They’re Not Called Ruby-crowned Kinglets for Nothin!
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Tag Archives: Beautiful Birds of Cape Ann
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
I wish so much we could figure out if the the male and female Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers that are alternately coming in and out of garden almost daily are a pair, or just passing through. The past few days we have only seen the male, days prior to that it was the female. Is anyone else seeing these striking and very industrious beauties in their gardens?
Thoughts About Leaf Blowers and How We Can Possibly Find a Solution Working Together :)
Whether or not to ban gas-powered leaf blowers sure is creating a maelstrom of divisiveness in our communities. Everyone who has an opinion feels strongly, very strongly, that their viewpoint is the correct pov. Let’s think of the pros and cons and perhaps there is a solution. If I missed a pro or con, please feel free to write so we can include your point of view.
PROS of Gas Powered Leaf Blowers
Landscapers and homeowners appreciate the lower cost associated with gas-powered leaf blowers.
GPs are more powerful than electric, saving time and money.
Many landscapers and homeowners already own gas powered blowers.
CONS of Gas Powered Leaf Blowers
Gas powered leaf blowers are very loud particularly when multiple blowers are in use simultaneously. The noise pollution is disruptive and unpleasant to neighbors.
GP blowers emit a strong odor of gas fumes, harmful to the environment and to the person operating the leaf blower.
Some observations – our home is located in a middle class neighborhood where leaf blowing does not occur regularly, if at all, whether gas or electric. I do however have clients in more affluent neighborhoods where the use of leaf blowers is much more prevalent. People are correct, the noise level is extremely loud. A crew of men, typically Latino, will disembark from company pick-up trucks, with gas powered blowers strapped to their backs and ear phones snugly wrapped over their ears. The crew of half dozen or so will spend a good part of an hour blowing the leaves off a driveway that won’t even be driven on again until the summer resident homeowner returns the following year. Not only does it seem like an utter waste of time, it concerns me that the employees are breathing the fumes. This is also the same crew that I see spraying pesticides around the base of the homeowner’s foundations, also not wearing protective covering. I am wondering if protective masks and clothing can be provided to the employees that are required to use gas-powered leaf blowers and pesticides.
Do homeowners need half a dozen men blowing leaves off driveways and the street in front of their homes? Perhaps with less demand for an immaculate leaf-be-gone landscape, one gentleman wearing a mask, as opposed to six maskless men, could do the work. If a homeowner is having considerable work done and a leaf blower is needed to assist in clean-up, that seems to me like a reasonable use. Or if a pathway is covered with wet leaves creating an unsafe situation for an elderly person, that too seems like a reasonable use.
In my own landscape design firm, I encourage clients and friends not to remove leaves and the expired stalks of flowering plants. To my way of thinking, leaves on lawns and in flower beds is a beautiful thing! Not only are the decaying leaves providing a protective layer and adding nutrients to the soil, leaves also provide habitat for all manner of insects. I think at this point in our shared awareness about the environment, we all understand that insect populations the world over have plummeted. We homeowners and landscapers can help insect populations by leaving leaf litter in our gardens. The most delightful benefit of a garden that supports insects, is that the insects attract a host of beautiful songbirds that in turn conveniently eat the insects <3
For the benefit of insects, especially native bees, we also do not cut down the expired stalks of flowers until the end of April. In the late summer and early fall, native bees and other insects burrow into the stalks. When we do eventually cut down the stalks, we leave them in a pile for several weeks before discarding, hoping our little pollinator friends have wiggled out of their winter home.
Perhaps if we can change people’s mindsets about what constitutes a healthy landscape, the fashion of blowing leaves will become mush less problematic.
The song of a Carolina Wren chortling from a treetop has to be one of the sweetest songs you can imagine hearing in you garden. They love to rumple about in the leaf litter, foraging for insects. Insects are an important part of a songbird’s diet, especially during the breeding season when the females are producing eggs.
Carolina Wren nest with eggs tucked under our porch eaves –
Later in the season, a Carolina Wren fledgling is perched on the back fence. She was made fat and healthy from a diet rich in your average garden variety insects –
Golden-crowned Kinglet Alert!
When the tiniest of songbirds with the fanciest of names flits alongside on your walk, you may be lucky enough to catch a photo. Well-camouflaged in their generally olive plumage, they elusively dart about the wooded edge of the path but flashes of their little golden crown gives them away.
Kinglets, both the Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned are migrating through eastern Massachusetts. They are laser focused on insect meals and are often found along shrubby woodland pond banks where there is typically no shortage of bite-sized-for-kinglets arthropods.
For previous posts about kinglets, see the following –
Return of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker(s)!
For well over a year, our garden has been graced with the fascinating Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The visits began with a male eating Pokeberries in December of 2023 and have continued intermittently through today.
A female was here for a day last week however, we have had so many Cedar Waxwings in the Dragon Lady Holly, they may have frightened her off. For the past three days, a male YBSS has been industriously revitalizing the sap wells created by the female last year. He is also meowing!! That’s right, the appropriately named bird for a cartoon (or a proper insult), makes a crinkly mewing sound!
Listen for the mews-
Photos to Help ID Male, Female, or Juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Male YBSS – Red cap and red throat
Female YBSS – note that she does not have a red throat
Juvenile YBSS -softly mottled brown
Male Sapsucker in the rain yesterday
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Timeline
Summer 2023 – Newly seeded Pokeberry bush grows six feet first summer (most likely the seed was deposited by a bird).
December 2023 – First ever male YBSS. Stays for several days eating Pokeberries.
March – May 2024 – Female YBSS created striking grid pattern of sap wells on both the Dragon Lady Holly and Magnolia soulangeana trees, concentrating her efforts much more on the Holly. She spends many weeks drinking the sap, digging more wells, and eating insects attracted to the sap flows. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds discover the sap wells.
Summer 2024 – Ruby-throated Hummingbirds daily drink nectar from the small pinkish whiteish flowers of the Pokeweed.
October -November 2024 – Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker returns. She is drinking nectar and eating insects attracted to the sap wells every day, through November 17th.
November 12, 2024 – Both a juvenile and female at the DLHolly saplicks.
March 26, 2025 – female YBSS at the Holly tree. Flock of Cedar Waxwings may have frightened her off.
April 3rd, 4th, and 5th – Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drumming and drilling at the Dragon Lady Holly, crabapple, and Magnolia soulangeana. Mewing frequently.
Turkey Towns – A Conservation Success Story!
Dear Friends,
I hope this Thanksgiving finds you well. Hopefully you have a joyful weekend ahead.
I was speaking over the phone with a dear friend who hasn’t visited New England in many years and misses it very much. I mentioned to her how the Wild Turkeys in our neighborhood look so comical when they take off to roost for the night onto tree branches. She said wait, what, Turkeys in your neighborhood? I said yes, of course, they are everywhere, not remembering that when she lived here there was none. She has never seen a single Wild Turkey nonchalantly perusing a city street, let alone gobbling gangs.
Eastern Wild Turkeys were once widespread. An estimated 10 million Wild Turkeys roamed North America, from southern Canada, throughout the continental US to Mexico. As the nation became colonized, the settlers cut down forests as they went. New England was particularly hard hit. The birds lost not only their food supply of acorns and chestnuts, but also their protective cover. Turkeys became extirpated from Massachusetts (no longer living in the state); the last Massachusetts native Wild Turkey was killed in 1851.
As Turkeys became scarcer and scarcer nationwide, many states tried to reintroduce the birds to their historic habitats. According to Mass Wildlife, between 1911 and 1967, at least 9 unsuccessful attempts were made to restore Turkeys to Massachusetts. At first, they tried to release farm Turkeys, not wild ones, but those birds did not survive. “In 1937, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, provided much-needed funding for wildlife studies and restoration. With the additional resources, wildlife management methods improved and new capture techniques provided a safe and effective means for live-capture of birds (Wild Turkeys) for translocating to new areas.”
Biologists like Jim Carodoza, who led the Turkey Game and Upland Game Project at Mass Wildlife during the 1970s, began to explore the idea of live-trapping Wild Turkeys from southwestern New York. They would sit in their trucks for hours waiting for the Wild Turkeys to follow a trail of cracked corn, oats, and wheat to an open pasture. Once a gaggle of 20 or so had gathered, the biologists fired an enormous 2600 square foot net to capture the Turkeys.
By the early 1970s, 37 Wild Turkeys had been live trapped in the Adirondacks and released in Berkshire County. By autumn of 1978, the Massachusetts Turkey population had grown to about 1,000 birds. Mass Wildlife biologists and volunteers began live-trapping Turkeys from the growing flocks, transporting them to other areas of the state with suitable habitat. A total of 26 releases of 561 birds made in 10 counties took place between 1979 and 1996.
In just over fifty years, the Turkey population of Massachusetts has grown from that first 37 introduced birds to an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 Turkeys!
Turkey was served at the first Thanksgiving although, according to the journals of Pilgrims, it was one of many game birds served that day.
Aren’t the young ones beautiful! Newly hatched baby Turkeys are called poults, juvenile males called jakes, and juvenile females, jennies.
Happy Thanksgiving and travel safely <3
xxKim
Our Beautifully Industrious Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Has Returned!
Last spring I wrote about a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that stayed in our garden for over a month. We were fascinated watching her daily activities; so much so that I was inspired to write a poem and Charlotte nicknamed her Miss Featherton. We are excited beyond measure to see the return of our beautiful YBSS. Just as she did in the spring, Miss Featherton perches in the Dragon Lady Holly throughout the day. She cautiously guards, and continues to maintain, the sap wells that she so pertinaciously dug. The sap is not flowing as vigorously as during the spring months but there is enough for her to take in a bunch of licks and the wells continue to attract insects. This morning I filmed her snatching a Yellowjacket that had stopped by to investigate the sweet sap.
We read that YBSS drill holes in unhealthy trees and were concerned our tree may beginning to decline. No need to worry though as you can see in the film clip, the holly is absolutely loaded with plump cadmium red berries.
My Yellow-bellied Sapsucker poem –
Sap-licker
Startled songbird silently flings
from approaching steps.
Behavior not usually seen by the insouciant
feathered friends that call our garden home.
Why so timorous?
Neatly arranged squares and holes
riddle the bark of the Dragon Lady Holly.
The masterfully drilled, cambium pierced checkered grid is glistening
in the sun – with deep wells and narrow streamlets of sweetness.
A sap-lick!
I wait to see her, half hidden and as
quiet as the owl after a long night
Weary and bedraggled, the Sapsucker returns
An arduous migration, no doubt.
She pauses guardedly
No one must know of her creation
with its treasured life fluid seeping down branches.
Her soft yellow belly and stippled feather patterning
Mirrors the spotty bark.
Her camouflage is not blown. She dives in with tender gusto
Delicately excavating the holes with brush tongue.
Wind rustles through leaves and she flings off
Only to return again and again and again
To her life-giving channels of gold flowing through tree veins.
YBSS are the only woodpeckers that are completely migratory. They breed further north and west of eastern Massachusetts and spend the winter months in warmer climates; some females traveling as far south as Panama. I wonder if we will see the return of the male this fall as well. It was just a year ago in December that we had our first ever Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a male, and he was eating the fruits of the Pokeberry bush. It was also the first year with a Pokeberry. The plant is rather ungainly and I had some trepidation about allowing it to take hold but if a bit of awkwardness is the price to pay for a garden inviting Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, I’ll take it!
Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Pokeberry – note the male has a red chin as well as a red cap.
Timeline of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Pokeberry –
Summer 2023 – Newly seeded Pokeberry bush grows six feet first summer (most likely the seed was deposited by a bird).
December 2023 – First ever male YBSS. Stays for several days eating Pokeberries.
March – May 2024 – Female YBSS created striking grid pattern of sap wells on both the Holly and Magnolia trees, concentrating her efforts much more on the Holly. She spends many weeks drinking the sap, digging more wells, and eating insects attracted to the sap flows. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds discover the sap wells.
Summer 2024 – Ruby-throated Hummingbirds daily drink nectar from the small pinkish whiteish flowers of the Pokeweed.
October 2024 – Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker returns, with daily visits into November. How long will she stay?
Grow native and they will come!
Carolina Wren- Our New House Guests!
We are sooooo delighted to have a pair of Carolina Wrens nesting on our porch!
I believe this is the pair’s second brood. While we watched in June as they fed their lively and very hungry fledglings, they were rebuilding a nest left over from the House Finches.
Re-building is not exactly accurate. After our resident House Finch pair fledges their first brood, my husband usually takes down the remains and cleans up the corner in the eaves. He didn’t do that this year after the Finches fledged. The Carolina Wrens built their nest right on top of the Finch nest. It’s very deep and you can’t see the nesting bird or the eggs unless you look at it from above. Tom stood on a ladder with his phone camera held way over head to try to get an egg count. There appear to be three, possibly four eggs.
We have Carolina Wrens all year round in our garden but this is the first year they have built a nest on our porch. So excited for babies!!
Great Blue Heron Flight Through the Treetops
With a wingspan of five and a half to six and a half feet, the Great Blue Heron is an extraordinarily fascinating creature to observe in flight.
Warblers and Whatnots – A Handy Guide to Identifying Backyard Warbling Songsters
May is the magical month for migration through Massachusetts (along with many other states and regions) and this year seems extra magnificent. The past several weeks have brought an abundance of exquisite creatures passing through, on their way to northern breeding grounds, along with familiar favorites arriving here to breed in our backyards, local woods, ponds, and fields.
I created this short video for all of we who are “warbler challenged,” that is, struggle to identify these tiny choristers warbling and darting through the treetops. Each spring and autumn migrations I turn my camera’s eye to try to capture what charmer is flitting about in hopes of capturing even a fleeting moment, deciding to try to id when I return home and can have a longer look.
The clips that were chosen are meant to show the birds from all angles – belly, butt, front view, side view, wings in flight, and male and female when captured. The warblers/kinglets/vireos are organized by color to better help make side-by-side comparisons, i.e. all the yellow together, etc. I’ve done my best to give the proper name and will eventually add the audio recordings.
A few notes – a recent tip I learned for discerning whether a Palm Warbler or Yellow-rumped Warbler: The PW has yellow feathers under it’s tail, while the YRWarbler has a patch of yellow on top of it’s tail. Another distinguishing characteristic of the Palm Warbler is that it continually wags it’s tail and you can see the tail wag in the PW clips. The first shot of the Magnolia Warbler, the feathers are so strongly orange -hued I wasn’t sure what I was looking. The second shot shows the more characteristic yellow.
To my songbird friends, please write and let me know if I have made an error; this is a work in progress and we can change anything 🙂
The last clip is a mystery bird, possibly a female Blackburnian Warbler??
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Fly-by!
When you hear Baltimore Orioles, but a Rose-breasted Grosbeak flies by instead- what fabulous underwing color!!.
HUMMINGBIRD ALERT!
A newly arrived female Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been frequenting our garden since the last day of April! She has been stopping to drink nectar from the flowering Japanese Quince ‘Toyo-Nishiki’ and visiting the hummingbird feeder.
Please write if you have been graced by one of these little beauties yet this spring <3
Happy Earth Day feat. Herring Gulls in Flight and Beautiful to Me by Telamor
Herring Gulls in flight after the recent storm, with music by Telamor “Beautiful to Me.”
Happy Earth Day feat. the Carolina Wren and why we LoVe leaf litter!
Joy in the wild garden- What fun to observe our resident Carolina Wren vigorously tossing leaves around while looking for insects. Just one in a million reasons why we leave leaves on the ground, and don’t cut down expired flower stalks. Leaf debris and stalks create the ideal inset habitat, and insects are the number one food for birds during the breeding season. Songbirds need the extra protein to make eggs and keep their young well-fed.
Happy Earth Day feat. Red-winged Blackbirds!
A most welcome sign of spring!
Male Red-winged Blackbirds establishing their territory, in flight display and with their wonderfully varied courtship calls. Towards the end is a brief shot of the object of their desire, the elusive female.
SUPER MOM AND SUPER DAD RETURN TO GOOD HARBOR BEACH #ploverjoyed
Good morning PiPl Friends!
We are overjoyed to share that handicapped Mom and Super Dad have returned for their ninth year nesting at Good Harbor Beach!!! The pair were spotted by Tom on Sunday, the 24th. I raced over to meet him and we watched with delight as they foraged hungrily at the Creek shoreline. This is a record for Mom and Dad, by one day. We have been checking daily and know for certain that they flew in sometime the night before. At first I thought it was not handicapped Mom because the two were running so vigorously along the water’s edge but I was mistaken and it is our Mom! Plover pairs don’t always arrive on the exact same day, together. We know from banding programs that pairs don’t necessarily share the same wintering grounds; it’s wonderfully mystifying when they do share the same arrival date.
Second bit of good news is that the DPW crew is at the beach now as I write this, installing the roping. Unfortunately, we do not yet know if Audubon is going to be working at GHB this summer. Trying to obtain a clear answer has been challenging.
I apologize for the delay in letting you all know and thought it best to wait until the symbolic fencing went up and they had a safe zone.
If you would like to join us this summer volunteering as a Piping Plover Ambassador, please leave a comment in the comment section or email at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com.
I am working non stop on the PiPl documentary through Friday, when it goes back to the film finishing editors in Boston. I won’t be able to respond to emails until Saturday, unless it’s a PiPl emergency 🙂
Happiest of Springs <3
xoKim
P.S. I just dropped off a batch of cheery Plover Peep yellow tees and onesies at Alexandra’s if you are in need of an Easter gift 🙂
Turkey Mating Season!
Turkey boys in full display, with their stunning feathers and faces only Mama’s could love <3
Our favorite bandits, the Cedar Waxwings
Don’t you just love the gorgeous wing patterning of the Cedar Waxwing!
Cedar Waxwings dining on multiflora rose hips at Niles Pond
VERY COOL – KINGFISHER CASTING A PELLET FROM THE GOOD HARBOR BEACH FOOTBRIDGE!
The amazing things we see! I have been observing from some distance a male Belted Kingfisher foraging at the Good Harbor Beach Creek. I write ‘some distance’ because he absolutely does not like it when people notice him and he will immediately depart the area.
While filming him on the footbridge and only hoping he would fly so I could see his beautiful wings, he also cast a ginormous pellet!
According to Cornel, Kingfishers “live mostly on a diet of fish including sticklebacks, mummichogs, trout, and stonerollers. They also eat crayfish and may eat other crustaceans, mollusks, insects, amphibians, reptiles, young birds, small mammals, and even berries.” I typically see them hovering over the water when foraging and they also hunt by looking from a perch overhanging water. Baby Kingfishers do not cast pellets, only the adults. By the time a King Fisher leaves its nest, it can no longer digest fish skeletons and invertebrate shells, and instead, begins disgorging pellets of undigested matter.
Kingfishers are one of the few species of birds where the female is more brightly colored than the male. We can see this is a male as he is minus the belt of rusty red feathers the female displays. Kingfishers have a handsome crest atop their heads and seemingly disproportionately large dagger-like bill.
We can usually find the Kingfisher by listening for their piercingly sharp rattling call, which I tried to capture but it was always way too windy. Kingfishers remain in our region year round, although this is the first Kingfisher I have seen foraging at Good Harbor Beach. He hasn’t been seen now for several weeks but I do hope he returns!
NEW VIDEO – A BALD EAGLE SOARS OVER GLOUCESTER!
What a thrill to see the Eagle close-up, and to see it fly by our City skyline!
After a great morning filming local wildlife and as I was heading home, flying down the road overhead was a large brown bird with an entourage of Crows and gulls in tow. Wow. That’s weird I thought, Crows don’t usually dive bomb Turkey Vultures. To everyone walking down the road’s utter delight, it was not a Turkey Vulture, but a gorgeous Bald Eagle.
The not yet fully mature Eagle hovered over Niles Beach at one location for some time, circling back several times. I couldn’t figure out what he/she was so interested in. Perhaps it was the giant fish head that had washed ashore several days ago. After a bit, the Eagle flew off to the tippy top of a pine tree overlooking the water.
Eagles are superb hunters and fishers, and also love to scavenge carrion.
I think the Eagle is a sub-adult, about 3 and a half to four and a half years old. The above photo is of a mated adult and a sub-adult, taken in Gloucester last spring.
WARBLERS AND WHATNOTS – CAN YOU GUESS?
The recent whoosh of wind from the north brought a new batch of migrating songbirds. They are loving the great insect, seed, and berry feast found at Cape Ann woods, marsh sides, and roadways.
I am often puzzled about which species of warblers when out filming our local wildlife, especially at this time of year when many songbirds are in their non-breeding plumage and there are many juveniles on the wing. After I have a chance to look at the images at my desktop, it’s simpler to id, but not always.
This warbler is easier to identify than many. Is it a:
1) Magnolia Warbler
2) Yellow-rumped Warbler
3) Nashville Warbler
Clue – stay til the end of the clip and you can see why this warbler is named as such.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE SUPER DADS!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE WONDERFUL SUPER DAD’S, both human and avian!
My husband Tom is the best Dad you could ever imagine. From Tom, I inherited the best father-in-law, his Dad. My heart is filled with much joy when I see my son Alex with his daughter and know he has inherited their same thoughtful and kind, gentle loving nature. I don’t want to go on about this because I realize not everyone is so blessed and that there are many absentee fathers out there, mine included. Enjoy all the Dads in your life and know you are so very blessed if you are fortunate to know a good one.
The first photo is of a Piping Plover Dad thermosnuggling his three chicks and was taken recently at a beach on the south shore. I think the chicks are about three weeks old in the photo and it reminded me of our Good Harbor Super Dad. We call him Super Dad for a variety of reasons, but one of the most poignant is how he stayed with the handicapped chick for a month beyond the date when HipHop’s siblings had already learned to fly. It took Hip Hop twice as long to manage sustained flight but Super Dad was with him every step of the way. I think this is very unusual in the animal kingdom and is counter intuitive to the survival of the adult.
The second photo is of another species of shorebird that breeds along the New England coast, the Least Tern. Least Tern Dads share equally in brooding eggs.
Unlike Piping Plover chicks, which are precocial birds and can feed themselves within hours after hatching, Least Terns are semi-precocial and need to be fed by the adults. Least Tern Dads share equally in feeding the chicks.
OUR FIRST FULL WEEK WORKING WITH AUDUBON- JUNE 11th PLOVER LOVER WEEKEND UPDATE
Dear PiPl Friends,
As many of our PiPl followers are aware, this year the City of Gloucester hired Mass Audubon to help manage Cape Ann’s Plover population. We’ve had our first full week of collaborating with Mass Audubon and I have to say it just could not be better for all involved, but most importantly, for the Piping Plovers! The Mass Audubon staff is tremendously professional, kind, friendly, dedicated to wildlife conservation, and very personable. Lyra, who heads the coastal waterbird program for Mass Audubon, and Devon, Gloucester’s assistant conservation agent both have a great deal of experience managing Piping Plovers and are quick to respond to questions and challenges as they arise.
A few changes have been made to the beach. The roped off Plover areas to protect the Plovers has increased, however, there is still loads of space for beachgoers. An added bonus to creating safe spaces for Plovers is that over time, we have seen how the established protected areas for the Plovers has vastly improved the overall health of the beach. Why is that? Because when people and pets aren’t recreating up against the dunes, new vegetation is allowed to take hold including native American Beach Grass (Ammophila breviligulata), American Sea-rocket (Cakile edentula), Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus) and Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens). Protecting the dunes is one of the best coastal strategies for combating a warming climate. It’s truly a beautiful thing to see how much healthier are our dunes!
Another change that has taken place are the guidelines in how close we should stand when observing the Plovers. One of the most important ways to help the Plovers is to give them lots and lots of space. If we hover/stand/place camera gear for long periods of time pointing to the Plovers, wildlife biologists working with Mass Audubon have documented that this activity attracts Crows and Gulls! You may ask, “why is that a bad thing?” Crows voraciously eat Plover eggs and hungry seagulls eat Plovers at all stages of development, including eggs, hatchlings, and even 3 week old chicks.
The best way for we beachgoers to help the Plovers is to watch from a distance and not hover near the birds. With a half-way decent lens and a camera sensor with a good crop factor we can get beautiful shots from a safe distance. The City, Mass Audubon, and we Ambassadors are all asking this of the community and we are deeply appreciative of your help.
Piping Plover smackdown – The video is of our handicapped Super Mom. Her disability does not impede her determination nor ability in defending her territory. She is perhaps Good Harbor Beach’s most fierce Plover, despite her missing foot.
Piping Plovers ferociously defend their nesting territory from intruders of every shape and size; puffing up their feathers to appear larger, chasing, and even biting the offender. Here she is in early spring defending her little slice of Good Harbor Beach from Scruffy Boy’s shenanigans!
PIPING PLOVER JUNE 4th UPDATE
Dear PiPl Friends,
Many have written looking for a PiPl update and I just want to assure everyone that the PiPls have so far managed to survive the high tides and very unseasonably cold temperatures. The tides are predicted to be very high this week so we’ll just keep our hopes up we won’t have a wash out.
A first ever for me this morning; I checked on the Plovers wearing a wooly winter weight sweater, heavy coat, and thick socks. The temperature was 45 degrees on the beach!
Super Mom foot pattering
Super Mom is doing especially beautifully. Plovers do a sort of “foot pattering” when foraging. The behavior is also called “foot-trembling” or “foot-tapping.” They shake their foot in the sand, then cock their heads as though listening. The vibrations caused by the foot pattering helps to bring worms and mollusks closer to the surface. The prey is usually a few inches away from where they are pattering, but sometimes as much as a foot away, nonetheless, the PiPl runs to the potential prey, plunges their beak into the sand, and almost always surfaces with some kind of invertebrate.
This seems like such an important behavior for the Plovers to enable them to successfully forage. I wondered if Mom would still shake her leg with her missing foot. Last week I observed Mom foot pattering! She doesn’t alternate feet, as is typical, but uses only her footless right leg to patter and stir up the sand. Her ability to adapt her behaviors to survive her handicap is extraordinary!
Super Dad napping (on a warmer day this past week)
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, PIPL UPDATE, AND HAPPY 98TH BIRTHDAY TO MY FATHER-IN-LAW CORNELIUS HAUCK!
Dear PiPl Friends,
We returned last night from Ohio where we were celebrating Memorial Day and my father-in-law, Cornelius Hauck’s, 98th birthday. He is the most charming and kindest person; funny, witty, wry, full of wonderful stories, brilliant, and generous are just a few of the adjectives that describe him. I am writing this to you because he shared several secrets to his longevity. Stay active mentally and physically (PT every morning and walking every day) and a cold shower every morning! That last part was news to all of us 🙂 He didn’t mention this, but I am adding that he only retired when he was about 85 years old! He also eats well-balanced meals and has a bourbon (or two) everyday. We all just wish he didn’t live so far from Gloucester.
Grandpa shared a story about his service in WWII. When he first enlisted, he was rejected because he is well over six feet tall, but only weighed 140 pounds. As the War progressed and the Army needed more troops, they allowed him to serve but not in the usual capacity. He has had a lifelong interest in trains and because he was familiar with all the train lines running across the country, he was put in charge of scheduling soldiers traveling on leave.
My father-in-laws’ interest in trains only grew over the years and in his spare time, he went on to write and publish many photographs, books, and articles about trains, and to co-found the Colorado Railroad Museum, located in Golden, Colorado. 
PiPl update –
This morning found Mom peacefully guarding her eggs on the nest and Dad foraging along the water’s edge. I was there early and the DPW hadn’t yet been to clean up the beach. We are so grateful to the DPW for the job that they do, but the crew would not have to be stuck with so much litter/trash/garbage if we enforced our litter laws. Also, dismayed to see remnants of several bonfires. I didn’t make it all the way down the beach; it’s lovely out now but this morning was very windy.
DPW’s beautiful new GHB boardwalk