WELLFLEET — Every spring, river herring known as alewives migrate from the open ocean up Cape Cod’s streams to ponds to lay their eggs. There, their young develop before swimming […]
MORNING FLIGHT
An Ocean-Going Goose Departs Cape Cod Bay
For humans, it’s hard to fathom what birds like the brant do when they’re away
Once upon a time, a barnacle was a kind of bird. Each winter in medieval England, people who lived on the shore watched as their usual waterfowl — the barnyard-looking […]
WHALE WATCH
Mark Adams Goes Big to Visualize Ocean Science
The scientist-artist is working on a dance floor at the Crown
The centerpiece of Mark Adams’s newest exhibition was born from the gift of a sail. Adams says the artist Jimmy Lee Curtis often gathers materials to repurpose from thrift stores […]
HIGH WATER
Wellfleet’s Bound Brook Island Is Cut Off Again
Short-term solutions to repeated saltwater flooding remain unclear
WELLFLEET — For at least eight days this month, the roads connecting Bound Brook Island to the rest of town have been inundated with floodwater that prevented people from accessing […]
ENVIRONMENT
Mid-Cape Was Warned Last Year About Aging Oil Tank
A second spill sends oily water from cleanup into street and storm drain
WELLFLEET — The tank at Mid-Cape Home Centers on Commercial Street that was discovered to have leaked about 250 gallons of heating oil on Jan. 25 was inspected a year […]
RESTORATION UPDATE
25 Acres Get Mulched to Aid Salt Hay’s Return
Temporary bridge nears completion; low-lying roads and Mill Creek work are next
WELLFLEET — The Cape Cod National Seashore, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited and the National Park Foundation, has begun removing 25 acres of mostly live woody vegetation from around the […]
MORNING FLIGHT
When Birding Opens Up ‘a Whole Huge World’
After getting a birding camp scholarship, Megan Morey explores next steps in environmental science
Some people think birding is something only older people do — people who have time on their hands and an ability to focus that supposedly comes only with age. But […]
WRITERS
Adeniyi Ademoroti’s Characters Are Their Own Worst Enemies
A writer’s subconscious helps him find the voice he wants
When Adeniyi Ademoroti sits down to write a story, there are always two things in his head: the first sentence and the final scene. “If I don’t have anything I’m […]
ARTISTS
In Dialogue With the Past
The cerebral meets the emotional in Micha Patiniott’s work
Micha Patiniott can find the sensuality in a contorted body just as easily as he finds it in the movement of planets. His dreamlike minimalist paintings are united by “this […]
ENVIRONMENT
Cleanup Underway After Oil Leak at the Mid-Cape
So far, no evidence of the plume reaching Duck Creek has been reported
WELLFLEET — Cleanup is underway for an estimated 250 gallons of heating oil that was discovered to have leaked into the ground at Mid-Cape Home Centers on Commercial Street on […]
MORNING FLIGHT
It’s Leap Day for Chickadees but Not for Gulls
Why do some birds hop while other birds walk? The answer is in their arboreality.
There are a lot of ways to categorize birds. Waterbirds versus land birds, flying birds versus flightless ones, and whether birds are nocturnal or diurnal are all important distinctions. Another […]
WASTEWATER
Truro Will Sue 8 Homeowners for Cesspool Inaction
About half the town’s cesspool owners have upgraded; 75 will get extensions
TRURO — Installing a cesspool has been illegal in Massachusetts since 1978. They are considered “failed” septic systems. But people on the Outer Cape have kept on living with them […]
MEANWHILE, IN UKRAINE
How a Whale Biologist Became a War Volunteer
Olga Shpak, who studied whales here, is now defending her home country
PROVINCETOWN — Olga Shpak is as surprised as anyone that she became a war volunteer. Growing up in Soviet Ukraine, Shpak had a hard time collaborating with other kids. She […]
MORNING FLIGHT
New Winter Birds That Are Here to Stay
Climate change has altered the birds we see as ‘ours’
Charles Townsend was an acclaimed ornithologist who lived on the North Shore of Boston. Studying the birds around him, he quickly rose to prominence as an expert on the bird […]
WHALE WATCH
Entanglement Leads to Death of Young Right Whale
Scientists offer facts, but misinformation grows with help from climate deniers
This article was updated on Feb. 28, 2024. PROVINCETOWN — A North Atlantic right whale was found dead near Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard on Jan. 28. The death represents a […]
