Category Archives: spring on cape cod

Dunes in bloom

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It’s June and that means the dunes are in bloom on Cape Cod. Don’t wait too long to get out there and enjoy the colors and scents of the dune flowers, though, because their splendor is short lived.

Rosa rugosa, also called beach rose, is in bloom all over in June

Beach roses, correctly known as rosa rugosa, are not local to the Cape and Islands but are so common here that they are used on promotional materials for many summer programs. Brought here by sea captains from Asia back in the 1800s, they have adapted and proliferated here. Some stories say they were brought back as a romantic gift for a sea captain’s wife. Less romantic stories say seeds floated over in bilge water. I say, take your pick.

Beach peas are easy to find at area beaches and dune areas.

Beach peas are very common at almost all Cape beaches and dune areas. They are low growing and sprawl across the sand with pink and purple blossoms. They really do grow pea pods and although some people say they are not edible, others insist they are delicious. They are usually full of bugs, so I usually leave them to the wildlife to consume. Wild rabbits and even red foxes gobble them up and birds peck apart the pods in late summer to eat the dried peas.

Dusty miller grows in the hottest, driest places on the beach and in the dunes. It will have stalks of yellow flowers by the end of this month and seems to be pretty drought resistent. It perseveres even through the driest, hottest summers.

Hudsonia, also called poverty grass or woolly beach heather, is in bloom right now

For me, one of the most amazing sights of the year is the hudsonia in bloom in the dunes in June. This low to the ground yellow flower is tough as nails and as beautiful a carpet of flowers as you’ll ever find on the Cape. It’s bloom doesn’t last long so get out there now to enjoy it.

Hudsonia at Sandy Neck, Barnstable MA

There is also a type of locust in bloom right now, one with pink blossoms.

You may also be seeing clusters of leaves with maroon bottoms–these are the beginnings of seaside goldenrod plants. They won’t bloom until late summer or early fall but for now their foliage is beautiful.

Dune and beach plants have to be very tough, drought tolerant, and adaptive to constantly changing weather conditions. Many are prickly or thick. Some feel furry. These are all ways plants protect themselves. Most have deep roots, which not only help them find moisture, but which hold sand in place as well.

When you’re out walking this June, take a closer look at the plants you see. These guys have earned our appreciation and respect. Without them, our beaches and dunes would not only look different but could be severely compromised by waves and wind that move sand around with abandon.

The roses get a lot of attention but trust me, the hudsonia can give them a run for their money. Get out there and enjoy them while you can.

Late May on the beach….

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It is only a few days before Memorial Day and the Cape Cod beaches are beautiful…and still pretty quiet so come for a walk with me…

First we’ll take a turn by the sweet smelling rosa rugosa’s which are blooming really early this year…

We will stop to admire the beach peas, also blooming really early….and while we’re at it we’ll look out over Nantucket Sound…

Here’s a close up of those lovely beach peas…

We’ll enjoy the view of the sliver that remains of Egg Island, that only shows up at low tide. That’s Great Island in Yarmouth in the background.

We’ll stop to look across Lewis Bay in the amazing light…

Check out some courting least terns…

and smile at the ones lined up at the edge of the water…

And then we’ll take one last long look at the sand, sea and sky before we head back to work…

Painting a few eggs and babies….

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Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to go to some wonderful places, including gull nesting colonies, while working with people doing various bird studies, etc. The nest that I painted here was off Plymouth and I did many sketches and took many photos during the few days I was there helping someone weigh and measure baby gulls. These are most likely herring gulls since they were the prevalent bird nesting in that area but I can’t swear to that–when this tiny the baby black backs look similar and so do their eggs. Gull nests are built on the ground and have an average of 3 eggs. The baby in this nest has just hatched and you can see the pip, or hole being made by the next gull that will hatch.

I thought it might be fun to show you my process while I painted this. I don’t pretend it is perfectly done but it was fun to do.

First, I sketch in the basic shapes with a pencil and then lay in the first watercolor wash.

I build up the painting, layer by layer by adding different mixes of colors

Watercolors need to have their layers built up gradually, allowing for a lot of transparency and play with colors and their complements…

I start to add some details…

Continuing to add layers I am darkening the darkest parts but beginning to add more layers to the eggs and bird, too

More details, more layers, another wash or two…

and it’s done! The finished piece is 8 x 10″ and makes a nice addition to my bird painting portfolio. I hope you enjoyed seeing how it was done.

Red Admirals….

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were everywhere this morning when we returned to the house after our morning dog walk around the neighborhood. Our house faces east and in the early morning sun our window sills and borders were filled with resting butterflies.I am not an expert so at first I thought they were painted ladies but they are indeed, red admirals. I use “Butterflies Across Cape Cod” written and photographed by Mark J. Mello and Tor Hansen and published by the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History and in the book they describe this butterfly as one that has to “recolonize” the Cape each year. They cannot survive our winters reliably enough to maintain their population. According to Tor Hansen, it is not unusual to see large groups of them “flocking” as they arrive but I have never seen anything like this here.
Butterflies, like all insects, are ectothermic which means they must collect heat and cool themselves from outside themselves. We, and all mammals and birds, are endothermic and self regulate our heat and coolness….Butterflies like it to be about 80 degrees Farenheit and in the early morning it was quite a bit cooler than that. I think the white windowsills were collecting heat as were our shingles and the front of our house had several dozen butterflies on it.
I especially liked the way this one posed among the fern shadows….
Can you see the butterflies on the shingles and window box? (and yes, we need to paint our trim 😉
This side of my huge lilac patch also faces east and I soon found out why there were so many butterflies nearby–they were feasting on the nectar of the lilacs. They were everywhere! At one point I counted about 50….
I tied to capture them from the distance and if you click on this to enlarge it look at the blossoms and in the air as well as on the house….
Here are two feasting away….
It is around noon as I write this and the butterflies are still here…but on the other side of the house and lilac bush…

Catbird Singing….

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Yesterday morning this catbird sang for hours just outside my window. You’ll have to excuse the fogginess of the picture but I had to take it through the glass and screen in order to catch him without spooking him.Catbirds are great mimics and as they sing you will hear snatches of phrases and melodies of other bird songs as well. This one seemed to have a fondness for wren songs and buzzes and also did a pretty good imitation of a blue jay bugle. Catbirds belong to the mimidae family and are related to mockingbirds and thrashers.
The minute I moved in the window my little gray friend took off. He sang on and off for the rest of the day but never again got close enough or in a clear enough spot for me to take his picture.

Of Goslings, Ducklings and Cygnets

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It’s that time of year when baby waterbirds are hatching and filling our area waters with cuteness and new life. Each brood may have a dozen or even more little ones but unfortunately a high percentage of those may be lost to predation.Baby geese such as these Canada geese are called goslings. Baby ducks are ducklings and baby swans are cygnets. You will rarely find them all in the same area, especially with swans. Swans are extremely protective and territorial and chase other birds from the area. You may see geese and ducks nesting in the same area but usually not very close to each other. Both may nest close to water, fresh or salt, and both are also known to sometimes nest in odd places like people’s backyards.
These two geese are lining up to watch from both sides to be sure I don’t get any closer. These shots were taken with a zoom lens–I was really quite far away.
These little goslings are probably only a few days old. They are not fishing, by the way. They are eating plant material from the bottom of the pond. When they are in deeper water you may see the adults really stirring things up and bringing plant material to the surface for the little ones to graze on. Mallards and swans dot the same thing for they are also plant eaters, not fish eaters. These goslings were spotted last week in Provinctown.

Have you seen any baby birds yet?

Spring Azures

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One of my favorite signs of spring is seeing my very first spring azure butterfly. There is a whole family of small blue butterflies–they are about the size of a dime–but the earliest ones we see here on the Cape are simply called spring azures by most people. I think that technically they are eastern spring azures. Usually they land and keep their wings closed so I was lucky to catch this one with open wings.The bottom picture shows the azure with its wings closed and you can see how well camouflaged it is like this.
I often see the azures when I find mayflowers but I am not sure if they nectar on these sweet flowers. You may also see them around blooming crow berry and other blossoms close to the ground at this time.

Watch for these tiny but lovely butterflies along sunny paths at the edge of woodlands or even inside the woodlands before the leaves come out. You may often see several “dancing” through the sunlight, a happy sight for winter tired eyes.

More Signs of Spring

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Canada Mayflower, also known as false lily of the valley, is just about to come into bloom.

In the ponds, signs of the first water lilies and their blooms are just appearing.
Sun streaming through still mostly leafless trees give light to the early bloomers on the forest floor. I love the soft green “mist” that seems to be everywhere as the tiny leaves that will become the cool shade of summer burst forth.
Each tiny leaf reaches to the sky, following the light and warmth of the sun.
Spring on Cape Cod takes its sweet time getting here but when it arrives it is sweet indeed!

New Life

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Everywhere you look there is new life growing. Leaves are popping out all over. Some are on the branches of trees and some are on the forest floor.

Early in the spring is the best time to find a concentration of flowering plants on the forest floor. They need the sun and once all the trees have their leaves the forest floor will be shaded. There will still be flowers later in the season but for me there is a certain sweetness in the early spring flowers.

Mayflower or trailing arbutus is still flowering in most Cape locations. I also found this little wild violet on the side of the trail and thousands of leaves of the Canada mayflower or false lily of the valley, that will be in bloom over the next few weeks. These pictures were taken at Hathaway’s Pond in Hyannis.