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Taking a "lichen" to the Cape Cod landscape

Have you ever heard the one about Alice Algae and Freddie Fungus? Seems they took a lichen to each other.

Lichens are everywhere here on Cape Cod and many people are confused as to whether they are an algae or a fungus. They are neither, actually, but sort of a combination of the two. They get the advantage of the symbiotic qualities of the fungus as well as the photosynthetic abilities of the algae and can survive in what may otherwise be very tough and hostile habitats.

There are lichens such as the shield lichens that grow on tree bark and lichens that seem to grow in the air off of tree branches, like the dead man's beard. In the coastal dune areas we also find a lot of reindeer lichen which has little branchlets that resemble antlers and my favorite, the little red capped British soldiers.

Every year I try to learn a little more about these interesting plants. There are thousands of different  kinds and I don't really know how many we have here on Cape Cod but it would be fun to go out and see how many we could find.

For more information check out Gil Newtons' Cape Cod Coastal Ecology Website.

Oh, what a beautiful day!

It sure didn't feel like March around here today...It was so warm walking on the beach that we were in our shirt sleeves....

Look at the blue sky, the calm sea, the light sand....ahhhhh....

These photos are from Corporation Beach, taken around lunch time today...

Just beautiful....

These are the days that get us through the other not so nice days, the days when the cold wind howls down under our collars and through our ears....

On a day like today one can only sigh and think......perfection!

Here's a quick little video of what it sounded and looked like walking along the water's edge today...especially for those of you who couldn't make it to the beach today....

Iceland Gulls Hanging out at Craigville Beach

One of the fun things about winter birding is that you can go to just about any beach parking lot and check out the gulls, mostly from the warm and cozy blind that is your car. Gulls will let you get pretty close in a car--but step outside it and they'll be off in a second. Unless they think you are bringing them food in which case every gull within 5 miles will immediately show up.

Anyway, we get a lot of random gulls here each winter, many of whom are out of their usual range but are not all that unusual because each year we get a few and sometimes we get a few in the same place, winter after winter. At first glance all gulls seem to look alike, at least to the unpracticed eye...

but can you see what is different about this gull?

Here it is in flight

If you said it is mostly white with no black on the wing tips and that it has a black bill, not a yellow or ringed one, you would be correct. It is a bit mottled looking so we know it is probably an immature or juvenile bird.

Now look at this one...

Looks sort of familiar, right? But look again...

No black wing tips and very pale gray back....hmmmm....it's not a Herring gull, a ring billed or a greater black backed gull and it is a good sized bird which rules out a few others.

This beauty is in fact an Iceland gull, as is the immature bird shown in the first few pictures. Both of them have been hanging out with their less fancy cousins at the Craigville Beach parking lot this winter and if you hang around for awhile and check the various gulls you see there you may come across both or one of them quite easily.

These northern beauties usually winter north of us but each year a few seem to straggle down our way. Reports from the north shore and the Plymouth area are not uncommon and they often show up with other gulls in parking lots. Yep, opportunists just like the rest of the gang.

Iceland gulls breed in the arctic, usually on rocky cliffs facing the fjords in Greenland and northern Canada so these guys should be leaving soon. If you're in the area though, check them out.

What is it?

I bet you've seen it but do you know what it is?

You can find it on area beaches at any time of year but the winter beach seems to be full of it, especially after a big wind that stirs up the waves.

We found this specimen on Sandy Neck in Barnstable  today. In fact, we saw a lot of them.

When I was a kid my mom told me it was whale poop ;-) It isn't, though. It is actually an organism--or more correctly, a colony of organisms called zooids, encased in a layer or layers of cellulose. It feels a bit rubbery and can come in various shapes, sizes and colors though the average seems to be about 4-6 inches wide.

I found this information on Sea Pork to be helpful and this blog on sea pork has lots of interesting photos.

Early spring or what?

I saw a whole bunch of busy bees today....on a sunny patch of crocus while wandering about in Sandwich....

this is also my first YouTube video so feel free to give it some love ;-)

Buried in the sand

This is the time of year when the wind blows down the beach with howls and the surf hits the sand with a roar....it is the time of year when shells appear half buried in the sand like long lost skeletons...

driftwood and seaweeds add to the sandy compositions...

Feathers that have been shed show their wear and tear...

And some days you just play with the shells you find in the sand and make a sand and scallop design...

Sometimes it is fun to take the time to stop and look at the little things closely, even when the big picture is so enticing...

Early bloomers....

One of the earliest blooming shrubs we have on Cape Cod is this one...

We may come across it in the woods, along an old farm trail or like this one, at a nature sanctuary. They always make me smile and although this year many things have been budding and blooming early, this one is right on time. It will bloom in mid February whether it is snowy or balmy. Many people assume is is an early forsythia and think no more about it but this special shrub was an honored plant in early native cultures as well as colonial ones here in New England.

This is a variety of witch hazel and this early blooming shrub is Hamamelis vernalis, which is easily cultivated. The native witch hazel shrubs bloom in late fall and early winter but most of the ones I've seen on the Cape bloom in February with one big exception in Bourne where there is a little grove of native witch hazel. Over the years the bark and twigs have been used to make teas and also cleansing agents to sterilize areas around wounds, etc. Click the link for more uses and information about witch hazel.

This is one plant worth cosying right up to no matter how cold it is outside because it smells just wonderful.

It blossoms for a couple of weeks and then forms some funky seed pods that can actually "toss" their seeds when split open.

If you're out and about, especially in areas that were once farmland, keep your eyes--and nose--open for a sighting or scenting of this wonderful harbinger of spring.

Happy Valentine's Day

Thought I'd just share some nice Cape photos...

And from me to you ;-)

Brant geese

Brant geese are locally common on the Cape throughout the winter and their arrival in our coastal waters in the late fall is a sure sign that the seasons are changing. Found in areas where there is a good amount of eel grass brant can be found in many of our south facing beach areas, especially around estuaries. You may also find them in marshy areas and occasionally grazing in grassy areas. These brant were hanging out with the gulls at the Sandwich Marina on the canal on a recent blustery day.

Many people see brant and just think they are Canada geese but if you look closely you will see they have a dark front whereas the Canada goose has a light front (photo by NaturePhoto.com)

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Canada geese are also quite a bit larger which is easy to see if you see the birds together. Imagine a herring gull and a Canada goose standing next to each other and what the medium size bird between them might be and you will have an idea about the size of a brant.

Here you can see them in relation to the gulls around them.

Brant don't nest here but are arctic nesters, like many of our winter visitors. They come here because our coastal waters often stay open and their favorite foods are plentiful They will eat seaweeds, especially sea lettuce if their favored eel grass is in short supply. Back in the 1930s when eel grass crashed the brant population crashed along with it but they have steadily been increasing in numbers and are once again flourishing.

And if you are an old school birder, yes, brant used to be spelled brandt ;-)

Watching an owl released to freedom...

A large female great horned owl was hit by a Mack truck on December 31 on Rt. 151 in Falmouth but lived to tell the tale. She was pretty banged up but with the help of the Falmouth Animal Control Officer and Cape Wildlife Center she has been nursed back to health.

Over the last few years the Cape Wildlife Center has teamed up with the Mass Audubon Long Pasture Sanctuary to have a few public releases along with informative natural history programs and each release and program attracts more and more people.

Yesterday Ian Ives of the Long Pasture Sanctuary gave a talk and slide show at the Falmouth Library to a house that was so packed some people got stuck listening to it out in the hall. After the program we drove over to the Ashumet Holly Reservation to watch the owl get released.

The almost full moon had risen above the trees as the van arrived and Dr. Bob carried the container that had the owl in it. By keeping the owl confined in a small, dark space she was able to remain calm and not injure herself by flapping around.

We were asked to stand back and give the owl room and we were also told that the owl could be unpredictable when let out of the box...

Everyone's eyes were on the blue box (in the center) to see what would happen when the box was opened...

She may have been in confinement for a month and a half but this lady knew just what to do....fly away! That's her in the center of the photo....

We were told she might land in a tree to assess her situation and her surroundings but she chose the roof of the house in the distance...

At first she kept her back turned to us but then...

she turned to look at all of us as we all looked at her....

As we left, under the light of the rising moon, my little grandsons skipped along singing, "We saw an owl, we saw an owl...." and I think the rest of us sort of felt the same way. Not only that, we saw an owl that had been rescued and released and her release helped educate people about both wild birds and animals but the efforts if takes to rehabilitate and care for them as well.

The greening of January?

I'm all for greening up stuff. I love green plants and I love green living...

However....something about the warmth and the accompanying plant growth this January just seems wrong...

My strawberries are putting out new leaves and new runners...

Dandelions are popping up in my yard as well...

Tansy is growing...

And maple is budding...

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spring...but this just doesn't feel right to me...

What a weird winter, huh?

To Provincetown and back...

We took the day to drive down Cape and see what we could see....

the sky and the light over Fort Hill and Nauset Marsh were just beautiful...

Coast Guard Beach was incredibly windy but gorgeous...

This little tree on the bluff was pretty wind blown...

 The view from Marconi in Wellfleet was breathtaking...

And by the time we reached Herring Cove in Provincetown the sun was shining...

There was quite a bit of surf but the gulls didn't mind...

At Race Point the wind practically knocked us off our feet...

We got sandblasted a bit but the view was worth it...

What a day!