November is a risky time to be a deer on the Outer Cape. Besides that it’s bow-and-arrow hunting season, collisions between deer and cars are most frequent in this month.
Environment
RADIOACTIVITY
Pilgrim Worker Claims He Was Poisoned by Radiation
Adam Snyder’s lawsuit says Holtec knew of danger and withheld facts
PLYMOUTH — A 41-year-old worker assigned to the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for several months in 2021 claims he was poisoned by radiation and that Holtec Pilgrim, […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 19 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
A SHRUB LAUREATE
Pretty in Evergreen
Sheep laurel, one of several broad-leaved evergreen shrubs in the local understory, is prone to wilting — a defense mechanism that helps it conserve water during droughts and cold weather. […]
DITCH DEFYING
Studying the Witch Hazel’s Survival Manual
Should you find that the ground beneath you is no longer sure, that the once stable path you were halfway down is now eroding before your eyes, or that you’re […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 12 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENERGY
4 Offshore Wind Leases Are Sold
Low sale price affects initial fisheries compensation
This article was updated on Nov. 8. Two companies have won leases for four of the eight available wind energy areas that were selected by the Interior Dept.’s Bureau of […]
EXTREME WEATHER
Rare November Red Flag Warns of Increased Wildfire Risk
National Seashore says it lacks fire leadership because of cost of housing here
For nearly two weeks, people across Cape Cod have been watching the weather with the danger of wildfires in mind. Since Oct. 26, a National Weather Service red flag warning […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Leveling Off of the Steep Right Whale Decline
Births have increased but so have deaths caused by human activities
There is some good news about the population of North Atlantic right whales: after seven years of declining numbers from 2013 to 2020, there has been a small increase in […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Late Fall Brings Rare Flycatchers to the Outer Cape
The cause of ‘vagrancy’ remains hard to discern
It was a warm late October evening — one of those days when summer doesn’t seem ready to leave — when I spotted the rarest bird that I’ve ever seen […]
UNDISTURBED
Thoroughly Hyssop-Leaved
A meadow plant that thrives in sandy soil with good drainage, hyssop-leaved thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium) will show up at anthropogenic sites with similar conditions. The pictured specimen is a volunteer […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 5 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ANIMALIA
After-Dinner Research on the Outer Cape’s 81 Coywolves
Scat reveals they eschew shorebirds, hunt deer, and also eat our garbage and pet food
Fewer than 50 years ago, there were no coyotes on Cape Cod. Now, they seem to be everywhere.
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Chesapeake Bay Results Are In, and They’re Not Good
Striper spawning success is low for sixth year in a row
The results are in from the annual seine in the Chesapeake Bay to determine the status of the juvenile striped bass population, and the news isn’t good. Samples of fish […]
ON THE BEACH
The Emotional Comfort of a Go-To Lure
Even scruffy and worn, favorite lures create the confidence necessary for fishing success
Halfway through the upswing of my cast, I heard a snap and watched my silvery popper fly lazily overhead and plop in the fast-moving water a few dozen yards in […]
