Category Archives: Cape Ann Wildlife

Surprise Visit from Tinkletoes!

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Look who came indoors with the nor’easter! A sweet Spring Peeper, also known as Tinkletoes. You can see in the video why they are nicknamed after their super grippy, super power.

We know of Spring Peepers for the male’s rhythmic calls, filling the late winter landscape with a welcome chorus of song. Their wetland melodies lend the Peepers their second nickname, that of Pinkletinks.

Like tree frogs, Spring Peepers have large pads on the tips of their toes that secretes mucus. The mucus enables them to grip surfaces as they are moving about in vegetation.

Only an inch or so in length, these minuscule frogs nonetheless survive extremely cold temperatures handily because of a special fluid they produce called cryoprotectants. Similar to to antifreeze, cryoprotectants allows them to survive tucked away for the winter in places like leaf litter or loose bark.

 

Bad Hair Day

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Brought to you by the mighty Great Blue Heron

Flying Hearts Over Gloucester <3

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It was so captivating to see this beautiful heart cloud in the sky that I stopped driving immediately, practically in the middle of the road, to snap some photos.  The heart didn’t seem as though it was moving too fast so I raced down to the harbor to capture a few more.  Contrails appeared and if I had photoshop skills, I might have tried to draw an arrowhead for Cupid 🙂

I can’t decide which flying heart I like best, so here’s a bunch, in the order that it was dissipating <3

We startled each other!

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Looking for butterflies and found this beauty, too.

Great Blue heron lift-off

 

Impressive Thread-waisted Wasp

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While finding wildflowers and discovering new (to me) pollinators to feature in my Pond film, this most elegant looking thread-waisted wasp caught my attention. She was spotted foraging in the Joe-pye.

Ammophila nigicans is one of 69 species of thread-waisted wasps known in North and Central America. She is a large wasp, up to 1.5 inches, and is a velvety gun-metal blue black with a reddish orange band across the abdomen. All thread-waisted wasps feature a very narrow waist, called a petiole, which is actually part of the abdomen. It’s interesting to think about because all bodily functions must go through that very narrow petiole.

Ammophila wasps are also called “sand wasps” which derives from the Greek for “sand lover.” To feed its young, a female first digs a hole in sand or clay. Once the single-cell nest is excavated she sets off to find a large caterpillar. The female paralyzes the caterpillar with her stinger then drags the caterpillar to the excavated hole. She lays an egg in the nest and buries caterpillar and egg together. The developing larvae will have all the food it needs to grow into a robust wasp. The caterpillar overwinters underground, emerging the following year. You can see A. nigircans on the wing in Massachusetts from mid-June through September.

The thread-waisted wasp is a solitary wasp, as opposed to the social family of wasps. Social wasps are what we typically associate with when thinking about wasps. Social wasps include Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and  Bald-faced Hornets and they share the characteristic of building papery nests that they will defend very aggressively. Solitary wasps are just that and considered relatively benign. They only sting if you pick one up and handle it or step on one.

A note about Joe-pye –

Joe-pye (Eupatoriums) must have the sweetest nectar. I find so many species of insects attracted to the clusters of of tiny florets. After many wildflowers and garden favorites have finished blooming for the summer, Joe-pye begins its flowering period and often finishes up right around the time New England Asters and Seaside Goldenrod begin blooming. The broad flower heads also act as a refueling station for Monarch Butterflies. We’ll find hummingbirds, native bees, and myriad species of butterflies, including Tiger Swallowtails, drinking nectar from the florets. Additionally, scientists have identified over 32 species of Lepidoptera that use Joe-pye as a host plant for their caterpillars.

Beyond providing nectar and food for wildlife, Joe-pye is essential to protecting water quality at ponds, streams, and wetlands. The plant’s deep roots help to reduce erosion and flooding  by stabilizing the soil. The roots also act as a natural filter by absorbing excess storm water run-off and fertilizers. Although Joe-pye is typically found growing in wetlands, it does well in average garden soil, too.

 

 

A Summer of Monarchs!

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Have you noticed so many more Monarchs this summer than in a very many previous years? Not just Monarchs, but the Ladies, both Painted and American, Tiger Swallowtails, Pearl Crescents, and Summer Azures, too? Our milkweed and zinnia patch has half a dozen Monarchs daily and at every pond that I am filming at for my Pond film, winged beauties grace the water’s edge, sipping nectar from wildflowers growing along the banks of the ponds.

The past few years I had gotten away from raising butterflies but this year Charlotte really wanted to. So we brought indoors a few eggs, which quickly blossomed into a dozen and a half caterpillars as I had forgotten to check for eggs tucked into the buds on the sprigs of milkweed. Each time we cut fresh milkweed to feed the caterpillars, we discovered more eggs. Note- You have to separate out the leaves with eggs and teenies so that the caterpillars that are older do not inadvertently devour them.

Newly eclosed Monarchs

We were hoping to have a butterfly release day with Charlotte’s friends but the last two batches have emerged so early in the morning that they are ready to fly before breakfast. All in all, including the five remaining chrysalides, we have had fifty or so Monarchs emerge from eggs and caterpillars in our garden.

I think perhaps hot weather spells interspersed with some good amounts of rainfall have awakened our local butterfly populations, and steady winds coming from the west are moving traveling Monarchs in our direction.

Notice below that included in the captions along with the names of the butterflies are the wildflowers that are providing loads of nectar and they are all wonderfully garden worthy plants. #plantandtheywillcome!

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) and American Lady Butterfly

The tiny Summer Azure butterfly with a mere 7/8 inch wingspan, drinking nectar from Joe-pye

Monarchs and Ironweed

Monarch and Joe-pye

 

American Lady and Joe-pye

Pearl Crescents

 

Bobcats on Cape Ann!

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You may have a neighbor who has seen one or you may have been fortunate enough to see your self, but I think it’s super exciting that there have been numerable reports and sightings  of Bobcats in neighborhoods we don’t usually see them perusing. Friends are having face to face encounters in Manchester, Essex, and the back shore of both Rockport and Gloucester. My friend Karen took these snapshots through her screen door at 9:30 in the morning several days ago.

Do Bobcats eat pets?  Bobcats are carnivorous and will eat freely roaming cats and small dogs however, their preferred food is rabbits, rabbits, and more rabbits. They also eat mice, squirrels, skunks, opossums, muskrats, birds, and snakes. Occasionally they will take down a deer but that may be because the animal is sick, injured, very old, or very young.

Bobcats are common in the central and western part of the state and they are expanding their range through the northeast and southeast. You can easily recognize them as they are typically twice as big as a housecat and have a shortened, or bobbed, tail.

Please write if you see a Bobcat in your neighborhood and share photos and videos if you would like. Thank you!

You can read more about Bobcats in Massachusetts here Learn About Bobcats https://www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-bobcats

All photos courtesy Karen Thompson

Piping Plover Event at the Rockport Public Library!

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Dear Friends,

I hope you will join me Saturday, August 1st, at 11am, at the Rockport Public Library for a public screening of The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. Following the screening, we’ll have a Q and A and an update about our local Plover populations. Link to register: https://rockportlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/the-piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay-film-screening-with-live-q-a/

Here on Cape Ann we can be proud of the excellent work we as a community have accomplished. However, as our local Plovers are once again caught in political crosshairs and being bandied about on social media, I urge anyone who would like to learn more about these vulnerable birds that nest on our Cape Ann beaches to please join us. I created the documentary to help people better understand the life story of the Plovers and why working together to safeguard their nesting habitat is a good thing. So whether you already love Piping Plovers, or take issue with, please come!

 

And, I just discovered buried in my office a box of Plover Lover tees. We will have those available as well!

North Shore Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Alert!

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From Revere to beaches all along the north of Boston coast, Lion’s Mane Jellyfish are turning up in great swaths. Not just north of Boston beaches but the South Shore and Cape and Islands, too. We have been seeing some good sized ones, but this morning’s Lion’s Mane takes the cake and was approximately two feet in diameter. It was glowing fiery orange in the morning sun and that color is what tells you it is a Lion’s Mane. Lion’s Mane Jellyfish are the largest in the world and can grow up to three feet in diameter, with mane-like tentacles that can surpass 100 feet long.Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

In Massachusetts we are most likely to see two types of jellyfish. Moon Jellies, which are saucer shaped and cloudyish transparent white, are virtually harmless. Their tentacles are too weak to penetrate human skin.

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish are found in a wide range of sizes in Massachusetts waters and dead or alive, their stinging tentacles can be very painful.They are not poisonous but the sting of a Lion”s Mane can cause a severe allergic reaction. Tell your kids not to touch the dead ones washed up on the beach and keep on the lookout when swimming.

If stung and any tentacles remain on the skin, remove with tweezers, not your bare hands. Flush immediately in seawater and then rinse with white vinegar. Shower in hot water, or even better, soak in the tub with hot water.  If experiencing an allergic reaction such as dizziness, trouble breathing, headache, nausea, fever, or fainting, call your physician.

When my friend Chris Cefalo finds a Lion’s Mane on the beach, he encircles it to help warn folks to keep away. 

Please Stop Spreading and Sharing Fake News and Disinformation About Plovers!

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It seems like every other year or so, Plovers get tangled up in the crosshairs of people’s personal issues and agendas. Disinformation then becomes widely shared and treated as fact. The latest round of misinformation resulted because of the facts that were reported in the GDTimes about the City investigating how to mitigate flooding on Thacher Road. I can’t speak to that project, which I know nothing about other than what was reported in the Times. I can however try to correct all the tall tales that have subsequently been written on social media sites regarding the Piping Plovers at Good Harbor Beach.

Piping Plovers began nesting at Good Harbor Beach in 2016. At that time, the beach was in a deplorable state due to severe storms and lack of ecological management. Here is a photo from around that time. Please notice the exposed rebar which was all that remained from failed dune fencing. People recreated right up to the base of the dune, behind the rebarb,  and thought nothing of traipsing through. Each year the dunes receded further and further.

That first year they nested, the Plovers tried a number of times and each time the eggs and chicks were either squashed or predated. You can read more about the history of Plovers at Good Harbor Beach here Plover Love Story for the Ages #ploverjoyed

I am not going into the entire history here but I would like people to really understand exactly how Gloucester’s citizens have benefitted from helping to protect a threatened and endangered species. We, like many coastal towns across the Commonwealth, are part of a several decades long effort to prevent an animal from going extinct. When you stop to think about that it’s really remarkable that because of these grand efforts, the Plovers are making a comeback in Massachusetts. That is not the case in all of its breeding range but we are succeeding in helping the Plover population recover here in our state.

If the PiPls recovery alone is not enough, think about the dramatic change that has taken place at Good Harbor Beach. Notice in the photo below where the rebar you see in the above photo is nearly buried, you can just see the tips. People ask all the time how can that be in under ten years? Because the dunes want to be healthy. They ask well maybe we should plant beach grass plugs at our beach to help restore the habitat. NO,  you don’t need to do anything other than provide a modicum of protection from foot traffic and pets. Now look at the next photo and see how lush and sturdy the dunes at Good Harbor Beach have become.

The vast, vast majority of our GHB beachgoers are delighted with the Plovers and could care less about the seaweed on the beach. Thank you good Citizens of Gloucester for being excellent Plover Protectors!

The following are several of the questions we Plover Ambassadors are often asked —

  1. Why don’t Plovers nest in trees like other birds? Plovers are ground nesting birds, like Wild Turkeys, ducks, geese, swans, other shorebirds, Puffins, and a number of species of songbirds. Within an hour of hatching, Piping Plover chicks can feed themselves. They run on the ground pecking for insects and tiny sea creatures, just as you might see a domestic chicken’s chick pecking for food on the ground.
  2. Why don’t Plovers nest in the dunes? Over millennia Piping Plovers evolved instinctively knowing that the safest place to nest is on a sandy beach. Why? Because the eggs, chicks, and adults are perfectly camouflaged. They share the soft weathered grays and tans of sandy beaches. Dunes are rife with predators, including mice, rats, skunks, snakes, foxes, and coyotes. This safety in camouflage all changed during the previous century when people began recreating on beaches in much greater numbers.
  3. Will the Plovers stay in the roped off area once they hatch? No. They may for a few days but after that, the chicks roam far and wide, from the dunes to the shoreline.
  4. Then why do we have to keep the symbolic roping in place? The Plovers have learned that roped off areas are, for the most part, safe from human foot traffic. Plover chicks are teeny, about the size of a marshmallow, and are very easily and inadvertently squished. They often rest in the roped off areas during the day when the beach is packed with people and they can’t get to the shoreline for food. It’s like their “home base.”
  5. If the Plovers are feeding themselves, why do they need Mom and Dad? Until about a week before they can fly, Plover chicks cannot self-regulate their body temperature. They need Mom and Dad to provide warming snuggles. Equally as important, Mom and Dad are their chief protectors. They are really good at sounding the alarm for the chicks to stay absolutely still when a predator is nearby. The parents will fly after, and even latch onto the wings of predators like Great Black-backed Gulls, which are 10 times at least their size!
  6.  Why doesn’t the City rake the beach? The City has to submit a beach management plan to the State before raking can resume.

In all the photos below you can see at every stage of life how beautifully the Plovers are camouflaged in their natural habitat, and why they haven’t evolved to nest in lush green dunes.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron(s)!

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\What exquisite breeding plumage – don’t you love the blue-gray feathers edged in white? We’re more likely to see Black-crowned Night Herons in Gloucester Harbor so when a friend texted with a photo of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron I set out the following morning at dawn to see if it was still here. I was on my way to film a segment of the series on “pond babies” that I have been working on and wasn’t expecting the YCNH would still be there. Imagine my delight when finding three all lined up in a row in the beautiful pre-dawn light.

Listen for their exceptionally loud quarking call as the three head out for the morning.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons eat mostly crustaceans (crayfish and crabs) including Fiddler, Marsh, Blue, and Green Crabs. They also feed on mussels, snails, insects, worms, lizzards, snakes, small rodents, eels, pipefish, worms, and even small birds.

According to the survey taken during Mass Audubon’s Breeding Bird Atlas II, the only confirmed record of Yellow-crowned Night Herons breeding in Massachusetts were in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard so we are probably looking at a trio of migratory birds. There is also an adult at one of my pond locations and a number of recent sightings on Cape Cod.

So many thanks to my friend John S. for letting me know the YCNH were at the Harbor!

Compare and contrast –

Yellow-crowned Night Heron 

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Juvenile on Cape Ann

Black-crowned Night Heron Gloucester

Several years ago, this Black-crowned Night Heron juvenile did not migrate and stayed on Cape Ann for an entire winter.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons (Nyctannassa violacea) and Black-crowned Night herons are the only two night herons in the genus Nyctannassa. BCNH are found around the world whereas YCNH are only found in the Americas.

Yellow-headed Blackbird Rarely Seen in Massachusetts

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On a recent overcast morning while out filming wildlife for the pond film, a strange little character caught my attention. She was feeding in the seaweed like there was no tomorrow. Her conical shaped bill made me think she was some type of blackbird but she was considerably larger than the brownish female Red-winged Blackbirds I typically see foraging in the seaweed. The Red-winged Blackbirds are usually stuffing a bunch of insects in their beaks then flying off to their nests. Not this one, she appeared as though she had not eaten for days and days. Her plain brown feathered back was camouflaged beautifully in the seaweed. She suddenly turned and faced in my direction and I got to see her very cool feather patterning, a vivid yellow breast and yellowish/rusty mottled head. I lingered and filmed her for quite awhile but the footage is not that as exciting as i would have liked. She only very occasionally paused her feverish foraging to preen for a brief moment.

What fun to return to my desk and discover she is the Yellow-headed Blackbird and a very rare visitor to Massachusetts, to the entire eastern half of the country for that matter.  I checked in on her over the next several days and again she was eating non-stop, even while it was raining. She departed during Friday night’s storm and I hope so much she finds her way back to the central part of the country.  Please write and let me know if she lands in your neighborhood.

Photo of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds, from wikicommons media.

Photo credit:  USFWS Mountain-Prairie – Yellow-headed black birds at Cokeville Meadows, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48171686

Yellow-headed Blackbird range – blue = breeding range; red = wintering grounds

Red Maple Tree Giver of Life

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You may have noticed the glowing red tree tops dotting our landscape. What you are most likely looking at are the flowers of the Red Maple (Acer rubrum) tree. One of the earliest trees to come into bloom, the flowers are so small that they are often overlooked.Red Maple Tree in flower

There are countless ways in which this extraordinary tree gives life. Being one of the first trees to bloom in the spring, it is a potent source of nectar for early bees on the wing. Little warblers, like this female Common Yellowthroat, find tiny spiders, insects, and larvae that are attracted to the pollen and nectar found amidst the tree’s blossoms.

Following the tree’s flowering period, pink and green two-toned winged fruits form. Officially called samaras, we mostly know them by self-describing names like helicopters and whirligigs. The wind blows the seeds far and wide where they are eaten by a great variety of birds and small mammals including turkeys, squirrels, and chipmunks.

But it is their yummy foliage that makes Red Maples a critical native keystone species. Somewhere between 200 to 300 species of Lepidoptera feed on the leaves of Red Maples including Giant Silkmoths Luna and Cecropia.

Cecropia Moth CaterpillarsCecropia Moths Mating

To top off the smorgasbord of food for wildlife that this beautiful tree provides, for us humans, autumn brings a gorgeous display of brilliant red foliage.

Red Maples are also called Swamp Maples but that doesn’t mean they only grow in swampy, super wet environments. Red Maples will tolerate average garden soil, just not super dry conditions. Grown in well-drained, loamy and acidic soil, they will thrive. Red Maples are the fastest growing tree in the Eastern US. They may reach a height to 70 feet in the Northeast, adding about 18 inches in height per year. When properly cared for, Red Maples can live up to 100 years.

 

Do Deer Attack People?

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That is a question I have had to ask myself more than once as I stood face to face with a very intent doe, twice actually, and with two different herds.

During the most recent encounter, I came upon a herd of eight White-tailed Deer foraging. I am familiar with this group of mixed aged does and yearlings and usually they ignore me as I film and photograph from the wooded edge.  The largest of the herd paused foraging and began to stare intently in my direction. Sensing her distrust, I stood still as I did not want to interrupt their grazing however, she began to walk towards me. The rest of the herd stayed behind her. I believe this largest of females is the matriarch. She snorted in my direction and then began forcefully stamping the ground with her front hooves, first left then right. It was dusk, I was alone, and I have to admit, a little spooked. Nonetheless I stood there, not wanting to turn my back. I think she was trying to determine if I was a threat. She started to move in closer. Just as I put my camera down there was a sudden crackling noise in the adjacent woods. The rest of the herd began to dash away, but she stayed a few moments longer still, before rejoining the herd and slipping into the woods.

The other time I witnessed this hoof stamping behavior was nearly identical, except it was in a remote field with a much larger herd. But the same thing happened, where the largest female of the herd kept coming closer and closer, pausing periodically to stamp her hooves.

Twice encountering this behavior I came home and Googled. The answer is yes, White-tailed Deer do attack people but it is extremely rare. Mostly, attacks by bucks have been reported. A few incidents with White-tailed Deer does have been reported and they were thought to occur because a fawn may have been tucked nearby and the doe was protecting the fawn. With decreasing habitat available Deer are becoming increasingly habituated to people. Perhaps she was trying to protect her foraging area for her herd. One thing interesting that I noticed was how several times the yearlings came up to the adults and nuzzled them, as if they were looking for reassurance.

I don’t think the doe was going to follow through but she was definitely giving me a warning. Signs to take note of are snorting, ears laid back, and hoof stamping.

Please write if you have ever encountered a deer stamping its hooves (or other similar signs). Thank you!

In the clip you can’t see her hooves as I was zoomed in too close, but you can see her powerful shoulders moving as she stamps the ground.

Important Hummingbird Notice for Earth Day!

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Time to get out your hummingbird feeders out. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been spotted in Rhode Island and Cape Cod! It won’t be long before they begin to arrive at our Cape Ann gardens. Many of the flowering trees and shrubs they depend upon early in the season are slow to awaken this spring and they sure could use the nourishment provided by the sugar water in our feeders. Happy Earth Day!

Nova Scotian Guest Plover at Good Harbor Beach!

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​A​ Bluenoser at Good Harbor Beach – the fascinating world of shorebirds!

At this time of year, we Gloucester Plover Ambassadors are at Good Harbor Beach (trying) to keep track of the comings and goings of the Plovers. Some birds are arriving to set up house while others are passing through on their way to their summer nesting homes. Last week while out on Plover patrol, Super Dad was spotted, along with a sweet pair that we’re fairly certain is a mated pair from last summer, and a new little friend. It wasn’t until I returned home and began looking at the footage that I noticed that this unfamiliar one was banded!

Finding a banded bird at Good Harbor Beach is pretty exciting because instead of wondering where the bird came from, you can learn from just looking at the tag . Several years ago Good Harbor Beach was a stopover for a Plover with a green tag and white letters, which indicated that it was banded by Virginia Tech. He had flown from the southern coast of Georgia to Gloucester in just under five days!

As you can see in the photo, N5’s band is white with a black alphanumeric code, which indicates he was banded in Canada. A quick Google search led to several contacts where to report Canadian banded birds and we sure hit the jackpot of information from these kind wildlife biologists, Dr. Cheri Gratto-Trevor and Hilary Mann.

People are always asking us Ambassadors, where do the birds go after departing GHB in August? The following is not a complete picture, but does provide a tiny widow into the flight pattern of one of these remarkable little travelers.

Cheri writes, “White flag N5 was banded as an adult in June 2024 at Sandy Bay, in southern Nova Scotia.  The bird was seen in Fall (Aug) 2024 at Sunset Beach, Tubbs Inlet, NC.”

Hilary writes the following​, ” In 2024, we put a nanotag on N5. This is a small radio transmitter that helps us track birds, when they fly close to a station that is part of the motus wildlife tracking network. We got a track of N5, which you can see below. The dashed lines show the ‘direct flight’, and if this is no line connecting dots as the plover moved south, it just shows that they may have stopped somewhere along the way. N5 crossed from southern Nova Scotia to Cape Cod in about 10 hours, on the night of August 6, 2024. By August 10, it was down in North Carolina. We do not have any detections past August 10, but there are fewer stations to detect the tags south of North Carolina. The tag is glued on, so it falls off in the winter when the battery dies, and we do not have tracks of its Northbound movements.”

Think about that – In 2024, N5 flew from Nova Scotia to North Carolina in four and half days! After first departing Sandy Bay, N5 flew nonstop to Cape Cod, when it appears he was next tracked at either a Rhode Island or Connecticut beach, across the sound on to Montauk, at the eastern end of Long Island, then a non-stop flight to Cape May, which is also an important holdover location for Monarchs waiting for the ideal wind to carry them over the mouth of the Delaware Bay. He is next hitting locations at Virginia beaches and North Carolina’s Outer Banks before arriving at Sunset Beach, which is just south of Ocean Isle at the southern point of North Carolina. 

And in 2025, N5 returned to Sandy Bay, Nova Scotia and successfully fledged two chicks!

Our deepest thanks and appreciation to Dr. Cheri Gratto-Trevor, research scientist emeritus with Environment and Climate Change Canada and to Hilary Mann, wildlife biologist with Canadian Wildlife Service.

I pulled this map off Google to show what a direct flight it is for Plovers flying from Cape Ann to southern Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia Piping Plover N5 in the foreground. The film clip is in 10 times slow motion so you can see the band placed on the upper right tibia.

Read more about banded Piping Plovers seen at Cape Ann beaches here –

FUN 411 UPDATE ON ETM, THE CUMBERLAND ISLAND BANDED PLOVER

BANDED PIPING PLOVERS FROM THE CANADIAN MARITIMES, BY WAY OF ABACO BAHAMAS, NORTH CAROLINA, AND MASSACHUSETTS!

Many, many thanks to Gloucester Daily Times reporter Bobby Grady and editor-in-chief Andrea Holbrook for the Times​‘s continued coverage of our Gloucester Plovers. The story appeared in Thursday’s Times with a gentle reminder to give the Plovers lots of space as they are establishing their nesting territories.

The coverage the Times has provided since the Plovers first arrived back in 2016 has been invaluable in helping to create an awareness about these very vulnerable, yet valiant, threatened shorebirds. Thank you again Andrea, Bobby, and the GDTimes!

​Happy Spring,

xxKim

PiPl N5 at time of banding provided by Hilary Mann

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.