Mystery Plover at Good Harbor Beach

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The morning after the first super high tide at Good Harbor Beach we were surprised and delighted to see a third Plover had joined our Fierce Dad and his almost-fledged chick. We found the three on the narrowest strip of beach that had not been impacted by the hurricane tide. They have been seen together ever since!

Mystery/Butterball left, Fierce Dad right30 day old Piping Plover chick

I think my daughter may have solved the Mystery and we believe this Plover could be what would now be the 54-day-old fledgling we were calling Butterball. He appears to be a similar stage of development and it makes sense; after Butterball’s Dad departed, Butterball attempted to forage alongside Fierce Dad’s chick several weeks back, but FDad would have none of it and was in maximum defensive mode for his little one at that time. Now that his chick is older and more independent perhaps he feels it’s safe to socialize with other Plovers; although at one point FDad planted himself firmly between his chick and Mystery.

Below are photos of 40 to 42 day old Plovers from years past and they are the only photos I can locate at the moment of Plovers past 36 days. Our Mystery Plover looks to be at least as old as the Plovers in the photos

This last photo is of HipHop, Super Dad, and HipHop’s 46-day-old sibling. Although the sibling is out of focus, you can see its feather patterning is similar to the Mystery Plover. This was such a sweet sibling; he stayed with HipHop until he could fly. You may recall HipHop who was developmentally challenged. The first year Mom returned to Good Harbor Beach missing a foot, one of her chicks sustained a hip injury.He was nicknamed HipHop for his hopping gait and it took him many, many weeks to catch up to his siblings. Both Super Dad and this one sibling gave HipHop lots of snuggles and stayed with him well beyond the time frame in which they would typically migrate.

For my New Jersey Friends and Family –

For my New Jersey Friends and Family – Montclair Film and The Nature Conservancy of NJ are hosting a special screening of The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay on Tuesday, August 26th at 7pm. QandA with me to follow. To purchase tickets, please go here: https://theclairidge.org/events/the-piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay/

I hope you can come!

Montclair Film and The Nature Conservancy – The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay One Night Only!

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For my New Jersey Friends and Family – Montclair Film and The Nature Conservancy of NJ are hosting a special screening of The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay on Tuesday, August 26th at 7pm. QandA with me to follow. To purchase tickets, please go here: https://theclairidge.org/events/the-piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay/

I hope you can come!

Good Harbor Beach Extraordinary Tides in the Hurricane Erin Aftermath

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We are having a wind/wave/tidal event at Good Harbor Beach and I think the tide may even be higher tonight than last night. There was absolutely no beach last night, the tide came up to the base of the dunes and the water went well up onto the boardwalk paths. It was beautiful and atmospheric this morning at GHB but also concerning to see such a high tide so early in the hurricane season.

Note the seaweed goes past the roped off areas into the dunes –

Mobi mats in the boardwalk paths covered in seaweed

I am filming at coastal locations south of us and just outside of Boston and every beach today had waves equally as giant and red with seaweed as are the waves at GHB, including Revere, Nahant, Winthrop, and Swampscott.

I can tell from the Plover’s foot prints in the sand that they spent the night up into the dunes, as far away as they could get. Our Fierce Dad and his offspring have been joined by a mystery Plover and the three are relishing the seaweed deposited from end to end.

Left to right – Fierce Dad, Mystery Plover, and chick (sleeping)

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.

 

 

 

 

PSA: Dogs on Beaches

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Why Can’t I Bring My Dog to the Beach?

According to the Gloucester City ordinance code, it is a $300.00 fine (doubled during the season) to bring a dog to Good Harbor Beach. For example, if you bring two dogs, that is 600. x 2 = $1200.

But stating the fines right off doesn’t explain why.

Health and Safety

Our beaches are wonderfully filled with beachgoers during the summer months. Can you imagine adding dogs, either on or off leash, to the mix? Dog ownership is at a record high, much greater than even a generation ago. In 2000 there were roughly 68 million pet dogs, today there are about 90 million dogs. What if everyone who owns a dog brought theirs to the beach?

Let’s face the facts, a great many dogs are not on voice command. We have dogs jumping on children, knocking over the young and old, biting people, and getting into dog fights and biting each other. That is not a safe scenario for any beachgoer.

But what if the law were changed to allow dogs on leash?

We would have half abiding by the leash law and half saying “I left my leash at home,” or “I thought it was okay to let my dog off leash after 5pm,” or “I thought it was okay before 8am,” etc. etc. How do we know this? Because we already hear these statements during the off leash/on leash days at Good Harbor Beach.Pile of poop at the Good Harbor Beach snack bar area

Dog Poop is a consequential environmental issue. During the season when dogs are allowed on the beach we see the gamut of poop-maintenance behaviors. Most people clean up after their pet. However, many people bury the poop in the sand or leave their poop bags behind. When someone leaves their bag by the footbridge, then other dog owners take it as a sign as a place to deposit their bag. The pile of dog poop in a rainbow color of bags grows and grows. Do we want beachgoers stepping in sand covered poop or being confronted with piles of dog poop? There is no poop cleaning fairy. It is left  to our awesome DPW or one of the very nice volunteers, like Chris Cefalo, his brother, and Michael Cook who regularly cleans GHB to remove garbage and also the bags of poop.

Good Harbor Beach footbridge

Keeping Dogs out of the Dunes During the Growing Season Helps Protect the Dune Ecosystem

If you regularly visit Good Harbor Beach during the off season, you can’t help but notice, the “Keep out of Dunes” signs are frequently ignored by pet owners. There are many who do respect this vital habitat, but also many who don’t. Dogs running and playing vigorously through the vegetation tears at the roots and weakens the plants. Vegetation holds the dune sand in place and without plants the dunes continually recede.

Over the past several years, you may also have noticed the vast improvement in the overall health of the dunes. There is a direct correlation to keeping the symbolically roped off areas up through out the summer season and into the fall because by preventing people and pets from recreating right up to the base of the dunes, it allows just that much more room for vegetation to take hold, and is one fantastic tool in the tool box against fighting erosion.

Dog going pooh within nesting area

Keeping Dogs off the Beach Helps Nesting Shorebirds Survive

Last, but not least, dogs on the beach are a well-known threat to shorebird nests and especially to young birds that can’t yet fly to escape danger.

How so you may wonder? “My dog is so sweet and would never harm a baby bird.”

When there are baby birds on the beach, the Plover parents do their absolute utmost best to keep the chicks safe. The parents exhibit all sorts of distraction behaviors including dragging and fluttering their wings on the ground to fake injury, thereby encouraging the predator to follow it and drawing the threat away from their most vulnerable chicks.

Plovers cannot tell the difference between a domestic dog, Fox, or Coyote. Dogs bound exuberantly on the beach through nesting areas and Coyotes and Fox dig in the sand for eggs and chicks. The ever vigilant Plover parent will  leave the nest and fly at any creature Canid. Often, both parents will fly away from the nest in a sort of tag team distraction method. But while they are busy defending the chicks from a member of the dog family, that is the perfect time for a gull, crow, hawk, or falcon to swoop in and snatch the eggs or eat the baby chicks. Crows focus on eggs and gulls not only eat the eggs, they also eat chicks at every stage of development, even fledglings that have grown as large as the parent. Coyotes eat both eggs and chicks.

Especially during pupping season, Red Fox scavenge the beach looking for shorebird eggs, small mammals, and birds to feed their growing family. Plovers cannot distinguish the difference between a Coyote, Fox, or domestic dog. 

Fierce Dad and FairFeathered Mom tag team distracting a Herring Gull

As I am writing this message, please know that we still have young birds at Good Harbor Beach that can’t yet fly well enough to escape predators. This is extremely late in the season and is due to the tremendous loss of nests during the May Nor-easter; losses all along the coast of Massachusetts. Many of the nesting birds eventually re-nested and we are seeing their offspring. Shorebird managers across Massachusetts  are contending with taking care of these late flying chicks.

Here are on Cape Ann we are blessed with many beautiful alternative locations to walk our dogs, including Crab Beach (adjacent to  the Boulevard), which is open year round to dogs and dog owners.

If you would like to see scenes of Plovers displaying their fascinating distraction techniques and learn more about predators on beaches, please watch our film The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, which I created specifically for people to learn more about how we can all help protect shorebird wildlife and their habitats.  Our documentary is streaming on the PBS Passport AP 24/7. Anyone 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!!

As I first wrote, it is a $300.00 fine and doubled during the season to bring dogs to Good Harbor Beach, so please dog owners, for your sake, for the health of the beach ecosystem, and for the safety of growing shorebirds, please do not walk your dog at Good Harbor Beach or any beach where there is precious habitat and baby birds. Thank you!The No Dogs from April 1st through September 30th signs are boldly displayed at every entryway to Good Harbor Beach

Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay at the New Hope Film Festival Monday!

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I am very delighted to write that our Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay 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

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Jewelweed, and Canna Lily

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I loved filming Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on the beautiful bold flowering stalks of Canna Lilies (Canna indica) and just as much, I love seeing them drinking nectar from our North American native wildflower Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). Even though not native to North Ameirca, it makes perfect sense that RTH forage from Canna Lilies as they grow natively in the Tropical Americas, the birds winter home!

Some fun things to know about Jewelweed:

Jewelweed has long been used in Native American medicine. Apply the watery sap topically to relieve itching and pain from Poison Ivy, Stinging Nettle, and hives.

The fruit of Jewelweed is an elongated capsule and at the slightest touch will burst open and send a little seed popper some distance, a fun activity to do with children and adults alike 🙂

You can grow Jewelweed in your native plant’s garden provided it is in a somewhat shaded and somewhat moist location. The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies will thank you!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Range Map courtesy Journey North

Dance of the Halloween Dragonfly

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It’s not always the case that a wild creature’s name befits its appearance but I think whoever gave the Halloween Pennant its common name was spot on. The male is the darker orange dragonfly, on top.

Mating Behavior and Oviposition

The mating behavior of Halloween Pennants is similar to that of other dragonfly species. The male will use his cerci (paired appendages on the rear segments) to grasp the female behind her head so that they are hooked together. The female will then curl her abdomen forward so that her genital opening comes into contact with the male genitalia, which are located closer to the male’s thorax than to the tip of the abdomen (Cordero-Rivera and Córdoba-Aguilar 2010). This is known as the wheel formation, as the dragonfly bodies form a closed circle. In a study done in south Florida, Celithemis eponina were observed mating only between 8:00 and 10:30 AM (Miller 1982; Dunkle 1989).

After copulation, the female lays eggs in water, while the male remains with the tip of the male’s abdomen attached to the female’s head (Taber 2005).

Internet Archive Royalty Free Music: Jena-Pierre Rampal, Francoise Bonnet Fantaisie brillante sur des thèmes de l’opéra “Carmen” de Bizet – ℗ 1965

Halloween Pennant Dragonflies Mating image courtesy wiki commons media from the Herrick Lake Forest Reserve

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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!

 

 

Wing warming

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A newly emerged male Monarch warms his wings before take-off.

 

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

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetle…

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Come see Beetlejuice at the Cape Ann Y! Tonight is the last night to see this phenomenal show, performed by the Cape Ann Y summer theatre team and directed by Heidi Dallin. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Tickets on sale at the door. Show begins at 5:00pm.

You can see from the photos how much fun the kids are having! Beetlejuice Junior is a fantastic show for kids, so much humor and action. The team worked so hard and put this show together in less than four weeks. Despite the fact that they had to move the entire stage and staging out of the rain yesterday afternoon, and performed in an entirely different location than from where they had practiced, all did an absolutely amazing job. Lead performers Molly, as Beetlejuice, and Aubrey as Lydia Deetz are so talented  and not to be missed. Hats off to Director Heidi Dallin, Julia, Leia, Wren, Seania McCarthy, Mr. Presti, all the teens that are helping, all the parents and grandparents lending a hand (and I am so sorry I know I am forgetting to mention a few names). Our family loved every minute and you will, too!

The Cape Ann YMCA is located at 7 Gloucester Crossing in Gloucester.

My favorite photo of the evening is this one, photobombed by a little demon <3

Leads Molly and Aubrey as Beetlejuice and Lydia

Our Charlotte plays Juno, Beetljuice’s Mom

It’s Showtime! Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

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Once again, Heidi Dallin and the Cape Ann YMCA Theatre Troupe have created a stellar production. This summer the kids are performing in Beetlejuice Beetljuice. All the leads and entire cast and crew are  doing an outstanding job and our Charlotte plays Juno, a sassy “afterlife” caseworker with a rough and tumble demeanor. Shows are Thursday and Friday at 5pm at the teen center at Evans Field, which is adjacent to the Rockport train station. You can purchase your tickets at the event. Beetlejuice JR.

On July 31 and August 1 at Evans Field in Rockport

Don’t be “Invisible” on July 31 and August 1! !  

“Jump in The Line” To See the Cape Ann YMCA Actors Bring BeetleJuice JR to Life!  

The Cape Ann YMCA performs Beetlejuice JR. on July 31 and August 1 at 5:00 PM on Evans Field in Rockport , MA . Tickets are $16 for Adults and $12 for Children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased with cash at the door day of the performance. For more information: Contact YMCA Creative Arts Coordinator Heidi Dallin at dallinh@northshoreymca.org or 978-283-0499.

The talented young cast of North Shore residents led by Director Heidi Dallin  and her  YMCA  Theatre Team have been working to bring this frightfully funny and magical modern  musical to the stage on Evans Field over the past 3 weeks. In addition to Director Heidi Dallin the YMCA The Production Team includes Music Director Anthony Prestigiovanni, Music Teacher at Gloucester’s West Parish Elementary School; Choreographer Seania McCarthy, Rockport Middle School Choreographer; and Stage Manager Julia Drost, Rockport native and Tufts University Senior.

Based on the blockbuster motion picture turned Broadway musical, Beetlejuice JR. tells the story of a strange and unusual teenager named Lydia Deetz, who is grieving the loss of her mother. Lydia and her father move to a new house haunted by a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter shows his true stripes, unleashing a (Nether)world of pandemonium.

With music and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Eddie Perfect and a book by the Tony Award–nominated pair Anthony King and Scott Brown, Beetlejuice was nominated for eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical.

“My team and I were so excited to produce Beetlejuice Jr. and make our YMCA theatre debut in Rockport on Evans Field this summer,” says Gloucester native and Harvard University graduate Heidi Dallin, the show’s director, “I am not sure if many theatre performances have been held on Evans Filed, but we love performing here!”    “Beetlejuice Jr.,” continues Dallin, “ focuses on family relationships, humor and imaginative magical reality. The movie song hits Day-O(The Banana Boat Song) and Jump in the Line are in the show, but the new original songs are contemporary masterpieces and really give out young actors a chance to shine especially Aubrey Hamm as Lydia and Molly Doherty as Beetlejuice.Beetlejuice JR. is sure to leave audience members laughing and singing those catchy tunes for hours after they leave the theater.”

“Beetlejuice has a large and fervent fan base among people of all ages,” said Drew Cohen, Music Theatre International’s President and CEO. “The response to Beetlejuice JR. from audiences around the country is nothing short of astounding. Bravo to Director Heidi Dallin and her Cape Ann YMCA Theatre Team for bringing this musical so vividly to life…figuratively speaking, of course.” Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

 Beetlejuice JR. is presented through special arrangement with, and all authorized materials are supplied by, Music Theatre International 423 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019, 212-541-4684, mtishows.com.

Finding Monarch Cats in the Garden!

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We’ve been graced with Monarchs and fat healthy caterpillars this summer. Please write and let me know if you are seeing Monarchs (or not) in your garden <3

Tragic Fire on the Little River’s Woodward Avenue

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Reportedly, it appears as though everyone escaped alive, including pets.

GLOUCESTER — One person is in hospital as firefighters from several communities continue to battle a two-alarm fire on Woodward Avenue.

The call for help came Saturday, July 26, around 2:20 p.m. for a house fire on Woodward Avenue near Essex Avenue, according to a statement from Gloucester fire Chief Eric Smith.

Upon arrival at the two-story home, firefighters found heavy fire and smoke showing from the building, Smith said. The smoke could be seen from several communities around Ipswich Bay.

In a statement Saturday afternoon, Smith asked community members to avoid the area as firefighters continue to battle the blaze.

Beauport Ambulance transported one person from the scene to Addison Gilbert Hospital.

Smith said, “Gloucester firefighters continue to battle the blaze from the outside, taking a defensive approach, with the fire now under control.”

Rainbow Glimmer at Good Harbor Beach

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Faint glimmer of a rainbow after last night’s deluge

Milkweed is the Bees Knees!

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This vibrantly hued milkweed is most commonly known as Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa). Orange Milkweed, Pleurisy Root, Chigger Flower, and Chiggerweed are a few of its other common names.

Butterflyweed blooms in a range of hot colors from buttery yellow to Spanish orange to fire orange red and is a welcome source of nectar for butterflies and bees.

Gull Trouble!

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Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls are the species most commonly seen in our region. And both species pose a deadly, serious threat to Piping Plovers.

The gulls eat both Plover eggs and chicks. It’s not just tiny hatchlings they go after. We have seen Great Black-backed Gulls swoop in and take out a 25 day-old nearly-adult bird.

Plover parents employ several strategies for trying to prevent this from happening. They often call to their mate to come help and both will try to avert the gull’s attention. A Plover may drag its wing on the ground, faking injury in hopes of luring the gull away, or it may dive bomb the gull, or latch onto its tail feathers, and all the while making an angry, loud rattling call. Usually, the parents are successful, but not always.

In the above sequence you can see both parents left the chicks unattended in order to distract the gull. This tag teaming is usually very effective and the Herring Gull left after a short time.  Mom ran back to back to locate her babes, calling to the chicks to rejoin her, and soon the two chicks were thermo-snuggling beneath Mom’s protective wings.

Sometimes it takes a gull many minutes to lose interest and the chicks become increasingly vulnerable to predation. In our documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, a Herring Gull swooped off with a chick. Despite the parents best attempts to save their offspring, the Gull mortally wounded both the adult male and the chick.

What is the Number 1 way you can help? – Please Don’t Litter

Prior to 1931, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls did not breed in Massachusetts and were not present year round. Their populations increased significantly during the 20th century  because of the food resource available from landfills. They also prey on other birds and their eggs, and compete for nesting sites.

Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls are scavengers and thrive on the trash left behind on beaches. Never feed the gulls  on the beach. Please do not leave behind garbage and please do not bury trash. Gulls will find the garbage, as will the Crows, which are another species that is  equally as threatening to nesting shorebirds as are Herring and GBBGulls.

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish?

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We are seeing this particular species of jellyfish washed up nearly daily at Good Harbor Beach. This one was the largest so far, about 20 inches in diameter. Whether or not they are Lion’s Mane, please don’t touch. Dead or alive, contact with a Lion’s Mane can cause pain. Read more here

Thank you Miss Ladybug!

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In the garden experimenting with my new camera and I came across Ladybugs devouring aphids on our Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) buds.

What a love and we so appreciate your appetite for all things aphids <3

 

Happy July 4th from Glorious Good Harbor Beach!

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Snapshots from St. Peter’s Mass and Sunday Morning Procession

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A joy to film and photograph our beautiful community. Viva San Pietro!

NEW VIDEO: MAX ALLEN Greasy Pole Saturday Champion 2025

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The winning walk! 

MAX ALLEN Your 2025 Greasy Pole Saturday Champion!

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Congratulations to Max Allen! Max also won last year’s Friday night competition. He is the third generation in his family to win the flag, following in the footsteps of his uncle and grandfather.

Buona Festa! – A Most Joyous St. Peter’s Fiesta Opening Night

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Viva San Pitero!

Beginning at St. Peter’s Club, the Procession winds up and around the Legion Hall, ending at St. Peter’s Square.  The effigy is is placed oh so gently on the stage where it will stay until Sunday morning’s procession through the City.