{"id":7796,"date":"2010-11-11T12:27:45","date_gmt":"2010-11-11T17:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=7796"},"modified":"2010-11-11T12:29:42","modified_gmt":"2010-11-11T17:29:42","slug":"stranding-weekend-duck-harbor-great-island-beach-patrol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=7796","title":{"rendered":"Stranding Weekend: Duck Harbor – Great Island Beach Patrol"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Patrolling\u00c2\u00a0Beach at Duck Harbor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday morning of Stranding Weekend opened with a beach patrol.\u00c2\u00a0 Participants and instructors vanned to Duck Harbor in northwest Wellfleet on Cape Cod Bay.\u00c2\u00a0 With winds blowing north-northwest, the group\u00c2\u00a0trekked south from Duck Harbor\u00c2\u00a0to Great Island.\u00c2\u00a0 This long peninsula\u00c2\u00a0protects Wellfleet Bay to the east from prevailing storms that march relentlessly west-to-east across New England.\u00c2\u00a0 It also “catches” cold-stunned sea turtles as they are tossed\u00c2\u00a0by the prevailing winds onto the shoreline of Cape Cod Bay.<\/p>\n

(NOTE:\u00c2\u00a0 Click on photographs for larger images which will appear in a separate window.<\/span>)<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Duck Harbor in November<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Duck Harbor is no more, but perhaps may rise again.\u00c2\u00a0 Around the turn of the last century, the flow of salt water from Wellfleet Bay and the Herring River was choked by a dike in Chequessett Neck.\u00c2\u00a0 The\u00c2\u00a0former islands of Griffin and Bound Brook and several others, which once were separated by salt marshes and brackish branches of the Herring River, exist now in name and memory\u00c2\u00a0only.\u00c2\u00a0 The photograph above looks north toward Bound Brook “Island” with Duck “Harbor” only imagined in the darkened, low-lying vegetation where toads now emerge in spring rains.\u00c2\u00a0 Perhaps, after decades of “planning,” the offending dike will finally be replaced.\u00c2\u00a0 Marshes will flourish again\u00c2\u00a0as habitat for dwindling populations of herring and terrapins, and a critical eco-system will be restore.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s That in\u00c2\u00a0the Bay?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On reaching\u00c2\u00a0the beach we surveyed the coastal scene.\u00c2\u00a0 Provincetown, distinctively emblematic with its Pilgrim Monument, rose\u00c2\u00a0above bay waters to our right.\u00c2\u00a0 Invisible across the cloud covered bay lay Plymouth where Pilgrims settled after their brief stay on Outer Cape Cod.\u00c2\u00a0 I guess the Cape had\u00c2\u00a0already become\u00c2\u00a0a “relaxing vacation spot” nearly four hundred years ago.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

“What’s that?” exclaimed the chorus of adventurers\u00c2\u00a0as binoculars sprung to the ready.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s That\u00c2\u00a0on the Beach?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“What’s that?” echoed barked vocalizations from the bay, as equally curious mammals stared landward.\u00c2\u00a0 One harbor seal, spy-hopping behind another, whispered, “Pilgrims … They’re baaack.”<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Examining a Live Rock Crab<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the storm-tossed wrack line, the place where seaweed, flotsam and jetsam accumulate with the tide, resides a museum of discoveries for the inquisitive explorer to investigate.\u00c2\u00a0 A soft-shelled rock crab, a bit lethargic from the cold, was excavated from the wrack.\u00c2\u00a0 Recently molted, its shell was still soft to the touch and brought out stories about steaming bushels of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and soft-shelled crab sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Cape Cod Bay Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We saw another specimen of the Atlantic rock crab\u00c2\u00a0during our afternoon cruise in Wellfleet Bay.\u00c2\u00a0 The captain had been dragging for quahogs and brought up a lonely crab that sat atop fishing gear in the stern of the boat.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Cape Cod Bay Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After photo-documenting this obliging specimen, we returned it to the bay.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

A Rock Crab in the Hand<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Each field school participant enjoyed the opportunity to examine the Atlantic rock crab before we tucked it safely back under the protective wrack.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Comparison:\u00c2\u00a0 Rock Crab versus Green Crab<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A bit further down the beach we discovered two molted crab shells that illustrated the differences between the Atlantic rock crab and a European bio-invader, the green crab (Carcinus maenus<\/em>).\u00c2\u00a0 And, yes, it is just as “mean” as the pronunciation of its scientific name might suggest.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Checking the Wrack Line<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The blanketing wrack offered a hidden\u00c2\u00a0encyclopedia of coastal species,\u00c2\u00a0and everyone joined in the act, lifting, poking and prodding eel grass piles for discoveries.\u00c2\u00a0 As new specimens arose, instructors Sue Wieber Nourse\u00c2\u00a0and Dennis Murley would cite their natural history, enriched with exotic tales of lore for each species.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Cape Cod Bay Blood Ark (Anadara ovalis)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A blood ark appeared.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 This interesting bivalve is one of the few mollusks that have red blood; hence the name.\u00c2\u00a0 It sometimes goes by the\u00c2\u00a0title of Bloody Clam.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Cape Cod Bay Blood Ark (Anadara ovalis)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ironically, when viewed from this angle, the “Blood” Ark takes on a heart shape!<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Sue Wieber Nourse Explains the\u00c2\u00a0“Mermaid’s Purse”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sue Wieber Nourse found “mermaid’s purses” mixed among the eel grass mat.\u00c2\u00a0 The mermaid’s purse, also called the devil’s purse,\u00c2\u00a0is actually an egg casing for a skate.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Patrolling the Beach toward Great Island<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And so the morning progressed.\u00c2\u00a0 From discovery to discovery this band of intrepid adventurers explored the wind-swept beach.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Examining Decorator Worm<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A decorator worm\u00c2\u00a0proved the next specimen.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Close-Up of Decorator Worm<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This\u00c2\u00a0invertebrate critter\u00c2\u00a0appears to\u00c2\u00a0adorn itself with every tiny\u00c2\u00a0bit\u00c2\u00a0of broken shell and debris\u00c2\u00a0that\u00c2\u00a0can be\u00c2\u00a0found along the shore.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

The “Eider Problem”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dennis Murley stopped the group at one of several dead eider carcasses that we discovered along this stretch of beach.\u00c2\u00a0 He talked about the research that was ongoing to determine the cause of these deaths, which considering the thousands upon thousands of eiders that occupy the bay at this time of the year, may be from multiple causes.\u00c2\u00a0 Several flocks of hundreds of eiders\u00c2\u00a0skimmed across the wave tops as we walked the beach.\u00c2\u00a0 Research on this\u00c2\u00a0matter continues.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Chubby Little Sanderlings<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tiny plump sanderlings worked the entire length of the beach from Duck Harbor to Great Island.\u00c2\u00a0 They flitted along the shore a few feet in front of the group, working in the waves for morsels of food.\u00c2\u00a0 When we approached too closely, they’d take flight and work the beach behind us.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Gulls Take Refuge Under Towering Coastal Bank<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gulls of several varieties hunkered in the protective lee of towering coastal banks.\u00c2\u00a0 On occasion, these apparently well fed birds waddled to the water and half-heartedly poked for something munchable.\u00c2\u00a0 For the most part, though, they seemed to enjoy the spectacle of energetic humans plodding down the beach.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Erosion Claims Coastal Development<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those towering banks on the Outer Cape always remind me of the Egyptian pyramids with their appearance of resilience and permanence.\u00c2\u00a0 Yet, coastal banks and dunes are actually the opposite of rigid pyramids.\u00c2\u00a0 They maintain their\u00c2\u00a0permanence\u00c2\u00a0through resilience as a soft impact barrier to the relentless onslaught of wind and sea.\u00c2\u00a0 As Dennis noted to the group, the “angle of repose” remains constant.\u00c2\u00a0 Sea and surf eat away at the bottom of the bank, and the top gradually falls to assume the same angle of repose as the leading edge of the bank moves slowly, constantly and inexorably inland.\u00c2\u00a0 Resilience\u00c2\u00a0holds true; permanence is\u00c2\u00a0an illusion.\u00c2\u00a0 And as if to underscore that point, the remnants of a coastal cottage lies destroyed in the advance of the sea and the retreat of the bank.<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Erosion Exposes Deep Well Pipes of Former Cottage<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe a hundred feet seaward of the collapsed foundation lies the remains of well pipes\u00c2\u00a0that had plunged deeply\u00c2\u00a0into the aquifer to provide drinking water for this coastal cottage.\u00c2\u00a0 Images serve as\u00c2\u00a0a clear reminder of the transitory nature of human imprint on the ever changing landscape of Outer Cape Cod.\u00c2\u00a0 Created by the retreating Laurentide glacier 15,000 years in the past, the Cape will inevitably\u00c2\u00a0succumb to the advance.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Cleaning Up<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Doing our small part\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0undo some of the human impact on this fragile habitat, the team collected debris as we patrolled the beach from Duck Harbor to Great Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patrolling\u00c2\u00a0Beach at Duck Harbor Saturday morning of Stranding Weekend opened with a beach patrol.\u00c2\u00a0 Participants and instructors vanned to Duck Harbor in northwest Wellfleet on Cape Cod Bay.\u00c2\u00a0 With winds blowing north-northwest, the group\u00c2\u00a0trekked south from Duck Harbor\u00c2\u00a0to Great Island.\u00c2\u00a0 This long peninsula\u00c2\u00a0protects Wellfleet Bay to the east from prevailing storms that march relentlessly west-to-east […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[654,402,823,824],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7796"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7796"}],"version-history":[{"count":95,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7944,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7796\/revisions\/7944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}