Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Cape Cod Day 2 - Nauset Marsh (8/13)


On Sunday we decided to try our luck at Nauset Marsh (which is located behind Coast Guard Beach). We tried to time the tides right but when we got there the sea water was just starting to drain. The area was packed with birds though. We spotted several shorebirds (Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Semi-palmated Plovers, Yellowlegs, Dowagers) and all sorts of larger birds (Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets). There were even some Black Ducks enjoying the sunny morning and Common Terns diving for fish.

We continued towards the beach and set up our scope on the bridge right behind the rescue station. When I scanned the small creek opposite of the flats I got a glimpse of a Green Heron. It stood motionless for the longest time before striking the water and coming up with a small fish. I was happy to get at least one good shot of this great bird.

Also while we were enjoying the flats our attention was drawn to a Red-tailed Hawk screaming from above us. After focusing on the hawk for a couple of minutes we noticed a few other raptors soaring much higher up. I couldn't be sure but I thought that these may have been Broad-wing Hawks in migration.

As for butterflies, we did have a few. They were mostly the common ones (Pearl Crescent, Cabbage White, Monarch) but we did find one worn hairstreak that we identified as a Striped.

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