In the summer, the speckled alder, Alnus incana, hides in plain sight along the Beech Forest trail in Provincetown; its leaves look almost identical to those of Fagus grandifolia. This […]
Environment
ENVIRONMENT
After 6-Year Delay, Seashore Carries Out Prescribed Burn at Fort Hill
Housing costs hindered hiring of a Park fire officer; now DOGE is doing the same
EASTHAM — On any other sunny spring day, Fort Hill would be dotted with hikers, dog-walkers, and nature lovers. But on March 12, the historic grassland that overlooks Nauset Marsh […]
THIS WILD CAPE
The Return of the Peepers, Wood Frogs, and Salamanders
Listening (and looking) for the emergence of spring amphibians
It’s early spring, round about mid-March, when, as the Earth makes its way around the Sun, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere notice we’re receiving more sunlight as each […]
NATURAL SELECTION
The Grandeur of the Beech, for Now
Within Fagus grandifolia, the American beech tree, as the millennia-old processes of spring try to get under way, an unwelcome guest is disrupting things. The nematode that causes the new […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
MORNING FLIGHT
A Bird Symphony Begins
They don’t sing for us, but birdsong makes people feel good
The sound echoes from the marshes behind my house every morning, starting in late February: konk-a-REEE. It’s an alarm clock of sorts — it signals the start of a new […]
NATURAL SELECTION
A Huckleberry’s Close (But Not Kissing) Cousin
The native shrub Lyonia ligustrina is a close relative of blueberries and huckleberries in the Ericaceae family that makes a name for itself by producing hard capsules around its seeds […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 11 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
TERMINATION
Outer Cape Protests Firing of Park Service Staff
More than 100 people gather near Salt Pond Visitor Center on March 1
EASTHAM — A yellow patch of grass opposite the Lobster Shanty on Route 6 became the site of a 100-person protest on Saturday, March 1, as it was the nearest […]
WILD THINGS
Fully Vaccinium-ated
Wampanoag people across southeastern Massachusetts have appreciated the astringent qualities of the native Vaccinium macrocarpon for thousands of years. Europeans were not entirely unfamiliar with this plant either when they […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 4 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WASTEWATER
Select Board Delays Vote on Watershed Management Plan
Another public hearing will be scheduled for March
WELLFLEET — The town’s long-awaited targeted watershed management plan, which involves building a sewer system for the central district and applying new septic system rules to most other properties, was […]
MORNING FLIGHT
The Ravens Say It’s Spring
These intelligent birds start laying their eggs in late February
I was driving past Old North Cemetery in Truro a couple of weeks ago when I saw a bird flying upside down. It soon flipped back over, completing an awkward […]
WILD THINGS
Feeling Fine on Blueberry Wine
The chance to look closely at the zig-zag branching habit of several old wild highbush blueberries is one good reason to walk around Great Pond in Wellfleet on a cold […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 25 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
