Day: May 20, 2018

Video Of The Female House Finch That Built A Nest And Laid Eggs In Our Spring Wreath

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Update: I had it wrong. It’s the female house finch in the video. There’s a Cowbird egg in the nest along with the Hose Finch eggs in the nest that the House Finch built. According to Dr. @kimsmithdesigns and Robert Paterson Brown Headed Cowbirds =No Bueno. If I understand them correctly Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and disrupt the feeding of those birds when they hatch. . @kfoley41 Look! I Got A Video! A lot of patience and a lot of arm holding outstretched while hiding behind the wall. This is on our front door behind the spring wreath Kate put out. #backshoreliving #GloucesterMA

DEBUNKING PIPING PLOVER MYTH #1

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Debunking Piping Plover Myth #1

“Because of those gosh darn *&%$@# Piping Plovers, Gloucester is going to lose tens of thousands of dollars in parking revenue.”

Not true.

Here is why. The Piping Plovers will be out of the parking lot, before the summer season begins and before school is out!

The one thing the parking lot PiPl have going for them is that they laid their eggs relatively early in the season. If the nest is left undisturbed, by the time the chicks hatch, we will be in the second week of June. It may take a day or two for them to make the epic journey to the beach, where they will much prefer to spend the summer. At the very latest, the chicks will be out of the parking lot by the third week of June.

So to be completely clear: the Good Harbor Beach parking lot is not closing and we will have ample parking during the summer months.

I hope this quells the rumors circulating. Look for more PiPl myths debunked this week in upcoming posts 🙂 Please share this post to help folks understand more about our Good Harbor Beach parking lot Plovers.

Fluffing and puffing – morning bath for Mama Plover.

ANOTHER SNOWY OWL SPOTTED IN GLOUCESTER!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Reader Beth Grahm writes the following, “Hi Kim.  Unbelievable!  There is a Snowy perched on the rocks outside our condo at Old Nugent Farm.  Right now.  Hedgwig?”

Hi Beth, Thank you for sharing your Snowy Owl sighting!! Your owl spotted is definitely a female although, I don’t think it’s Hedwig based on the shape of the feather patterning around her forehead. Anyway, it’s wonderful to see and share so many Snowy Owls this year, thank you!

Dear Readers, please write and let us know if you are still seeing Snowy Owls. Thank you!

CONGRATULATIONS TO SEASIDE SUSTAINABILITY!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Seaside Sustainability Inc. Celebrates the Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary’s Award and Massachusetts Marine Educators Certificate of Appreciation Award

Boston, MA: ​This past week, Seaside Sustainability Inc. went to receive the EEA Secretary’s award and the MME Certificate of Appreciation, two awards acknowledging recent successes in their overall performance. Seaside Sustainability is an organization built to educate and raise awareness about conservation using STEM projects to teach the community about their cause. After the company took off in early 2017, Seaside Sustainability and its projects have gained serious momentum and are now looking at expansion and regional change.

Seaside is thrilled to have been honored with these awards due to the fact that the Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary’s Award specifically acknowledges organizations that teach and foster communal knowledge about the environment and sustainability, while the Massachusetts Marine Educators Certificate of Appreciation acknowledges services and commitment to the advancement of marine science. Receiving these awards not only brings attention and prestige to the company, it also shows that Seaside is achieving its main goal and mission of educating the community about the cause of helping our environment. As a response to the awards, Eric Magers, the cofounder of Seaside Sustainability, claims that it “is one thing to receive both awards, but another to accomplish the main goal of the organization.”

Retrieval of the Secretary’s Award and the MME Certificate of Appreciation means that Seaside will work even harder to expand regional initiatives for the upcoming summer of 2018 as well as branch out as far as possible in order to spread its mission of saving local shorelines and, ultimately, the ocean itself.

About Seaside: ​Seaside Sustainability is a non-profit organization aimed at using STEM opportunities for communal youth to teach the importance of conservation and sustainability utilizing hands-on, meaningful experience. Seaside has thus far given an insurmountable amount of knowledge to its participants and hopes to expand its initiatives to other towns in the North Shore, and beyond.