Category Archives: long beach centerville

Ospreys

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I know ospreys are more and more common here but I still get a thrill when I see one. They are one of the environmental success stories from my youth. I didn’t see one until I was well into adulthood and I think I saw my first one in Florida…

This osprey platform was built by the utility company after several nesting attempts atop the bare utility pole ended badly for the ospreys. For the first year ospreys visited and perched there but it wasn’t until this year that they actually have showed some nest building interest beyond a few random sticks.

Not far from where this bird was perched I could see another one.

Can you see the osprey? It is the black dot on top of the pole and yes, that is what it looked like from where I was standing. I have learned to look for a second bird nearby the first and they are often on a pole so I zoomed in on this one…

And this is what I saw…

and this….

Later on I headed to a different spot where I knew I would probably see multiple birds nesting. The Centerville River is a popular osprey hang out and sure enough….

I saw this pair (the second one is hidden in this picture but is behind the first)

This pair….and I especially love this pair because the homeowner has obviously gone to some lengths to keep them off…

And this one was a loner for the moment though there were other birds in the air. There were 2 other nests along the river as well, both with birds but I would have had to go on private property to photograph them so I left it for another time…

Ospreys in the House

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Look carefully at this picture. On the third chimney to the left is an osprey nest! This large home is on the Centerville River in Osterville and I’m not even sure anyone is there other than the pair of ospreys busily building their nest.One stayed on the nest while the other gathered and delivered nesting materials.

This nest is also on the Centerville River, in Centerville this time and this is the second year the ospreys have nested here. You can see there is a lot of guano on the roof but the homeowners are pretty excited to have an osprey nest on their house.
If you enlarge this shot you can easily see the two birds on this nest.
I guess ospreys are nesting on chimneys more and more often but this was the first time I had seen them and I have to say I thought it was pretty cool…

Speaking of birds of prey….did you see the picture of the bald eagle seen in Hyannis that was on the front page of the Cape Cod Times yesterday? Just down the street from Main St.!

Fiddle Dee and Fiddle Dum

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getting ready to make hundreds more of them!The little fiddler crab in my hands is still a little cold stunned early in the morning. He was pretty sluggish but it didn’t take long for him to get warmed up….
and get a little feisty, too! Only the male fiddler crabs have the trademark fiddle claw and it is used more for flirting than hurting. It is not unusual to come across a colony of burrows filled with anxious male crabs waving their claws in the air hoping to claim some attention….
Here you can see a female approaching the burrow of a waiting male. Although the males can be patient and entice a female to come into their burrow they can also be a bit….grabby….if you catch my drift.
Another male marching sideways across the sand….and then down below you’ll see that they will sometimes get a bit argumentative as well. The outside male in this case marched right over to the burrow and grabbed the other crab’s claw. The second crab withdrew quickly into its burrow.
Have you ever seen these little guys? They are all over the Cape. These were photographed in Centerville and in Wellfleet this past week. Where is your favorite spot to find them?

Cape Cod Beaches

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are especially wonderful on sunny spring afternoons. These shots are from Long Beach in Centerville.

Piping plovers are on their nests and watching warily as people pass by. Horseshoe crabs are beginning to lay their eggs. Beach plum is nearing the end of its bloom while rosa rugosa is just beginning hers. Willets are nesting in area salt marshes and feeding along the edge….

Every beach is busy now with birds and other animals either nesting or preparing to nest. It’s a great time of year to go exploring before the summer crowds set in.