(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daily Bucket: Cape Ann, Massachusetts in springtime, part one - Gloucester [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-01 Spring has been beautiful so far on Cape Ann, the rocky cape on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Last year’s drought here took a toll, and left many dead shrubs and trees along the shoreline… aside from that, this spring has looked pretty normal compared to other years, with the usual sequence of flowering trees including maples and willows, then oaks, apple and serviceberry, and now cherries, horse chestnut and locusts. It’s already starting to look like summer, with vegetation getting greener and lusher and wild roses blooming. It still (since last year) seems to me that there are far fewer birds here than usual. I still haven’t seen many warblers, and have seen fewer birds in general (aside from a few which seem as numerous as they usually are this time of year, including Gray Catbirds, Chipping Sparrows and Northern Mockingbirds). Some of the Common Eiders that were here this winter in smaller numbers than usual are still here (most of the adult males will probably be leaving soon for Maine or further north), but other sea ducks have left. Despite the smaller numbers of birds, the scenery and weather have been lovely (it’s been sunny and mostly in the 60’s the past couple weeks), and I’ve seen some birds I didn’t expect, including four American Kestrels in a Gloucester cemetery, and Common Terns in Gloucester Harbor. These are some pics and videos I’ve taken in Gloucester (one of the four towns of Cape Ann) since late April. My next Bucket will be Part Two, about Rockport. Welcome sign at the Stage Fort Park visitors’ center, Gloucester, Massachusetts Chipping Sparrow at Stage Fort Park, in an area where they’re doing construction work (zoom) tulips on Stacy Esplanade buttercups at Stage Fort Park Stacy Esplanade, Crab Beach and Gloucester Harbor Common Eider drakes in Gloucester Harbor Common Eider drake Herring Gull harassing a Common Eider (zoom) Herring Gull and Common Eider roses next to the Fishermen’s Wives memorial on Stacy Esplanade A week ago I went to Gloucester Harbor to take a walk and get some Common Eider photos. I expected to see Eiders, gulls and Double-crested Cormorants...but something else was there too, making a racket: at least three dozen Common Terns, squawking as they perched on barnacle-and-seaweed covered rocks which were exposed at low tide, and fishing, which involved racing through the air at breathtaking speed and then diving, sometimes coming up with a fish, which it took back to its family waiting—not very quietly---on a rock (or that’s what appeared to be happening). There were some people up on the esplanade, and as one particular tern keep coming back to the same spot to dive, some kids cheered each time it caught something. The terns’ racing around seemed to be distressing the gulls. I don’t remember ever seeing any kind of terns there before, and my eBird searches haven’t turned up much about Common Terns there (they are apparently seen more often on Plum Island, Crane Beach and some other places on the North Shore), so maybe the gulls weren’t used to their presence. I’ve checked that area of the harbor a few times since then around low tide and have only seen a couple Terns, so maybe they were just passing through. Common Tern with a fish (zoom) rocks on Crab Beach at very low tide (zoom) Common Terns (zoom) Common Tern with fish (zoom) Common Terns (zoom) Common Terns (zoom) Common Tern with fish (zoom) Common Tern with boats in the background, Gloucester Harbor (zoom) Common Tern Common Tern (zoom) Common Tern (zoom) A three-minute video I took of the Common Terns and the Common Eiders (mostly adult drakes, and at least a few hens), and a very upset Herring Gull (a couple Cormorants also make an appearance). Common Eiders don’t always swim in single file as they did here, and I think it might have been because they stay closer together when stressed, and they weren’t used to the terns’ commotion either. Although they seemed less disturbed by it than the gulls. x YouTube Video Common Terns and Herring Gulls in Gloucester Harbor (zoom), Ten Pound island Lighthouse in the distance Savannah Sparrow in a Gloucester MA cemetery (zoom) apple blossoms Red-bellied Woodpecker...I’ve seen lots of them this spring small pond on Gloucester MA, with water levels back to normal (they got far too low last year) Gloucester MA cemetery where I’ve seen lots of Chipping Sparrows, Northern Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Gray Catbirds, Robins, and heard some Baltimore Orioles lately Spring Azure (I think) butterfly on garlic mustard A Gray Catbird insisted on doing a photo shoot with me… Gray Catbird Gray Catbird Gray Catbird (zoom) Gray Catbird (zoom) wild chokecherry by a small pond wild blackberry blossom Rust Island, where the Gloucester OspreyCam is located (you can just barely see it in the distance, left of center...zoom). Annie and Squam (named after the Annisquam River to which this marsh is connected) have three eggs and are doing well right now, in their sixth year together. You can watch them HERE. The eggs are expected to start hatching around June 4th. Requisite photo of the Fishermen’s Memorial on Stacy Esplanade (BTW if you have never seen the 1937 movie Captains Courageous which has a memorable scene here, do watch it, it’s one of the greatest movies of all time) 18-second video of a Gray Catbird (might be the same one as in the pics above) singing… x YouTube Video It’s 76°F on the North Shore of Massachusetts this morning, with an expected high of 89° (the warmest day we’ve had so far this spring). It’s gotten a little dry here, but it’s supposed to rain this weekend. I checked the Gloucester waterfront again yesterday evening for Common Terns at low tide, but there wasn’t a tern in sight. Some pics from yesterday… Double-crested Cormorant and Common Eider drake, Gloucester Harbor MA (zoom) Fishermen’s Wives Memorial, Gloucester, Massachusetts (zoom) View of Gloucester Harbor from Stage Fort Park (zoom) Wild roses, small fishing boat, and gull at Bass Rocks, Gloucester MA Wild roses at Bass Rocks, Gloucester MA YOUR TURN, BUCKETEERS: WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NATURE IN YOUR AREA? Thanks for reading the Daily Bucket. Phenology is how we take earth’s pulse. We discuss what we see in each Bucket. We value all observations, as we ponder life’s cycles. Now it’s your turn. Please comment about your own natural area, with or without photos. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow, and join to write a Bucket of your own observations. 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