As we have noted, and all Cape Codders know, Spring comes late to our little sand spit in the Atlantic. Looking for spring signs of returning migrants has been one of our most enjoyable pastimes the past couple of years as we patiently wait for the water to warm so we can get back out on the sea. We have ventured into some of the more remote parts of the Cape and recently discovered a treasure in our midst, Barnstable’s Sandy Neck and its adjoining Barnstable Marsh. To fully appreciate this Cape Cod wild wonderland one should commit to hiking out the entire neck…. a round trip commitment of 13 miles! Though quite a walk which also must be timed to account for tidal pools that obstruct the trails at higher tides, the experience is worth it and spectacularly beautiful – by far the “piece de resistance” of Cape Cod trekking.

Tree Swallows jockey for the right to a nesting box and a mate!

Little House on the Neck -100 years old.

Lighthouse and colony of cottages at the point

Entrance to Barnstable Harbor

Mockingbirds followed and fooled us along the trek

At work stalking the Dunlins

Piping Plover feeds at low tide

Multiple lichens create a bed of color

Shots from the "roof" of Sandy Neck

Intrepid trekkers at the 8 mile mark

Dunlins in breeding plumage

Brandts and Dunlins

Double crested cormorants

Brandts

Vernal Pool in spring

Top of the Neck

Chipping Sparrow

Storm crow greets us at the end.

Otter tracks!

Terrapin tracks!

Thursday, May 23 2013 07:00 PM – 08:00 PM $5/M $7/NM

Explorer, photographer, author and Chatham conservationist, John King will share insights into his personal voyage of re-discovery of the coastal and ocean wildlife that spend time each year in the waters off Cape Cod.

If you are curious about the “back story” behind this photograph be sure and come on May 23rd!

High tide in the Mill Pond, Chatham, MA

If you are interested I found the following on her web site…”Tyrone was designed by S. Sturgis Crocker and built by Simms Brothers, Dorchester, Ma. in 1939, to be an offshore  passage maker. She is very ruggedly built, with 1 and 5/8-inch Honduras mahogany screwed to 2 and ½ – inch double sawn oak frames, on 16 inch centers. Garboards are two inches thick. All bronze fastened, her decks are constructed of teak. She carries outside lead ballast. Power is a Cummins 210B diesel. Gross tonnage is 48 tons. Tyrone is 75 feet over all, 60 feet on the deck and 50 feet at the water line. Beam is 15 feet, depth 8’6”, and carries 1805 feet of sail. The schooner has made several trips to Ireland, has sailed to Hawaii, and cruised in Alaska. In 1994, she was awarded “Most Beautiful Boat” at Antigua Race Week.”

And by the way – Pease Boatworks is an absolute Cape Cod treasure. Brad and Mike Pease and their crew are doing the traditional work of building and caring for magnificent wooden boats the way it has been done by master craftsmen for generations. They keep a sacred tradition very much alive in Chatham that is sadly fading from modern memory. We salute them!

Moonlight in the rigging

See the link below for more details or call Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary – 508-349-2615

http://www.massaudubon.org/catalog/listing.php?program_code=1246-WF13SP1

Stunning Common Eider Drake

We are happy to back home on Cape Cod and over the past week have started to get back out in the field to see how the slow warming trends of spring here are signaling the changes and new wild visitors. Here are a few images we captured.

American Widgeon (male) in Ryders Cove

Eastern Bluebird returns! - Chatham

Common Eiders getting up and heading North

Very rare vagrant visits - a King Eider

Male Woodcock set to perform his amazing mating dance at dusk - Long Pasture Sanctuary

Northern Bobwhite pops out after a brief rain shower - Falmouth

Yellow Crowned Night Heron - looking for lunch - Sandwich