Good Morning! Brought to you by Thacher Island’s North Light sunrise.
GOOD HARBOR BEACH NORTH LIGHT SUNRISE SEQUENCE
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Tag Archives: Thacher Island
RAINBOW SUNRISE AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH THIS MORNING
Vivid rainbow-hued sunrise this morning
OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS ARE AGAIN ATTEMPTING TO NEST IN THE PARKING LOT
Our little Piping Plover family has for the second year in a row been shunted into the parking lot. Saturday morning at 7am they were seen courting and nest scraping on the beach. After a full morning of plenty of dogs off leash romping on the beach, they were nest scraping in the parking lot. By nightfall, they were mating in the parking lot.
Piping Plover Good Harbor beach nest scrape April 13, 2019
This behavior is precisely what happened last year. The PiPls would begin their morning courting and nest scraping on the beach but by the end of each warm April weekend day, especially off leash days, they were found courting and nest scraping in the parking lot.
Piping Plover parking lot courtship Good Harbor Beach April 2019
Sadly, there is a contingency that endlessly denies that the people not following the leash laws have any responsibility. They expertly spread misinformation and twist words around and this is not helping the Piping Plovers successfully nest and fledge chicks. It’s heartbreaking really because nesting in the parking lot very adversely affects the health of the parents and chicks for a whole host of reasons. The adults will be expending twice as much energy, guarding a nest scrape in both the parking lot and on the beach. Last year, the birds maintained their territory on the beach the entire time they were brooding eggs in the parking lot. Intelligently so, when you think about it, because the beach nest is the precise location they marched their chicks to only one day after hatching.
To help quell the endless misinformation, falsehoods, and downright lies being perpetuated on Facebook –
Piping Plover monitors are not dog haters. Many of us are dog owners (some with multiple dogs) and most of us love all animals, wild and domestic.
I have, as well as have many of our PiPl advocates, been addressing not only the issue of people not following the leash laws at Good Harbor Beach, but problems around littering and trash collection and how these issues adversely affects Piping Plovers and all wildlife. Before there was the Animal Advisory Committee list of recommendation and the city’s Piping Plover Plan, I presented a list of recommendations, which included how to help the PiPl in regard to littering. This plan was presented on July 9, 2018. We fully recognize the threat gulls and Crows pose to the chicks. The focus of late has been the dogs on the beach because they are the greatest disrupters to courtship and brooding and because the PROBLEM IS STILL NOT RESOLVED, despite the ordinance change. There were dogs off leash all over Good Harbor Beach at the time of this writing (Saturday night) and only a very few gulls and Crows.
To address the controversy over “other predators.”
As we have posted many times (including photos of), there are Eastern Coyotes and Red Fox on our local beaches. We see their easily recognized tracks in the sand. But one coyote or one fox, which is the most set of tracks that we ever see on a beach on a given morning at dawn or an evening at dusk, does not in any way equal the disruption to Piping Plovers while they are courting and brooding to that which is caused by several hundred dogs romping on the beach on a single day.
ADULT BIRDS ARE NOT IN DANGER OF BEING EATEN BY FOX, COYOTES, AND DOGS BECAUSE THEY CAN FLY AWAY FROM MAMMALIAN PREDATORS.
Crane Beach, which has by far many more natural predators than does GHB, successfully fledges chicks every year.
Crow in the dune this morning at daybreak. I have posted often about the problem of gulls, Crows, and litter and how the issue negatively impacts Piping Plovers.
ADULT PIPING PLOVERS AND GULLS FEED SIDE BY SIDE ALONG THE SHORELINE.
Gulls and Crows threaten Piping Plover chicks, but we are not even at the chick stage yet. Folks might want to know that because of the restaurants lining the boulevard at Revere Beach, the community has a much, much greater problem with gulls and Crows than we could ever imagine, literally hundreds, if not thousands, on any morning or afternoon. And yet, Revere Beach successfully fledges chicks each year in the exact same locations, and only doors down from where the restaurants are located.
Winthrop Shores Reservation Beach, a densely packed neighborhood with rows upon rows of of triple decker homes facing their beach has a problem with house cats on the beach, and yet this community manages to successfully fledge chicks year in and year out, in the exact same locations.
What do these three very different types of beach habitats have in common, and what are these three beach communities doing right that we are not doing? Perhaps it is because the citizens respect their community’s leash laws.
Repeatedly claiming disbelief at the number of dogs we are encountering at Good Harbor Beach, I have been pressured and cajoled into sharing photos of dogs on the beach by the dog friendly group’s administrator, and when I do, they publicly object. I invite all the negative PiPl Facebook commenters who we NEVER, EVER, EVER see at Good Harbor Beach, to come lend a hand. You were invited to work with us on solving the dogs on the beach issue and our invitation was ignored.
Additional note- Today, Sunday, a former off-leash day, there were fewer dogs on the beach than yesterday, a former on-leash day (as of 12pm). Puzzling, but we are not questioning the PiPls good fortune! Huge shout out to ACOs Teagan and Jamie for their hard work, to to all the people who did not bring their dogs to the beach today, to Gloucester’s DPW for installing the unmissable new signs, and to all the folks who came to GHB today, read the signs, and departed (we saw that happen)!
Our GHB Piping Plovers are weighing their options. Perhaps if we can keep the dog disturbance to a minimum, they will abandon their nest scrape in the parking lot and stay on the beach.
List of Articles and Links Provided That Explain How Dog Disruptions on Beaches Harm Piping Plovers
Very briefly gorgeous sunrise this morning, before the heavier clouds descended
Harnessing the Wind! Kitesurfing at Good Harbor Beach
A kitesurfer must have amazing athleticism, with an ability to balance on the kiteboard while also controlling the powerful kite. And withstand Gloucester’s current 36 degree water temperature.
#supermoon MARCH FULL WORM MOON RISING OVER TWIN LIGHTS ROCKPORT
Hoping to capture the Supermoon, in all its huge glory, rising between the Twin Lights last night, but the sky was pink and hazy around the horizon line. Still, I think it’s good to have a record of a rarely occurring full moon on the first day of spring.
Thacher Island Twin Lights, waiting for the Moon to rise, North Light, left; South Light right.
#GLOUCESTERMA DEEP FREEZE SEA SMOKE GOOD HARBOR BEACH, TWIN LIGHTS, EASTERN POINT, BACKSHORE, TEN POUND ISLAND, NILES POND
My fingers froze and I had to call it quits yet despite the bitterly cold five degree temperature and biting wind, day break brought blue skies and beautiful sea smoke all along the backshore, from Gloucester’s Ten Pound Island Lighthouse to Rockport’s Twin Lighthouses.
Take heart friends -today is the last day of January- only 48 more days until the spring equinox!
Fresh wild animal tracks crossing Niles Pond
#GLOUCESTERMA FROZEN IN A HAZE OF SEA SMOKE WINTER STORM 2019 – GOOD HARBOR BEACH, LIGHTHOUSES, CITY HALL, NILES BEACH
Snapshots from a brief tour around the back shore while out doing errands. With temperatures hovering at 5 degrees, Cape Ann was blanketed with a thick layer of impenetrable ice, snow squalls, and sea smoke.
Happy to see the temperatures are heading towards the forties after Tuesday!
A crazy person surfing at GHB
THRILLING TO SEE SWANS FLYING OVER THE TWIN LIGHTHOUSES!
Friday afternoon, after the nor’easter, the sun came out just barely before the skies again darkened with a brief snow squall. I was driving along Atlantic Road during those fleeting in between moments when way off in the distance I spied a flock of birds, with the distinct shape of swans in flight. Swans fly with their long necks extended, unlike herons and egrets, which fly with their necks curved in. What on Earth is Mr. Swan doing out in this wildly windy weather I thought. But it wasn’t Mr. Swan, it was an entire family of Swans! There were two adults and four cygnets. Stunning to see and very uplifting. They flew over the Twin Lights and then further and further until I could not see them any longer. 
The first and third swans are the adults, the second, fourth, fifth and sixth are the cygnets, or first-hatch year juveniles.The young swans will retain their grayish brown feathers until their second summer.
Please write and let me know if you saw the Mute Swan family on Friday afternoon. They were flying along the backshore at about 2:15. Or, if you live on the Northshore and know of any swan family with two adults and four youngsters, I would love to learn more about them. My email address is kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Thank you so much for any leads!
Swans and wave crashing
A few more of the Mute Swan family flying toward and over Thacher Island
NORTH LIGHT SUNRISE
Just another spectacular Cape Ann sunrise 🙂
Spectacular Twin Lights Thacher Island Waves
The photos were taken after the storm on Tuesday morning, at dead low tide, standing almost to Salt Island and looking toward Thacher Island. I don’t recall ever seeing such enormous waves at low tide and will stay tuned in the future. Look for the surfer’s head in the waves 🙂
GLOUCESTER MARCH NOR’EASTERS STORM COVERAGE 2018
Covering storms back to back, I didn’t have time to post on both Good Morning Gloucester and on my blog. The following are links to storm posts from the region’s three March nor’easters, beginning on March 2nd.
LIVE FROM ATLANTIC ROAD WITH HUGE WAVES THREE HOURS BEFORE HIGH TIDE
LITTLE RED SHED NO MORE
BANGERS, CRASHERS, COASTAL FLOODING, BEACON MARINE BASIN, PIRATE’S LANE, AND THE GOOD HARBOR BEACH FOOTBRIDGE BOMBOGENESIS RILEY NOR’EASTER #GLOUCESTERMA
#GLOUCESTERMA RILEY STORM DAMAGE ATLANTIC ROAD PASS AT OWN RISK, GOOD HARBOR BEACH FOOTBRIDGE DAMAGE, PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH DEATH WISH, CHURNING SEAS, YOU WANTED TO BUILD A HOUSE WHERE?, AND THE THIRD SUPER HIGH TIDE ON THE WAY
#GLOUCESTERMA RILEY STORM DAMAGE MORNING AFTER, EASTERN POINT ROAD IMPASSABLE DUE TO STROM SURGE, CLEAN-UP BEGINS, HUGE SHOUT OUT TO GLOUCESTER’S DPW AND POLICE OFFICERS, GOOD HARBOR BEACH FOOTBRIDGE IN THE EMBANKMENT
DOWNED PHONE POLE AT THE ELKS BASS ROCKS #GLOUCESTERMA RILEY NOR’EASTER
BREAKING: BRACE COVE-NILES POND CAUSEWAY ANNIHILATED, NILES POND FLOODING #GLOUCESTERMA NOR’EASTER RILEY
BREAKING: EASTERN POINT LIGHTHOUSE ROAD WASHED AWAY AND PARKING LOT LITTERED WITH STORM SURGE DEBRIS; DO NOT DRIVE DOWN, NOWHERE TO TURN AROUND! #GLOUCESTERMA NOR’EASTER RILEY
DISASTER AT PEBBLE BEACH #ROCKPORTMA MARCH STORM NOR’EASTER RILEY
BEFORE AND AFTER ATLANTIC ROAD ESTATE MARCH NOR’EASTER STORM RILEY
ATLANTIC OCEAN WAVE WATCHING -EXPLODERS, BANGERS, ROLLERS, CRASHERS, AND SONIC BOOMERS – #GLOUCESTEMA #ROCKPORTMA MARCH NOR’ESTER STORM RILEY
CLEAR EVIDENCE OF THE DESTRUCTIVE FORCE OF GLOBAL WARMING ON THE MASSACHUSETTS COASTLINE AND HOW THIS NEGATIVELY IMPACTS LOCAL WILDLIFE
NILES POND BRACE COVE RESTORATION UNDERWAY 2018 #GLOUCESTERMA NOR’EASTER STORM RILEY
SHORING UP THE NILES POND-BRACE COVE CAUSEWAY BEFORE THE NEXT NOR’EASTER (ARRIVING TONIGHT)
MARCH NOR’EASTER #GLOUCESTER MA ATLANTIC OCEAN EXPLODING WAVES, SPINDRIFTS, AND THE PRICE TO PAY
RATS, RATS, AND MORE RATS! SNOWY OWL HEDWIG WEEKEND UPDATE #2
Hedwig was observed Saturday morning, when repeated harassment by a flock of crows sent her hiding. She reappeared Saturday afternoon, and was again seen Sunday morning in the drizzle, not too far from where she was perched Saturday evening. Later Sunday afternoon she slept and rested in the pouring rain.
Hedwig sleeping in the rain (thank you to Arly Pett for letting me know she was out in the rain!)
That she stays in a highly localized winter territory seems in keeping with known Snowy Owl behavior traits. I read that during the summer season in the Arctic, male Snowies hunt over hundreds of miles, whereas female Snowies typically hunt within a much smaller range. She has been observed eating sea ducks and rabbits and there are plenty of rat holes along the backshore rocks.
Both rats and lemmings (the Snowies super food in the Arctic) belong to the order Rodentia. From wiki, “A lemming is a small rodent usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings are subnivean animals. They make up the subfamily Arcicolinae together with voles and muskrats which forms part of the superfamily Muroidea which also includes rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils.”
Lemming (Lemmini)
Often Hedwig has been seen flying straight out over the water towards Twin Lights. I wondered, if she is hunting there, does Thacher Island have a rat population. Thacher Island Association president Paul St. Germain answers that question for our readers,
“Hi Kim, there are lots of rats on Thacher mostly in the shore line rocks. We don’t see them often but know they are there. I discovered a bunch in the cellar of the keeper house making their nest in an old tarp. I would love to see Hedwig out there but we don’t go out in the winter. Have never seen snowy owls in the summer.”
Great info and thanks to Paul for sharing that! A Snowy Owl has been seen on the rocks in Rockport, across the strait, opposite Twin Lights, and wonder if it is our Hedwig.
Rat and Lemming photos courtesy wiki commons media
This brings up the topic, what to do if you have a rat problem. The absolute worst way to control rats is with rat poison, namely for the sake of beautiful predatory birds such as Snowy Owls, falcons, hawks, and eagles. Birds that ingest rats that have been poisoned with rat poison will generally become gravely ill and die. Secondly, it is a cruel, slow death for the rat. They will usually go back to their nest to die. If that nest is located behind a wall in your home, you will smell that unmistakeable horrendous smell for many months. Thirdly, rat poison is only 60 percent effective. I wonder if the rats that survive rat poison will go on to breed super rats.
The best way to avoid having to kill a rat is to make sure they cannot gain access to your home or business by regularly inspecting soffits and woodwork for holes. Old-fashioned snap traps and live trapping continue to be the most effective way to rid your home or business of rats.
Saturday I stopped to say hello to a group of birders flocked together along the backshore who had traveled all the way from western Mass. They were observing Grebes, Buffleheads, and a Common Murre. And a Puffin had been spotted! I asked if they were planning to go to any of our local restaurants for lunch, but they had packed lunches. One Mom shared that an expert from Audubon told the group that there were at least a “dozen Snowy Owls” on Bass Rocks. Bananas! I have to say that it makes me hoppin’ mad when folks spread misinformation about our local wildlife. I gently told her that no, there were not a dozen owls, but that if she and her group waited until late afternoon, they might catch sight of Hedwig.
Twin Lights from a Snowy Owl POV
A Glorious Good Morning To You!
Twin Lights Thacher Island Sunrise
GLORIOUS GOOD MORNING BROUGHT TO YOU BY TWIN LIGHTS!
“It was a good one this morning,” some old gent walking past me remarked, smiling from ear to ear. Yes, I concurred, equally as full of joy to see the day begin on such a note.
Twin Lights Thacher Island
We Love You Too Snowy Owl!
For the past week or so there has been a remarkably tolerant Snowy Owl feeding and perching on the rocks at Atlantic Road. Perhaps she (or he) is the same Snowy that has been noticed on the backshore over the course of the past month. I write tolerant because this Snowy was perched about fifteen feet from the sidewalk and neither traffic nor birdwatchers seemed to faze her much. As word has gotten out, her fan club has grown, so much so that there was a bit of a traffic jam today. Every several hours I stopped by to check on her whereabouts. At 2:00 today, she had only moved about a foot from where she was at daybreak. By sundown, she had flown up onto the rooftops of an Atlantic Road resident.
Many thanks to Kate for all her text alerts letting me know when the Snowy was on the backshore!
Early morning and the Snowies face and talons were bloodstained, which is a very positive sign that she is feeding well. Snowy Owls wintering over in our region eat rabbits, rodents (lots of rats), songbirds, and sea ducks. Being good stewards of the Snowies means not applying rat poison around your home or business. There are several methods equally as efficient in killing rats as rat poison. When a bird of prey such as a Peregrine Falcon, Snowy Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, or Bald Eagle ingests a rat that has eaten rat poison, the raptor becomes sick and will usually die.
The Snowy spent the better part of the day mostly dozing, preening, cleaning her talons, and puffing her feathers for warmth. At one point she pushed her face into a snow patch but I couldn’t tell if it was to drink or to wash.
For a moment the Snowy sat bolt upright from a loud bang heard in the distance, but generally, she was a satiated and sleepy owl.
Snowy Owl Fan Club Traffic Jam
CAPE ANN LIGHTHOUSES SHROUDED IN SEA SMOKE
Evocative views looking through sea smoke along the shoreline this morning, from Ten Pound Island to Twin Lights, and at every vantage point along the way. On my very last stop photographing a buoy in the sea smoke, I spied a mystery bird far off shore. Bobbing in the water and with a bill not at all shaped liked a seagulls, it was a SNOW GOOSE! He was too far away to get a great photo, but wonderful to see nonetheless!
LIGHTING LANTERNS IN THE RISING SUN
NORTH LIGHT
Thacher Island North Light Sunrise
New Short Film: The Uncommon Common Tern
What fun to encounter a small flock of terns teaching its young to fish. Nearly as large as the adults, the tubby terns cheekily squawk and demand food (shrimp I think in this case). Watch as the fledglings try to master fishing skills while the adults tirelessly guide the young on how to feed themselves.
With many thanks to Paul St. Germain, president of the Thacher Island Association, for information about the ongoing restoration of shorebirds on Thacher Island.
There is nothing common about the uncommon Common Tern. They were named Common because hundreds of thousands formerly nested along the Atlantic Coast. As with many species of shorebirds, the rage for wearing fancy feathered hats during the 1800s nearly drove these exquisite “swallows of the sea” to extinction. After the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was ratified in 1918, terns began to recover.
A second major setback occurred when in the 1970s open landfills were closed, displacing thousands of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. The aggressive and highly adaptable gulls resettled to offshore nesting sites used by terns.
Common Terns are a Species of Special Concern in Massachusetts. Through a statewide long-term commitment of restoration, protection, and management of nesting colonies, the populations are very slowly and gradually increasing.
Former nesting sites include islands such as Cape Ann’s Thacher Island. During the mid 1950s, over 1,125 pairs of Arctic, Common, and Roseate Terns nested on Thacher Island. Today there are none.
The southern side of Thacher Island is owned by the Thacher Island Association. The northern end of Thacher Island is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the authority of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. These organizations are working together to restore terns and other species of birds to Thacher Island.
Good Harbor Beach Dazzling Daybreak
Bedazzled by a single morning’s sunrise–every shade all at once–from hues of rose-violet-blue giving way to fiery bands of red-orange-yellow. I can’t decide which I like best, you choose 🙂
Salt Island Sunrise
Salt Island in the foreground, Thacher Island in the background
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
My grandmother was fond of saying “the early bird catches the worm.” I assumed she said that because I adored getting up early to eat breakfast with my grandfather before he left for work. In a large family with siblings and cousins, I had him all to myself in those day break hours. Having developed a passion and love for wild creatures and wild places, I understand better what she meant. She and my grandfather built a summer home for their family in a beautiful, natural seashore setting and both she and my parents packed our home with books and magazines about nature. Now I see her design…
Day break, beautiful scene, beautiful creatures by the sea’s edge
Song Sparrow breakfast
American Robin fledgling, note its speckled breast feathers
Mockingbird feeding its fledgling
Song Sparrow and Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) flowers and fruit
Sanderling
Good Morning Gloucester, Brought to You by Good Harbor Beach
Saturday’s sumptuous sunrise
Good Harbor Beach Back Shore Storm Photos
The waves were sublime, terrifying, and mesmerizing all at once. And a photographer’s dream. I was also filming B-roll for several film projects and am looking forward to working with the footage. Follow the links below to check out Good Morning Gloucester for more Good Harbor Beach and back shore after Jonas storm coverage.
Thacher Island Twin Lights
Good Harbor Beach
Good Harbor Beach and Back Shore After Jonas
More Back Shore Good Harbor Jonas Photos