Sunset~Hardings Beach, Chatham, Ma

Howdee all,

Last night I packed a picnic dinner and we headed out to Harding's Beach to catch the sunset.

The no-see-ums were out and we ended up eating dinner in the car..

After dinner we braved the bugs for a short beach walk..

and a few photos..

Other than a few downed trees, minor electrical outages and a few boats that were beached….Irene was kind here..

Wishing all that were affected adversely~~ a speedy recovery and rebuilding after the storm.

Hello Irene~Chatham, Ma

Howdee all,

We haven't seen the brunt of the storm yet..it shouldn’t be too bad here in Chatham, Ma.

We had a nice walk early morning and late morning took a drive around town.

The winds had picked up.

There was minor flooding, in a few low lying areas.

We drove to Lighthouse beach..

Young girls having fun using sheets for sails..

The parking lot was full…Storm chasers..

No swimming allowed today..

Though..there were Board surfers going out to check out the surf..

I walked to the beach..

view looking south

I was sandblasted…I look five years younger now

view looking north..

View toward the lighthouse..

Sand sailing..

Board sailing..

Hello Irene…thanks for being kind to us so far..

Waiting for Hurricane Irene

Howdee all,

The shops of downtown Chatham, Ma are boarding up..

In preparation of Irene..

Chatham light

Hurricane Warning Flags..

Stay safe my east coast friends and family!

I will try to post during and after storm photos here…

Batten Down the hatches~Irene’s coming

Howdee all,

We are still on Cape Cod and will weather out Hurricane Irene here.

I hope all my east coast family and friends stay safe!

I wonder what the Cape will look like after the storm.

Will this bridge still be passable after the storm?

Will these boats still be nestled alongside the pier?

Will the Coast Guard boats be going out on rescue missions?

What will the birds do?

This ones not too concerned right now..

Where will the Grey and Harbor Seal go? They like hanging out on the sand bar…will it still be here..or moved to another area?

How will South Beach look after the storm?

From current storm tracks~it looks like the Cape will be getting a tropical storm..

Of course that could all change..

We are here nestled in behind a family home…Will go to the house when the storm hits.

Take care East Coasters

Batten Down the Hatches!

Related articles

• Hurricane Irene 'extremely dangerous', warns Barack Obama (guardian.co.uk)
• 7 PM Hurricane Irene Update [I wonder if we'll see HAARP used.] (jhaines6.wordpress.com)
• Questions and answers about Hurricane Irene and its impact on New Jersey (nj.com)

South Beach Birding, Cape Cod

Howdee all,

Yesterday we joined a group to bird

South Beach, Chatham Ma,

Mary Noonan Keleher, a facebook friend,  invited us to tag along.

We took the first water taxi out of Outermost Harbor, to South Beach.

We paid an extra 10 dollars to get a drop off closer to North Cove.

Below is a map of South Beach and Monomoy If you want to Bird South Beach check out this link.

The map is there as well

It was supposed to be a stormy morning….but we got lucky…

The storm moved out of the area sooner than expected.

We birded the inner beach and then moved south toward North Cove area..

See Map above.

Mary brought her daughter Ashley along…Ashley birded with us and also keep herself busy by creating art..

And Jumping over waves…

We walked thru sandy beaches..

And shallow water..

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated sandpiper?

I still suck at shorebirding…

Scads of Tern

Gull trying to get a free lunch..Least Sandpiper

I feel like a beginning birder when it comes to shorebirds…

Black-bellied Plover

A few birds like this Plover, are easier for me to ID

Whimbrel

And these..well~what else could they be?

Sanderling

 

Ruddy Turnstone

Easy ID for me :)

Clamming

Checking out the birds…

Snowy Egrets~dance fishing

Looking for Pelagics

Wilson’s Storm Petral

Life bird for us!

Why have we never seen this bird before? There were hundreds of them flying low over the water.

  Whimbrel

A fun day for all ~

Thanks to Mary for inviting us to tag along!

Birds of the Day

……………………………………………….
Double-crested Cormorant
Northern Gannet
Herring Gull
Laughing Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Northern Harrier
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron
Horned Lark
Osprey
American Oystercatcher
Wilson's Storm Petrel
Semipalmated Plover,
Piping Plover
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper

Red Knot

Snowy Egret
Pectoral Sandpiper
Cory's Shearwater
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Barn Swallow
Tree Swallow
Black Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Roseate Tern
Least Tern
Ruddy Turnstone
Whimbrel
Willet

Related articles

• Beach babies and standing out in a crowd... (along2rivers.wordpress.com)
• I See What I WANT to See: The Case of the Pomarine Jaeger and Common Terns with a Bit of Chocolate Tossed in Just For Fun (desperatehousescribes.wordpress.com)
• Shore Birds and a Life Bird (prairiebirder.wordpress.com)