Florida Flight Addendum

We also engaged in some other activities besides looking at birds during our most recent trip to Florida.  For example we held some birds, 

 

and visited the smallest post office in the U.S.

Of course, we saw some gators,

 

and some rockets and a space shuttle.  

Finally, a "friend" snapped our photo. 

Florida Flight

Pelican Bay near Naples, FL January, 2014 
(By the way, we observed a green flash during the sunset at Pelican Bay, honest!!  Unfortunately, we were unable to document the flash with a picture.) 

When a polar vortex swirls down out of the Arctic and sweeps across the Cape, some of the less hardy Harwich residents (that's us) flee south.  The temperature on the west coast Florida beach above was 65 F compared with Cape Cod temperatures in the single digits.  Contrast the view of the winter beach at Pelican Bay above with that of the Chatham beach below. 

Morris Island, MA December, 2013

 We spent a couple of weeks touring Florida, staying with some gracious and very generous friends (Thanks so much!).  Florida has some great parks, refuges and preserves to which all kinds of birds flock, including snow birds like us.  The variety of species is impressive.  A sampling is shown below. 

Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge   

Tricolored Heron

White Ibis

American Avocet

Roseate Spoonbill

 

Big Cypress Swamp Boardwalk

Juvenile White Ibis

Bald Eagle

 

Turner River Driving Loop

Green Heron

Anhinga

 

Pelican Bay Beach

Sanderling or Western Sandpiper (You tell me?)

Osprey

Osprey enlarged

 

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildlife Refuge

A National Wildlife Refuge is, well just that, a refuge for wild flora and fauna to thrive without the worry of being hassled by "civilization."  The Monomoy NWR is a series of narrow sand islands dripping south from the elbow of Cape Cod.  The refuge extends almost 15 km separating the Atlantic Ocean to the east from Nantucket Sound to the west.  The NWR headquarters sits on Morris Island at the north end of the refuge.  The island is connected to the mainland near the Chatham lighthouse via a causeway.  40 acres of NWR protected beach and scrub forest extend along the southern edge of the island.

During my first visit to the NWR on Morris Island I was impressed with the beauty and the remoteness of the area.  Descending from the headquarters, I walked along a stabilized slope for a few hundred yards and soon was mesmerized by a beautiful mixture of beach and grass extending to the west toward the Sound.  Here I loitered for a long while enjoying the solitude, enveloped by the magical Cape light, listening to the harsh calls of the gulls.  An annoyed hawk rose in front of me and glided away over the quiet slopes of sand.   

 

 

I have since returned to the Morris Island beach numerous times to search for beached birds as a volunteer for SeaNet, an organization that monitors the number of dead birds on beaches from Maine to Florida.  The beach remains beautiful in my mind but seems no longer remote for it is within easy access from the village of Chatham across the causeway and is extremely popular for residents and tourists alike.  The area is truly spectacular and is understandably attractive to the public. 

 

However, this beach hardly seems a refuge for wildlife.  Humans frequent this beach far more often than most other wildlife.  I have met many individuals and numerous groups during my beached bird patrols, including fishermen and clam diggers.  Perhaps the Monomoy Islands to the south are managed more rigorously as a refuge for nonhuman life but here we are encroaching on wilderness to enable humans to have an enjoyable outdoor experience.  Those who search for beached birds also have an effect on wildlife.  I guess we are doing the best we can to balance human needs versus providing refuge for our wild neighbors of the earth, or are we??

    





Winter Storm

A winter storm hit the Cape last night with blizzard conditions continuing through this morning.  About 12 inches of snow fell but was blown into enormous drifts by 40 mph winds.  The winds are much higher here on the exposed Cape compared with the sheltered Hudson Valley.  This is a view of our neighbors home across the street.   

The snow has drifted high against our sliding doors out to the deck.  The drifts are equally high in front of our garage door.  Clearing snow will be the afternoon job but will be no picnic as the winds are predicted to be sustained between 30 and 40 mph until nightfall. 

 

 

The day will be spent in front of the fireplace.

Hopefully, electricity supply will not be lost.