Author: patmorss

This posting is for people who need a break from wildlife. It is representative of the marine traffic that passes our house (except for the train).

Our two local water habitats are Niles Pond and the Eastern Point shoreline, and we all share both.

We have our Audubon Sanctuary on Eastern Point, and we visited the Evergreen Lake Audubon Sanctuary west of Denver last week. FIRST THE EAST.

Weather improved during the week.

We’re slowly edging into summer, and everyone is doing their own thing.

Arriving home from Norway we were greeted by a week of wind and waves, and the Egrets (and Herons) had taken over Niles Pond.

Back home from Norway. The flight was a reminder of how climate change is affecting the North. The first 5 photos are at the southeast coast of Iceland. The last 5 are over Greenland, and our evening pass by Gloucester, landing at Logan.

Visiting Anne-Lise’s sister and husband in Norway always points out similarities to Cape Ann. They live on the island of Tjome, an hour and a half drve southwest of Oslo, close to Tonsberg, Norway’s oldest city.

Anne-Lise and I are finally back in Norway with Berit (her sister) and Jan (our brother-in-law) after 2-1/2 years of the pandemic. They were eager to share Jan’s recent catch of saltwater crayfish, from the fjord outside their house. Crayfish are found in 100-200 feet of water with a muddy bottom for burrowing, and the non-commercial fishing public is allowed a generous number of traps year-round without paying for a permit. A succulent dinner. The rest this evening.

It was a quick storm Monday night into Tuesday, with winds 63mph around us.

Our Ospreys on the Annisquam River, next to Lobstaland, are back on their regular nesting platform, and Essex County Greenbelt’s live camera is back in operation. Visit their website at ecga.org/Osprey-Cam to see the action and read the updates on what’s been going on, this year and last. Here are a few screen shots from the camera.

In my earlier posting today about the Titanic and Golden Plover, strange things happened. If you signed into the live GMG site my typed link became an image from the article – you need to click on this image to reach the whole article. If you read the daily email version, my typed link became a large grainy mug shot of me – click on it to get to the whole article. Sorry about that!

My son-in-law sent me this link to an article that suggests the menu posted yesterday (April 10) on GMG under “Did you know Piping Plover was on the menu of the Titanic as she left Southhampton” actually referred to Golden Plover, served to the crew.

Titanic Menu With Echoes Of Medieval English Food

Checking out the waters.

On this evening of the Oscars we present the Surfing Seals of Brace Cove.

Spring is progressing in normal fashion.

The birds are getting together, and the sheet ice is off Niles Pond, but ice sculptures appeared overnight.

A beautiful but quiet Sunday down on the waterfront. The Right Whales are migrating through, so lobstering is curtailed to reduce entanglement. It’s a bit more active with the fishing fleet, over at Gloucester Marine Railways.

It’s been a real yo-yo of temperatures, but the animals adapt and it’s beautiful.

On yesterday’s Good Morning Gloucester there was a story and video from Mike Codair about rescue of a Harp Seal stranded on the ice. That is prompting me to go “off Island” and post photos from our 2002 trip to see the newborn on the Gulf of St Lawrence pack ice, near our base, Iles de la Madeleine. One hotel opened off season to accommodate those of us wanting to experience the spectacle. The mothers haul out to deliver their pups in late February, and after just two weeks they are self-sufficient and leave independently.