More baby pictures....

I can't get enough of these cute little plovers....

They blend in so well and they move so fast--even with my zoom lens they are hard to pick up--this one is just off center to the right.

This one is smack in the center, doing a little dance....

just beneath the string...

so cute....

Keep your eyes out for these little guys on the beaches this weekend....they are out and about!

More beach goodness...

I love walking on the beach really early in the morning. I especially like it when I'm the only one there and that happens more frequently than you might think, even in mid summer....

Often the mornings are misty....

Boats are still at rest in the early morning light....

Even the gulls appear to be resting. These two young gulls are immature, most likely second year, greater black backed gulls. Note their cleanly marked plumage and blackish bills.

Compare the bigger body mass and clean look of the black backs with this muddier looking, smaller gull--an immature, probably second year, herring gull.

here are more black backed gulls--a full adult, a third year herring gull (I think) and what I would call a second year black backed gull. I am not a gull expert so feel free to disagree with me if you have something to add.

The gull with the gray back is a herring gull, the one most people just refer to as a seagull. That is an immature bird on the right.

This willet landed nearby as I was taking pictures of the gulls so I included it here, too. There is at least one pair of willets nesting in the marsh nearby this beach and I see them feeding here almost daily. They don't usually hang out up in the sandy area like this one but I think I took it by surprise.

These are just a few of the sightings I had while walking the beach early in the morning...every day is different!

Look who was at the beach this morning....

Bunnies!

I never see bunnies at the beach. I see their tracks so I know they are around but I can't think of a single time I've actually seen a rabbit just hanging out on the beach. I've seen them in the marsh and way inside the dunes where there is more grass than sand but today I was walking down the beach and there was a bunny just hanging out between the gulls and the terns. I had my camera but when I turned it on the rabbit skedaddled...

Later as I rounded the tip of this beach where there are more dunes I saw another one...

Do you see it up there near the top of the dune? The other rabbit had run up over the dunes on the other side of this but this one came from under the rose bushes and paused a bit....

standing still and alert, waiting for me to pass by...(it never moved--this closer shot taken with my zoom lens)

and then as I was leaving the beach yet another little fellow was hanging out by the edge of the parking lot...it was definitely a bunny at the beach sort of morning...

A beautiful morning at the pond...

We got up early this morning to take a long leisurely walk around a pond we love to visit...

it didn't take long for the half grown ducklings to come for a visit. We have never fed them but obviously someone has...

love this shot of this little guy still wet from his or her foraging but keeping an eye out for any fresh handouts....

The path around this pond is quite lovely and meanders through upland as well as pond side beach areas. The early morning sunlight is so pretty coming through the trees and the heat of the day hasn't settled in quite yet. All is still cool and lush. The ovenbirds, catbirds, great crested flycatchers and blue jays were all taking turns making a lot of noise. Towhees were out and about with their young, watching us from a safe distance as all the juniors scratched around in the leaves for bugs.

Scenes like this were plentiful, the ferns still young and springy, offering shade to the plants below and perhaps even a toad or two as well....

Who goes there?

Sitting at the beach, drawing and minding our own business we suddenly realize we are surrounded...

from each tiny hole emerged a tiny big clawed crab...

and when they thought we weren't looking they stood up and waved....

and if you haven't sat on the beach surrounded by serenading fiddler crabs....quick go find some!

Time to get outdoors....

You know by now that I try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. I draw and paint outdoors almost every day though the recent spell of rainy weather hasn't been too good for outside painting. Even so I can take cuttings of branches and flowers from the yard and paint from those.

Many people are afraid to draw or paint, indoors or outdoors, mostly because they are afraid they don't know how. Wouldn't the world be a nicer place if everyone could just have fun with their creativity and not judge the results so much? Anyway, I encourage you to take a notebook or sketchbook outside this summer and have a little fun with some pencils, colored pencils, paints, whatever. Never mind what it looks like. Enjoy the process.

Hang out with a friend while you paint. It's a different way to spend time together and many people, no matter what their ability level is, find this to be very relaxing.

Bring a kid along. Kids love to draw and paint and you don't need anything fancy. Use a sketchbook or just clip some blank copy paper to a clipboard that makes it easy to walk around and find cool stuff to draw because you have your "table" with you.

If you feel uncomfortable going out by yourself, check out my summer schedule. Beginners are always welcome and the full schedule is on my Cape Cod Art and Nature website.

Happy summer!

Perhaps my most favorite day of the year...

pretty flowers everywhere....

Great birds to see on the beach--check out the piping plover hanging out to the left of the little green heron...

Babies everywhere you look....

Frogs making their way on four legs for the first time...

Beach plums a-growing'

And a whole summer ahead to get outside and paint! Join us for any or all of this summer's outdoor sketching and watercolor classes by Cape Cod Art and Nature.

Just for fun....

We have been having simply wonderful weather to welcome in the summer....

To celebrate all the wonderfulness we drove up to Provincetown on Father's Day and stopped at Highland Light in Truro to admire the flowers in the meadow against the backdrop of the sea and sky...

And looked down over the cliffs to see the beautiful beach below...

And of course, I have to include the iconic lighthouse itself...

Truly, a beautiful Cape Cod day. Sometimes I feel I store them up all spring, summer and fall to get me through all the gray cold damp and dark days of winter....

Baby red squirrels...

are out and around these days, as are baby gray squirrels and chipmunks. Often the youngsters still hang around together and may even still follow their parents though the parents are pretty much leading them to find their own food and no longer feeding them directly.

Here are 3 little red squirrels chasing and playing in a nearby tree....there were 4 altogether but I don't think I got a picture of the 4 that wasn't a complete blur.

Young mammals tend to look sleeker than the adults, which is quite different from young birds that often look larger and puffed out. Mammals grow to full size pretty quickly, depending on the species, of course, but even young coyotes and foxes are standing almost as tall as mom and dad. They are just quite a bit thinner--their muscles and fat have not kept up with their skeletal growth quite yet so they look like the sort of gawky adolescents they are.

Also, when you see squirrels hanging around together and playing like this, you can be pretty sure they are young ones. Older squirrels have other things on their mind...although you will probably still see parent squirrels watching out for the young ones for another few weeks or so. At your feeders you may be noticing an increase of squirrels. Look for the skinnier tails on young gray squirrels.

Baby birds

It's true, baby birds are very cute. They are also starting to leave their nests and we may be seeing them in our backyards, in empty lots, along nature paths and even in parking lots. Many people, especially children and teens want to pick them up and bring them home to care for them. Please try to refrain from doing this.

Most of these babies are just fine on their own. They are nimble and quick and mom and dad are usually close by. Many baby birds look pretty vulnerable and cry pathetically, bringing out the mom and dad in us humans, too. This works on their parents as well which is why they do it but most of these little guys and gals are pretty tough and pretty quick. Although many cannot fly well yet they can hop and run and climb pretty well. Keep watch from a distance and you will often hear or see a parent bird nearby. If you hang around too closely you will keep the parent from coming back while you're there so it is a good idea to watch from a distance.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has much more information about baby birds on their website.

Don't be overly alarmed to find baby birds in strange places. I have even watched parent birds take care of babies in parking lots at malls and grocery stores and the babies do quite well even against what seem to be pretty scary odds.

If you do find a baby bird that is truly abandoned or injured please call for help. On the Cape we have some great wildlife rehabilitators that are well trained and very helpful. You can call Wild Care Cape Cod in Eastham at 508-240-2255 or Cape Cod Wildlife Center in Barnstable (Cummaquid) at 508-362-0111.

The best thing you can do to help baby birds and other animals right now? Keep your pets leashed or indoors.

Sketches by Mary Richmond

Good fences make....

good neighbors, as Robert Frost pointed out, but they also make good places to plant wind rows of trees and shrubs. At least that is what the birds think.

Birds often rest on fences, especially on fence poles. They often make good vantage points from which to scope out the neighborhood and be alert for danger at the same time.

While sitting there birds may leave little presents behind and these little presents often contain seeds. The seeds in turn often grow into new shrubs and trees.

Those who study the history and sociology of landscapes say that when they find a straight line of trees they can usually surmise that a fence was once there for trees don't grow in straight lines unless they are planted that way.

So here's to the birds and their spreading of the tree seeds!

Barn Swallows

We have several kinds of swallows on the Cape including tree swallows, barn swallows, bank swallows and rough winged swallows. Tree and barn swallows are by far the most common but the others can be locally common so depending on where you are you might actually be seeing more of them. I believe the largest group of bank swallows on the Cape is in Truro...We also have purple martins which look quite different, being darker and larger..

Barn swallows are among my favorites and have been every since I was a kid and they nested in our garage. They build nests with mud and saliva and often are found in colonies that can range in size from a few nests to hundreds. On the Cape they are found in any area with old buildings or open buildings, as long as there is an opening they can come in and out of. They also nest under docks and piers and can often be seen around local harbors.

These two were resting after a busy time catching bugs and feeding the babies in the nests just inside the building.

They could leave the babies knowing they were safe since Harley the llama was keeping watch....

Sitting Silently....

can save your life....

especially if you are a tiny bunny hiding in the grass...

Most predators watch for movement so most prey animals have learned to stay very still when they feel in danger. This little cottontail rabbit was only a few inches long but already it knew to freeze when it heard my footsteps. I used my zoom lens to take this picture and once I got within about 8 feet of it the little guy took off into the briar bushes just as little rabbits have done throughout time....

We saw LOTS of baby rabbits and chipmunks on our walks last week so keep your eyes open to see one of these sweet little guys. Kids love spotting baby animals and these little guys are easy to spot if you know where to look. They often feed near sunny open grassy places with lots of vetches and clovers that have low bushes and brambles nearby.

Handsome Herring Gulls

I know, you're thinking, huh? Handsome gulls? Yes. When they are in their full breeding plumage I think gulls are really handsome. And beautiful. This is a herring gull and if you've ever hung out watching them wolf down herring at the herring runs you know why they were given that name.

I don't believe there is a way to tell a male from a female unless you follow them around and see which one does what during mating and egg laying times. They both guard the nest and they both feed the chicks and protect them. They seem to know which is which and really, that is probably what is most important.

You may have noticed that there aren't many gulls around at area beaches right now. That is because they are nesting. Gulls are colonial nesters and nest in huge colonies, often numbering into the thousands. Here the biggest gull colonies are on the Monomoy Islands in Chatham. They often nest with greater black back gulls though usually the nests of each species are in separate parts of the location.

A gull colony is an interesting and often scary place. There is a lot of noise, a lot of stink and a lot of death. Gulls regurgitate food for their young and the little ones peck at that red spot on the bill to let mom or dad know they are hungry. Gull colonies are filled with guano, regurgitated fish and half eaten birds. Gulls will kill and eat each other's young so the nesting colony is often filled with angst and defense.

It isn't exactly a peaceful place and they are not fond of human trespassers either. My times in a colony were with people doing research and we had proper permissions from the state agencies that monitor such things. Let me just say that a big gull flying straight at you in an obvious aggressive move is pretty scary. I've seen really big men dive for the ground to avoid being pecked at. I found this short video of a gull and tern colony on YouTube that isn't exactly what it is like here but it gives you a good idea of the overall racket and commotion.

Tern, Tern, Tern....

Sorry, couldn't resist the tern pun...

If you've been to a beach on the Cape lately you have probably seen and heard terns. Lots of them. Terns are colonial nesters and gather in large groups to court, mate, nest and raise their young. They like sandy spots with some grass to afford good hiding spots and also like spots that tend to be a bit more isolated and surrounded by water.

Tern colonies on the Cape tend to be pretty localized but they may also change from season to season. Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, Town Neck in Sandwich and South Monomoy all have sizable tern colonies. There are others, too, of course but these popped into my head first.

There are several types of tern that nest here including the tiny least tern shown above. Note the yellow bill. They are also quite small which is easy to tell when you see them mixed in with other terns such as the common tern. Roseate and arctic terns are rare breeders here but can be found in certain locations and in the late summer and early fall all bets are off for the Cape hosts huge flocks of mixed terns as they stage for migration and we never know what kinds of terns may show up then.

This last picture shows a typical nest area. Like the plovers, terns build very minimal nests that are really not much more than shallow scrapes in the sand.

Terns are easy to tell from gulls if you pay attention to just a few things. The terns we get here tend to be smaller than gulls but mostly they look slimmer, more aerodynamic and have long pointy wings. They can hover and dive as well, something you won't see a gull doing.

Because terns tend to hang out by the water's edge many people confuse them with sandpipers. Unlike sandpipers, however, terns do not run along the shore. They tend to be either resting, grooming or getting ready to lift off.

You can learn a lot more about terns by following this link to the Cornell Bird Website.

Beach peas are everywhere!

Not only are there lots of beach roses in bloom at the beach but the beach peas are in bloom, too.

Beach peas really are wild peas and are found all over Cape Cod, especially in areas that have dunes.

Their sweet purple blossoms attract lots of bees and butterflies and have a subtle scent that even we humans can enjoy.

Once they are done blooming the plants will be setting up their seed pods which of course are full of tiny peas. They are safe to eat but good luck finding any that are ripe enough --the pods are really too tough to be enjoyable--and not occupied by other hungry little critters.