PROVINCETOWN — A near-final draft of the coastal resiliency plan that the town has been working on since last spring was unveiled at the select board meeting on April 28, […]
Environment
ENVIRONMENT
New Analysis Suggests Prioritizing Septic Upgrades at Sites Nearest the Shore
Wellfleet board opts not to vote on watershed plan, asking consultants for a rewrite
WELLFLEET — After a recent round of amendments, a strategy for removing nitrogen from the town’s wastewater over next 20 years — part of the Targeted Watershed Management Plan — […]
THIS WILD CAPE
Watching the Songbirds
The beauty of migratory birds’ arrival in May’s fleeting weeks
Yes, we got through the winter here on Cape Cod, and we’ve been counting the days through March and April. Finally, the wind and the cold are pretty much behind […]
NATURAL SELECTION
70 Million Years Young
The fuzz-covered newborns that can be seen unrolling from their fetal positions near the cedar swamp in Wellfleet this week are the fresh fronds of cinnamon fern, Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, an […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, May 6 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RIGHT WHALES
In the Bay, One New Calf and One Dire Entanglement
Center for Coastal Studies reports numbers are up, but only slightly
PROVINCETOWN — Late April marks the peak of the North Atlantic right whale season in Cape Cod Bay. Since January, more than 180 of these endangered animals have made an […]
MORNING FLIGHT
A Place for Rare Birds
Seeing one rare winter visitor led to seeing another at a Provincetown feeder
This is the story of seeing the rarest bird I’ve ever seen on Cape Cod. It was a few days before Christmas when I got an email from Provincetown resident […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Carex Calls for Aid
Rising (relatively) high on triangular stalks, the male flowers of Carex pensylvanica, a grass-like sedge that can be found softening the Outer Cape’s oak-pine forest floors, are jutting out their pale-yellow stamens […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 29 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT
A Tale of Two Recycling Systems
Wellfleet’s multi-stream approach wins on price and efficiency, while other towns opt for ease
WELLFLEET — If there’s one thing Cape Codders can be proud of, it’s being good recyclers. That’s according to Kari Parcell, whose job is to be picky. Parcell is the […]
SOCIAL SPECIES
A Footprint Foretells the Recovery of Our Would-Be National Bird
In the wild, turkeys are more fascinating than that drawing on the bourbon bottle suggests
The frantic sprint of the large-but-lithe bird got my youngest daughter’s attention first: “Turkey! Turkey! I see a turkey!” My eldest scanned the road in front of us. “Where? I […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Pilewort for the Peloton
Cyclists may especially appreciate the medicinal role the yellow-blooming plant growing alongside the Rail Trail in Eastham once played. Though this buttercup isn’t known these days for being anything but […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 22 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
CLIMATE
Scientists Say ‘Cold Pulse’ Is Linked to Surge in Dolphin Strandings
Warming water changes the food supply, leading animals closer to shore
PROVINCETOWN — Cape Cod has always had more dolphin strandings than anywhere else in the world. But 2024 was the worst year for strandings ever recorded here, and scientists have […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Nesting Instincts
In the birds’ realms, construction gets underway
Every day, before I head into work, I go to see what’s swimming around MacMillan Pier. In the winter, this mostly involves looking at ducks, checking on that one thick-billed […]
