 1/2″ at the most.

“The fruit is an ovoid red berry about 1 cm long, soft and juicy, with the aspect and odor of a tiny tomato, and edible for some birds, which disperse the seeds widely. However, the berry is poisonous to humans and livestock, and the berry’s attractive and familiar look make it dangerous for children.”

Both the flowers and the berries are poisonous, so keep your distance!

 

Cape Cod Birding, Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Photography

Hundreds Of Double-Crested Cormorants At Nauset Marsh On Cape Cod

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I was taking a hike at Fort Hill and stopped at Hemenway Landing when I heard this racket out on the marsh. There were hundreds of Double-Crested Cormorants in a huge group, or flight, on the water. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Were they all congregating together before they start their migration? Was there really good fish in the water?

I did not see any of them diving, so I didn’t think it was a feeding frenzy. Does anyone have any idea what would cause this?

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Hiking, Cape Cod Photography

Pinkish Bleeding Fairy Helmet Mushrooms Growing On A Tree At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

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I saw these bell-shaped pinkish mushrooms while hiking on the boardwalk of the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill. I’ve never seen mushrooms like these growing on a tree before. Have you?

As you can see my the 2nd photograph, they are really small. Does anyone know what kind of mushroom they are?

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Photography, Cape Cod Wildflowers

Japanese Honeysuckle Wildflowers At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

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The Japanese Honeysuckle  are growing profusely at Fort Hill in Eastham. Japanese Honeysuckle is a  fragrant climbing vine with 1“ white flowers that grow in pairs and turn yellow with age. The flowers bloom from June through August and then become black berries.

Japanese Honeysuckle, although the flowers are very pretty, is considered an invasive plant that can smother out other plants in the area.

Have you ever seen Japanese Honeysuckle?

 

 

Cape Cod Blog, Cape Cod Butterflies, Cape Cod Hiking, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Photography

Pretty Orange And Brown Checkerspot Butterfly At Fort Hill On Cape Cod

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I had seen this little Checkerspot butterfly out of the corner of my eye for a few days at Fort Hill but was unable to photograph it. It never came close enough until… We were walking on the trail by the marsh when it alighted on a leaf by the side of the trail. We were able to take a few photographs of this pretty butterfly.

I did a little research and found that “Checkerspot (butterfly), any of a group of small to medium-size butterflies with distinctive orange, black, and brown checkered patterning on their wings.”

Have you ever seen a Checkerspot butterfly? Pretty little thing!