Category Archives: Cape Ann Wildlife

Fisher Bounding though the Snow

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Lightening in a Bottle x 2 – A second unforeseen and wildly magical encounter with a Fisher!

On a recent evening at dusk, I was walking back to my parked car when a swiftly moving dark shape crossed my path. We had an eye to eye moment before he went bounding off across the snowy landscape.

Note how the Fisher leaps with great power, yet appears to stay on top of the snowpack. Fishers have highly specialized feet that are well adapted to snow. Their five-toed feet are large, distributing the weight evenly, and the soles of the feet are covered in fur; both adaptions creating a “snowshoe effect.”  Anther very cool fact about Fishers is that their ankle joints can rotate nearly 180 degrees, which allows them to descend trees head first, a very rare trait among mammals.

I believe he is a male because he was so large and his fur appears somewhat coarse. The females are smaller, with glossier fur.

Here is another video of a Fisher that I filmed several years ago, where you can see him descending the trees head first:

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE – AN UP CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A FISHER!

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!, ¡Feliz San Valentin!, Bonne Saint-Valentin!

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This morning while at a local shop I was greeted in the most lovely manner, with ¡Feliz San Valentin! So here is my annual Plover Valentines but this year in English, Spanish, and French. Thank you Elizabeth for the Spanish Valentine’s wishes!​

Piping Plovers (like a great many shorebirds) are a link that binds the Americas, especially in our shared goals of protecting this very vulnerable species. Piping Plovers winter over in the Caribbean and along both the Gulf of Mexico and lower Atlantic United States. They breed in the mid- and northern Atlantic states and maritime provinces of Canada, as well as the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions.

The photos are of the sweetest Plover family that miraculously hatched from a nest smack dab midway in the sand of a popular urban beach, with absolutely no camouflaging vegetation, stones, shells, no nothing!  This very vulnerable nest of three made it through to hatch day and all three chicks went on to thrive and eventually fledge. Miracles do happen <3

Plover chicks begin walking within hours after hatching but they are adorably klutzy for the first day or so, with many face plants, tumbles, and stumbles as they are learning to navigate the varied terrain. The chicks hatched on a boiling hot day and the very excellent Dad you see here was protectively trying to help the chick up on its feet and push back under his wing to shield from the midday sun.

 

Swan Alert!

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What an uplifting few moments to catch sight of this beautiful young Mute Swan. I believe he is a male because of the good-sized blackberry, or black protuberance, on his upper bill.

It’s been many years since Gloucester and Rockport have had a pair of Swans breeding at our local ponds and frequenting the waterways. Our dear Mr. Swan, a beautiful and rare blue-eyed Swan, passed away in 2019. He had survived two mates and was at least 29 years old at the time of his passing, a simply extraordinary age for a Mute Swan not held in captivity

Let’s everyone keep an eye out for the well being of our visitor. Winter is very tough on young Mute Swans. At this time of year, their parents are often pushing them out of their home territory as they prepare to nest and raise the next generation. Mute Swans don’t migrate however, they do move around from body of water to body of water within a region, especially during the winter.

The Swan has a deformed left foot but that did not prevent him from using his foot to preen and to take off on the ice, which is not easy for any large-bodied bird, injured or not. With his distinct foot we may be able to track him if he is still in the area. I saw him in the morning and my friend Carlos later in the day but he was not at Nile’s by nightfall. Please email or leave a comment in the comment section and let us know if you see him. Thank you! kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com

Looking to 2026

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Dear Friends,

I hope you are finding renewed hope in the new year.  As we turn the page away from 2025, one thought burns so brightly in my mind and that is to Power On. We’re all in this together and as we become united, we will be empowered to right the wrongs.

This last photo of 2025​, from the 31st, is​ of a Wild Turkey taken in the Wolf Moon a few days before it was completely full. Charlotte and I watched in wonderment as the turkeys took flight at twilight. It takes a good amount of energy for their ungainly bodies to become aloft and ​turkey flying comes with much noisy whooshing and vigorous wing flapping. They sleep in trees for protection from mammalian predators and even young poults learn to fly and roost on low branches, at the ​very tender age of only a week or two.

I have been meaning to share this video of Gray Seals singing. For about ten years or so I have been watching the growing population of seals at Brace Cove, which isn’t really very long in the grand scheme of things. When I first began to notice the congregation there, it seemed as though it was all Harbor Seals. More and more Gray Seals seem to be coming each year. One day in November I counted 14 Gray Seals hanging out together in the water, not on the rocks. Another day, there were 34 all told, both Harbor and Gray, in the water and on the rocks. There possibly may have been many more as they move around the cove and are often emerging from underwater.

The first clips are of a chorus of Gray Seal bull songsters; the last two clips happened several days later when two were behaving very affectionately towards one another. Notice how the more active the males became, the more anxious the small seal in the center of it all became before giving up its spot on the rock. Turn up the volume to hear the full chorus! Gray Seal mating season is happening now and the singing can be either amorous or territorial. Mating takes place underwater but I wonder if the clips where they are behaving affectionately is a form of courtship. Everything I have read states mating is violent but watching the seals playfully rub each other and dive together for fifteen plus minutes makes me think perhaps there is another side to Gray Seal breeding.

Power On Friends,

xxKim

 

Wild Turkey in the Wolf Moon

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Last photos of 2025 –  Just as i was readying to return home after a twilight walk, the local turkeys began migrating up into the trees for their nightly rest.

Spellbinding Woods Walk with a Young Buck

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Walking through a semi-wooded area I came upon a buck that seemed wholly unbothered by my presence. So much so, that he stopped at various points to snuffle through the fallen leaves, reach for branches, and relieve himself. As I crossed the road, so did he, and when I paused to film, he wasn’t spooked. We came to a clearing where another person was approaching. All too soon the enchanted spell was broken and he picked up his gait. I didn’t hurry after him as I didn’t want to break his trust and just watched in wonderment as he loped away.

 

I wonder if he’s the same buck that I filmed in early spring and then again in summer? Here he is with new antler nublets, and later with velvety fuzzy antlers growing in.  I read no two deer antlers are alike, similar to human fingerprints. In the photo below, the buck’s first set of tines are similar to the buck’s tines in the film; the right tine is straighter than the left tine.

Composition by Reynaldo Hahn • “Danse pour une déesse, pour flûte et piano.” Recorded by Jean-Pierre Rampal and Francoise Bonnet form the Internet Archive of Royalty Free Music.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours <3

I am thankful for your friendship and for your support of our film projects, Beauty on the Wing and The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. Both films are continuing to do well and were only made possible because of your generosity and kind support. A most heartfelt thank you!

I may have but don’t think I did, shared this clip of a late hatched Turkey poult. Watch how Mom patiently waits for her poult to take a tiny seed from her mouth. Turkeys are so outwardly cumbrous but have such tender tendencies towards their young.

Happy Thanksgiving!
xxKim

 

The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay comes to Canada x 2

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Dear PiPl Friends,

I am delighted to share two good things. The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay has been accepted to the Brampton Canada International Film Festival, which is a relatively new festival based in Ontario, and we are having a film screening in December at the City Cinema, sponsored by the Island Nature Trust, which is located at Prince Edward Island. We love our neighbors to the north and I am deeply honored. Thank you BCIFF and Island Nature Trust. We are so very grateful for the opportunity to share our documentary with Canadians.

Recently I attended a great talk given by the entomologist and conservationist Doug Tallamy, which was sponsored by a fantastic local organization, 400 Trees Gloucester and hosted by the Annisquam Village Church.  Please read more about local efforts to grow native here.

Winged wonders continue to migrate across our shores, with Little Blue Herons the most recently departed. I posted photos of LBHerons and Snowy Egrets, along with a short video of a dragonfly run-in with a Little Blue here.Monarch Butterflies and native wildflower Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)

We had another wave of migrating Super Monarchs, the third this season however, the wind conditions have kept the butterflies moving and that is why we are not seeing many in our gardens during this year’s migration. Continue to keep on the lookout. Goldenrods are winding down their blooming period but asters, especially New England Asters and Smooth Asters, are still flowering.

Please continue to share what creatures you are seeing in your neighborhoods. Thank you 🙂 This morning I saw a tiny little member of the weasel family, a Short-tailed Weasel, also called an Ermine or a Stout. She was only about six inches in length, with chocolate brown fur and a bright white belly. She was so fast and darted between rocks before I could take a photo, but we did have a few seconds of startled eye to eye contact. Just adorable!

Thinking about Jane Goodall – her beautiful, thoughtful spirit and the extraordinary gift she left, inspiring all to protect our planet.

xxKim

Gombe, Tanzania – Jane Goodall and infant chimpanzee reach out to touch each other’s hands. (National Geographic Creative/ Hugo Van Lawick)

Which Bird is the Little Blue Heron?

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Can you tell which photo is of a Little Blue Heron?

If you thought all three images are Little Blue Herons, you are correct!

Friends often tell me about the “egrets” they are seeing at our local ponds. You would think yes, a small white heron is a Snowy Egret but look more closely.  Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Herons are about the same size but a quick way to differentiate the two is that Snowy Egrets  sport unmistakeable bright cadmium yellow feet whereas the legs and feet of a first hatch year Little Blue Heron are an even yellowish-grayish-greenish. Snowy Egrets also have yellow lores at the base of their bills that the Little Blues lack (see gallery at the bottom of the page).

In the gallery at the top of the page, the white bird is a first hatch year Little Blue; the calico patterned bird is a second year Little Blue transitioning from white to blue plumage; and the last photo is the adult Little Blue Heron with its body feathers a beautiful deep slate blue and neck feathers a rich magenta. Although the adult plumages of both birds are entirely different, the two species are closely related members of the genus Egretta.

 

You can also tell the difference by how the herons forage. Little Blues when feeding at our local ponds hunt in a stealthy manner. They stride slowly through the mud and hold very still, then strike swiftly for the fish, frog, dragonfly, or other insect. Little Blue Herons have another method of foraging called “aerial hunting.” The LBH flies out over the water looking for frogs. It will hover briefly overhead before plunging into the water to grab its prey.

Snowy Egrets appear much more excited when hunting. They animatedly run back and forth, and with their bright yellow feet, stir up the sand and mud to flush out prey. This hunting strategy is called “foot stirring.”

Watch as the Little Blue Heron gets an easy meal when the dragonfly perches on its leg!

A gallery of Snowy Egrets to compare the differences.

 

 

Homegrown National Parks Coming to Cape Ann!

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What are Homegrown National Parks?   HNP is an exciting movement that raises awareness and urgently inspires EVERYONE to address the biodiversity crisis. How can we as individuals and organizations do this? By adding native plants and removing invasives where we live, work, learn, pray, and play.

We all know that wildlife populations are crashing the world over. The statistics are staggering, with approximately one-third of our breeding birds lost since 1970, or about 3 billion birds, and 40 percent of our insects (bird food!) in the past 40 years. HNP is showing people how we can address this crisis, backyard by backyard.

Sunday evening, Doug Tallamy, the esteemed entomologist, author, and co-founder of Homegrown National Parks, presented “The Power of Plants.” The event was hosted by 400 Trees and the Annisquam Village Church, and was followed the next morning by an informal idea-sharing discussion at our newly renovated gorgeous library. The presentation was rich with imagery and case studies of what can be accomplished in our own backyards, from teeny urban lots to suburban homes to substantial acreage. The group discussion was especially thoughtful and interesting, providing a wonderful opportunity to meet people in our community with similar interests, missions, and goals, Many, many thanks to Peter Lawrence and Sara Remsen for organizing the Tallamy talk and discussion.

Visit the Homegrown National Parks website. It is overflowing with super helpful information to get you started on your native plants journey. You can also listen to several of his excellent talks right there on the website. I have been teaching people how to grow pollinator gardens and documenting the wildlife supported by native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and ground covers for over twenty years now. Not a day goes by where I don’t observe and learn some new, vital and fascinating information about the beautiful ecosystems created in a native plant’s habitat. When you plant native they will come!

Join the Movement Now!

1. Plant Native

2. Remove Invasives

3. Get on the Map

Where Shall We Start?

Images courtesy Doug Tallamy “The Power of Plants”

Identify the most productive plants. How to find native plants keystone species –

Native Plant Finder from the National Wildlife Federation: go to the following website and type in your zip code for an extensive list of highly valuable native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and ground covers specifically beneficial to wildlife in your region. https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/

I was listening to Doug’s talk via Zoom in my office, which is also Charlotte’s art room. Charlotte is illustrating a book she is working on, all about the history of Gloucester’s monsters. It’s very imaginative and even includes mini side bars of illustrations of the eggs unique to each monster, along with the monster’s baby pictures (Nessie is well-represented). She was also enjoying glancing over at all the fascinating caterpillar images in Doug’s slideshow, when she overheard the expression ‘keystone species.’ She commented, “just like oysters are a keystone species for the ocean.” We had been to the Seacoast Science Center a week earlier where she had learned about the importance of keystone species in an ecosystem. I just thought how wonderful for her to connect the two and how much like mental sponges are these beautiful curious-minded children of the up and coming generation. I surely never learned at eight years old what a keystone species is, but how easy it was for her to understand the concept. If for no other reason, our beautiful children, and our children’s children, are why we simply can not leave to them a barren, diversity-less world.

 

WINGED WODERFUL WHIMBRELS!

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For over a week an elusive pair of Whimbrels was foraging along our rocky shores. They were fattening up for the next leg of their journey. About half of the eastern population of Whimbrels is thought to stop next at Deveaux Bank in South Carolina. This special place was only discovered in 2019 when Felicia Sanders, a biologist working for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, happened to witness masses arriving after sunset. You can read more about Whimbrels at Deveaux Bank Here.

Like many, many shorebird species the world over, the Whimbrel population is in decline. More than 50 percent of the population has been lost in the past fifty years. Cape Ann’s many beaches, both public and the more undisturbed locales, offer refueling stations for these winged wonders. Our community is so very blessed to experience a window into their travels and is only made possible because we are providing safe places for the birds to rest and to forage.

Whimbrels are a member of the Curlew family of shorebirds. They are elegant  and large with long, decurved bills, perfect for probing deeply into the sand to extract invertebrates. This is only the third time I have seen Whimbrels on Cape Ann, all three during the autumn migration; once at Good Harbor and twice at Brace Cove.  The birds are returning from their breeding grounds in the subarctic and alpine tundra.

When I was visiting our daughter in Los Angeles this past winter we were delighted to see several Whimbrels foraging along the Central Coast.

Winged Wonders Migration – Yellowlegs Coming Ashore

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We see Yellowlegs at our local waterways during both the spring and summer migration. Yellowlegs are fairly easy to identify when foraging, with their purposeful gait and bright yellow legs however, are these Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs? I think Greater because I heard their penetrating call from overhead  but if you know differently, please write 🙂

Winged Wonders Migration!

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The great North to Central to South American magnificent southward migration of wildlife is fully underway. These beautiful creatures do not see borders, religion, nor ethnicities and bind us together in myriad meaningful ways. As birds are taking to the skies by the hundreds of thousands, we are seeing the beginnings of the Monarch migration as well. During these first weeks of September local meadows and gardens are  graced with newly emerged Monarchs. At this time of year, these recently eclosed butterflies are nicknamed the “Super” Monarchs.

You can see the above Monarch has just emerged from his chrysalis as his wing cells are still a bit crumpled. 

A tell tale sign of a male Super Monarch, also called a Methuselah Monarch, is that they are not at all interested in finding a mate. A male Monarch that is not migrating stops only briefly to nectar. For the most part he ceaselessly patrols the milkweed looking for a female and chases away any other winged pollinator. He has evolved with the main objective of reproducing; whereas a Methuselah Monarch takes its time sucking up nectar and is very tolerant of other butterflies it encounters.

Methuselah Monarchs emerge in a state of sexual immaturity, called diapause. They evolved to drink lots and lots of nectar to build their fat reserves for the long journey south and to sustain them through the winter. This super generation of Monarchs are oftentimes larger but will lose some of their body weight by the time they reach the trans-Mexican volcanic forests

The Monarchs rest through the winter, then will break diapause next spring when they begin their journey north.

To help all of our winged friends during the spectacular southward migration please remember Lights Out for Birds

To learn more about the magnificent Monarch migration see our documentary Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly streaming on PBS Passport. To arrange a screening and QandA for your organization, please contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com or leave a comment in the comment section.

I hope you enjoy these last glowing days of summer,

xxKim

Female (left) and male Monarch Butterflies, Stone Harbor Point NJ

Piping Plover August Update

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Dear PiPl Friends,

The anticipated update for the 2025 season with these most beautiful and most vulnerable of mini beach friends I feel is finally ‘safe’ to write. I only write safe because we try very hard to find a balance between sharing information to help create an awareness about the Plovers and also not bringing too much attention to the nesting birds.

First off I would like to thank our outstanding crew of kind-hearted volunteers, especially our core group who sign up for shifts that are an hour or longer and come everyday. This summer we had a very extended season with the chicks (more about that below) yet despite that, they stuck it out to the very end. Thank you to Jennie Meyer, Paula and Alexa Niziak, Kim Bouris, Steve Spina, Sandy Barry, Deborah Brown, Barbara Boudreau, Jill Ortiz, and Marty Coleman. We’d also like to thank our subs Heidi, Velia, Sally, and Jonathan.

If you see these kind and caring people around town, please thank them for their dedicated wildlife conservation work that they do so graciously and so tirelessly.

Thank you to Lyra Brennan, Rose Caplan, Jamie Infanti, and all our Audubon partners. We saw a great deal of Emma this summer and she is wonderful, staying extra long hours in the summer’s heat to watch over the chicks. Audubon does such great work and are responsible for not only Good Harbor Beach, but many other shorebird nesting areas all along the Massachusetts coastline. We appreciate their thoughtful and action oriented responses so much, especially  when it comes to some of the more serious issues that arise over the course of the season. With thanks and gratitude to Lyra, Rose, Jamie, Will, Emma, Charles, and Claudia.

Thank you also to Gloucester’s  Joe Lucido, Tom Nolan, and the entire DPW Crew. These guys are amazing and are always working so hard to make our beaches safe and presentable. Despite the double load imposed on the Crew (because of the additional work they are doing during the garbage strike), they are ever present and so very much appreciated.

DPW Crew setting the roping in place n March

We’d also like to thank several gentlemen who are at GHB nearly every single morning, starting in the spring. While most beach visitors are still sleeping, these gentlemen voluntarily pick up the plethora of garbage found littering the beach leftover from the previous day. They ensure our beaches look pristine by the time the gate opens at 8am. Chris Cefalo, his brother Fred, Michael Cook (and there is a fourth gentleman whose name I don’t know), work tirelessly cleaning the beach, from the tiniest bits of plastic to hauling off the larger items like chairs, tables, umbrellas, and tents. If you see these gentlemen around town, please thank them for the good work they do.

And a huge shout out to all the many, many beachgoers who express interest in the Plovers, want to learn more, give the chicks lots of space, and respect the cordoned off areas.

Piping Plover Smooshies

One of the many gifts we receive as Plover Ambassadors is watching tiny baby birds the size  marshmallows develop into beautiful little flyers. The clips are of Fierce Dad and FairFeathered Mom’s offspring; the first clip is of two-day-old hatchlings, the second clip is of two-week-old chicks, and the last clips of the three- and a half-week-old chick.  When Plovers hatch they can feed themselves entirely independent of the parent however, they need to thermoregulate to keep warm (otherwise known as thermo-snuggles and smooshies). The birds instinctively know to tuck under Mom and Dad’s wing to keep warm.

The 2025 Piping Plover Season at Good Harbor Beach

The season started phenomenally well, with the earliest arrival ever of Super Dad and our footless Handicapped Mom. Fierce Dad also arrived on the very same day as this original pair. It is always a much anticipated and joyful moment when we begin to see the first Plovers returning, especially Super Mom and Dad. This resilient little pair are at least 11 years old. We know this because they began nesting at Good Harbor Beach in 2016 and Plovers have to be at least one year old before they can begin breeding. Each year its become more and more tenuous as to whether or not we will see the return of our wonderful original pair. Plovers only live on average 3 to 5 years and this pair, at 11 years young, are quite a respectable age for their species.

Piping Plover Courtship

Fierce Dad and Original Dad spent a good part of the first few weeks in competition for territory and for Super Mom, with Fierce Dad even putting the moves on Mom several times. At one point we had nine Plovers, and four were nesting pairs, the most ever! There were lots of territorial disputes, some ending in serious smackdowns but for the most part, the birds began to settle in to brood their eggs.Piping Plovers Mating

Original Mom and Dad’s clutch was nearing hatch date when on May 22nd, the coast of Massachusetts was walloped by a late season nor’easter. The tide rose higher than we have ever seen in late May and three of the four nests were washed away. As devastating as that was, it was a joy to find one remaining nest, the young parents that are a new pair to Good Harbor Beach. From their nest of three eggs, two chicks hatched.

Over time original Mom and Dad attempted to re-nest.  After a brief recovery period, Mom laid a new clutch of three eggs. However, this second clutch of eggs was predated by a Crow. As the season progresses there are more and more Crows and gulls scavenging the beach, seeking garbage left behind by people. We know it was a Crow from the tracks found around the nest.

Remarkably Mom and Dad laid four more eggs, a grand three clutches, 11 eggs in total. Once again, the eggs were snatched and Crow tracks were found encircling the nest scrape.  Our Handicapped Mom left shortly after the third nest was lost. Super Dad hung on for a bit longer but he too departed. All was not lost as the one remaining chick from the young parents grew and developed into a lovely, albeit super chunky, fledgling and has begun its southward migration. Note – we love super chunky fledglings. They’ll have lots of stored fat reserves to get them through their first migration.

FairFeathered Mom and one-day-old hatchling

Today we still have one almost-fledged chick remaining at Good Harbor Beach. This little chunkola is Fierce Dad and FairFeathered Mom’s offspring, from their re-nest.  Because the eggs hatched so late in the season and the females usually begin migrating before the males, FairFeathered Mom left when her chick was only five days old, leaving Fierce Dad to raise the chick solo. Fierce Dad has lived up to his name, fighting off every gull, crow and even other shorebirds that dare to come within 100 yards of his offspring. He is still parenting the chick who is quite independent at this point. Nonetheless, the almost fledged chick still goes in for snuggles and smooshies and relies on Dad to keep the gulls at bay.

Along with a great bounty of seaweed washed in with the late May nor’easter, the seaweed was littered with zillions of pieces of small yellow and green plastic

Just as has happened at GHB this summer, nests were washed out along the entire coastline of Massachusetts. With many pairs re-nesting, the conservation biologists from every Mass coastal region saw much lower productivity with these second nests, and in some cases (Super Mom and Dad), third nests.  What does low-productivity mean? Not as many eggs were laid and of the eggs that were laid, fewer than usual hatched. So, for example a second clutch with only three eggs, only one or two of the eggs may hatch.  And all coastal areas across the region experienced higher than usual heavy predation by Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Crows, and Eastern Coyotes. My own theory for that is because when chicks hatch in May for example there are far fewer flocks of seagulls on the beach. But when chicks hatch in July and August, Crows, Gulls, and Coyotes are acclimated to finding free food, i.e. garbage, at the beach, which leads to greater interest in shorebird eggs and chicks. Also at this later time in the summer, there are thousands of hungry fledglings on beaches begging their parents for food.

We are hopeful that next year we won’t have another late, late nor’easter and all the pairs that attempted to nest at GHB this season will return and try again. If you would like to join our volunteer team of Plover Ambassadors, please contact me either by leaving a comment or emailing me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. We would love to have you!

If you would like to learn more about how we can all help protect shorebird wildlife and their habitats, please watch our film The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. Our documentary is streaming on the PBS Passport AP anytime you would like to watch it. Everyone can become a member of PBS Passport by donating to PBS. It’s so worthwhile, especially for young children with curious minds.  What other streaming service can you get for $5.00 a month!!

If you are interested, please click here to read a recent PSA about why dogs are not permitted on beaches during the summer.

 

 

 

 

Massachusetts is Leading the Way in Piping Plover Recovery – Outstanding Coastal Waterbird Cooperators’ Meeting!

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Carolyn Mostello, the Massachusetts Coastal Waterbird Biologist

Last week I has the opportunity to attend the Massachusetts Coastal Waterbird Cooperators’ Meeting. The meeting is held annually to bring together people and organizations that are involved with population monitoring and conservation efforts on behalf of coastal waterbirds.

Representatives from the seven Massachusetts coastal regions gather to share information, anecdotes, and data collected throughout the season. This year the meeting was held at Audubon’s stunning Barnstable Great Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary; hosted by Audubon staff and Carolyn Mostello, the Massachusetts Coastal Waterbird Biologist.

American Oystercatcher chicks

Threatened and endangered species such as Least Terns, Piping Plovers, Roseate Terns, and American Oystercatchers are given the greatest attention.

It’s fascinating to learn how we are all sharing similar experiences including egg predation by Crows, gulls, and Coyotes, disturbances of all shapes and kinds, low egg hatching, and storm washouts. Carolyn directs the event and she does an extraordinary job of weaving all the information together.

Reporting population numbers is followed by “Strange and Unusual,” a super fun section where field agents share funny/odd occurrences, photos, and videos. A special tribute was given to honor Shiloh Schulte, who perished in a tragic helicopter crash while studying shorebirds in Alaska. Shiloh Shulte was a beloved friend and mentor to shorebird conservationists every where and one of the  coordinators for the American Oystercatcher Recovery Program. You can read more about Shiloh and his work HERE.

The afternoon programs are especially interesting with presenters sharing experiments, projects, and best practices, including two of special interest to our region; one on launching in-depth data collection on fireworks, and best practice for engaging with landowners. All the programs are wonderfully educational.

Handicapped Mom and Super Dad’s second attempt at nesting

Despite an extremely challenging year, largely due to the fact that most of the nests around the State were washed out in a late spring storm, perhaps the most outstanding take-away is that this year again, Massachusetts is at the leading edge edge of Piping Plover recovery.  We should be super proud of our state. While many regions are seeing very little, none, or even worse, declining numbers, Massachusetts is leading the way in Piping Plover recovery!

 

 

Piping Plovers at the New Hope Film Festival!

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Dear PiPl Friends,

I hope you are having a lovely summer. I am so looking forward to these last three weeks of August and then we go into the wonderfully atmospheric months of September and October. Is there anywhere in the north Atlantic region where these months aren’t sublime?

I have held off on writing about PiPls all summer because we have had some very late season nesters. I’ll share an extensive report about the Plovers when I feel its safe for them and they are well on their way to fledging. In the meantime, I am very delighted to write that our Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay has been accepted to the New Hope Film Festival and is screening on Monday, August 18th at 6:00pm. We are sharing the billing with another animal welfare documentary, The Ramba Effect, about an Asian Elephant and her 2,550 mile journey to her new home at an elephant sanctuary. If you are in the New Hope area and would like to see The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay and The Rhamba Effect, please go here: https://www.goelevent.com/NewHopeFilmFestival/e/AnimalWelfareDocumentaries

For the NHFF official program guide, please go here: https://online.flippingbook.com/view/102134961/

We also have all new Plover Lover T-shirts in all sizes and a great color, a sort of light sea green. For fans of West Coast Snowy Plovers, these chicks could easily pass for Snowy Plovers too.  Please let me know if you like the new color. They are a beautiful quality, all cotton, unisex sizing from xs to xl. The Tees are 30.00 plus 5. shipping.

We have had some adorable “Butterballs” on the beach this summer. I define a Butterball as a fledgling that is so pudgy it looks nearly as big, if not bigger, than its parent and barely seems as though it can become airborne. Rest assured these Butterballs do fly, eventually <3

Common Tern fledgling squawking to parent, “Feed Me, Feed Me, I’m Starving!”

Happy Summer,
xxKim

Happy Summer Solstice

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Not the post I planned for this longest of days but it was just so beautiful watching three bucks foraging in the marsh this morning I had to share. Don’t you love their big brown soulful eyes and fuzzy antlers? Happy Solstice <3

Here is an image of one of them, no idea which, from the spring. Note the antler buds beginning to grow in.

Common Eider Crèche

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The ducklings just kept coming and coming! Moms, aunties, grandmoms, and sisters raise Common Eider ducklings in large communal nurseries called crèches. This crèche of Common Eiders was feeding at Good Harbor Beach on the abundant seaweed brought in by the recent nor’easter.

Common Eider male, duckling, and female

Hilary Frye, Extraordinary Duckling Rescuer!  The Common Eider ducklings in the photos above are a pair that Hilary Frye and I rescued several years back. With soooo many ducklings in a crèche, it’s easy for ducklings to become separated from their family. But, as I learned from Hilary, the adults aren’t too fussy about taking in a few more!

Glossy Ibis Catches a Frog!

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I was amazed to watch a Glossy Ibis capture a large Bullfrog and had just assumed they were foraging on insects and other small invertebrates when probing about in fields. Subsequently I have learned that they eat a remarkable variety of food including leeches, earthworms, marine worms, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, many species of beetles, soldierflies, crabs, shrimp, crayfish, mollusks, snails, fish, frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, snakes, lizards, and grains such as rice and sorghum.

Airborne Ibis!

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What an unexpected gift to come across a very large flock of the gregarious Glossy Ibis foraging in a local field, then taking flight in unison. Glossy Ibis are found throughout the world and their population on Cape Ann has grown noticeably. According to Cornell, the North American population increased an estimated 4.25 percent between 1966 and 2015.

I think I captured one catching a frog! and will surely try to make time to post the footage.

Huge Shout Out to the Gloucester High School Gender Equity in STEM Club!!

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Early this week I had the absolute joy of presenting The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay to the Gender Equity in STEM Club at GHS. The students were amazing! The film is an hour long and despite the fact that the program was held after school and after a long day of classes and activities, they were fully engaged and asked many astute questions during the QandA following the screening.  Student advisors to the Club, GHS biology teacher Eric Leigh and coordinator Roseann Vidal are a pleasure to work with. Thank you to the students and advisors for making the screening of The PPOMB a very rewarding experience for this filmmaker!

With deep gratitude to Applied Materials, who, along with the Gloucester Educational Foundation, supports the Gender Equity in STEM Club. The presentation of The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay was also funded by a generous grant from Applied Materials.

To learn more about the Gender Equity in STEM Club, read the following article by Gloucester High student, Ruby McElhenny.

The Gender Equity in STEM Club: Why it matters

Happy Mom’s Day!

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms, Aunties, Grandmoms, Sisters, Friends, and Dads who are Mom’s, too. Thank you for being you <3 Wishing you joy and happiness on this sunniest of Mother’s Day. xoKim

Our Good Harbor Beach footless Super Mom

One of ten clutches of eggs that Super Mom has laid at GHB since she and her mate first arrived in 2016.

In 2021, Super Mom’s right foot became very tightly wound with seaweed and fishing line. The following year, she returned to Good Harbor Beach footless. Yet despite that, her handicap does not prevent her from doing all the usual things Plovers do daily.

Piping Plovers, and many species of shorebirds, have a foot tamping technique, where they rapidly shake their feet in the sand to stir up invertebrates. Also called foot trembling, the action brings invertebrates to the surface where the Plover sees and catches the prey. Watch how Super Mom expertly forages for tiny mollusks and in this case, appears not hindered by her missing foot. Not all is great for our footless Mom, though. Occasionally I see her legs become very tired and she does a series of spazzy movements across the sand, as though she is having some sort of leg cramping going on.

The first clip is in slow motion so that you can see the technique; the second clip is in real time.

 

King Eider Mussel Diver!

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The grand, and rarely seen on Cape Ann, King Eider, has been spotted for several weeks foraging in Essex alongside a raft of Common Eiders. It was too windy for my camera to capture a beautiful still close-up, but here you can see him diving for mussels at Conomo Point. The more typically seen male Common Eider, behind the King Eider in the footage, is also foraging for mussels.  Amazingly, eiders swallow mussels whole! They have super strong gizzards that can digest the mussels, shell and all.

 

Important Information for Cape Ann Wildlife Supporters!

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Do you want to help rid our community of rat poison, specifically SGARS, which is the rat poison attributed to killing our local hawks, eagles, owls, and falcons? Please attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aril 8th, and read the following from Caroline Haines, founder of the organization Rescue Gloucester Wildlife.

Dear Rescue Gloucester Wildlife supporters,

 

There is good news regarding our efforts to eliminate or reduce the use of SGARS (second-generation anti-coagulant rodenticides) in Gloucester. The Gloucester City Council will consider a proposed ordinance to ban the use of rodenticides on city owned property.  It is scheduled for a Public Hearing at the next council meeting on Tuesday April 8th at City Hall. The meeting begins at 6, but the agenda is lengthy, and the ordinance is not early on the agenda. Advocates will have three minutes to speak about the proposal.  I will be speaking, and I plan to prepare ahead so that I can get all of my points squeezed in, in the allotted time. I hope that many of you will consider giving heartfelt testimony, too. If you are not able to attend, sending an email or making a call to a councilor is another way you can make an impact. There is a lot of support on the council itself, but the more they hear from us, the better. Councilors Gilman, Gross, Grace, Nolan, and Benson have been very encouraging and helpful. And Councilor Worthley put the motion forward. 

 

Currently the proposed ordinance is being reviewed by the city’s legal department and some technical language is being revised.  There is a caveat in subsection (d) that allows that “the Director of Public Works may choose, after determining that less toxic integrated pest management strategies would be or are ineffective, to use SGARS for the period of time he/she deems necessary. The only requirement is that he/she share this information publicly as well as directly with the Mayor and the City Council.”   This is somewhat concerning. I would prefer a clear time limit on the temporary use of SGARS and I don’t like the “would be” language, which seems to imply that the DPW doesn’t have to try integrated pest management first, before resorting to rodenticide use. If this concerns you, too, please speak up about it, or email your councilor. Council email addresses are simply first initial, last name @gloucester-ma.gov  (i.e., tgross@gloucester-ma.gov).

 

Council Chair Tony Gross has promised to keep me posted if the proposed ordinance is rescheduled for any reason.  I will post on our Rescue Gloucester Wildlife Facebook page if this should happen. Otherwise, I hope to see some of you at the Council meeting on April 8th.  Thank you all for interest and efforts in eliminating these destructive poisons from our environment.

 

Onward,
Caroline Haines

American Kestrel Beauty!

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Raptors are on the move, including the exquisite American Kestrel. I typically find these pint-sized falcons perched on sparse trees above low growing vegetation, scanning the landscape for their next meal. Kestrels eat a wide variety of invertebrates – mostly grasshoppers, beetles, cicadas, dragonflies, scorpions, spiders, butterflies, and moths. They also eat voles, mice, shrews, bats, small songbirds, snakes, and lizards.

From a distance, this male Kestrel I thought was at first a Mourning Dove, though possibly not. I took several snapshots before realizing my exposure setting was still set for filming creatures in dark foliage. He flew away as I was adjusting the exposure. The photo is very overexposed, nonetheless, I like how brilliant his feather patterning and colors show in the image.

Tip – The American Kestrel is the smallest and most common falcon found in North America however, the population has declined by 50 percent. The primary reasons are loss of habitat and pesticides. You can help these North American beauties by leaving dead trees standing where ever possible. Kestrels nest in natural tree cavities and nests excavated by other tree cavity nesters. They will also nest in manmade nest boxes designed for Screech Owls!

American Kestrel Male