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 […]
Environment
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 […]
WASTEWATER
Workshop Makes Wellfleet’s Sewer Plans Seem Less Murky
Select board hears how other towns have ‘planned to adapt’
WELLFLEET — At a workshop organized by the select board on Feb. 11, the way toward finalizing Wellfleet’s targeted watershed management plan became less murky. The board invited representatives from Mashpee […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Invasion of the Pretzel Sticks
The brown pretzel sticks seen trailside at the Twine Field in Truro are the thick twigs of Ailanthus altissima, the so-called tree-of-heaven, an infamous invasive that has established a grove […]
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. 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
GUT PUNCH
Wellfleet Considers Legal Action Against Owner of House on Bluff
Key is showing imminent harm to harbor and economy should Bonomi let the house fall
WELLFLEET — The massive house on the edge of the eroding bluff at 1440 Chequessett Neck Road is a cliff-hanger in more than one way. In January, the town’s conservation […]
CLIMATE SCIENCE
WHOI Resets Ocean De-Acidification Test for This Summer
Comments on EPA permit to conduct experiment in Wilkinson Basin are positive so far
WOODS HOLE — With the federal government following a blueprint to deter climate research at agencies like the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Bird Love Knows No Bounds
Sex and mating stories in the bird world appear to be as diverse as they are in the human one
Though winter’s grip has not loosened on the Outer Cape, the birds are already signaling the changing season. Chickadees, song sparrows, and house finches are beginning to sing more frequently, […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Beware the Burr
There’s a lone specimen of rough cocklebur on the edge of the low marsh at the Audubon Sanctuary in Wellfleet that’s just waiting to be bumped into. The burrs of […]
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. 11 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RADIOACTIVITY
Panel Hears Risks of Radioactive Material Stored in Casks at Pilgrim
Holtec has no plan to deal with tons of radioactive spent fuel stored on-site
PLYMOUTH — The 62 concrete-and-steel casks storing more than 4,000 radioactive spent fuel assemblies from the former Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s 47 years of operation still sit on the site, […]
LONG TIMELINE
Future Is Unclear for Wind Leases off Cape Cod
Existing leases have not been canceled, and a five-year deadline leaves some time
WELLFLEET — On his inauguration day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order meant to start fulfilling his campaign promise to kill offshore wind development “on day one.” The executive […]
NATURAL SELECTION
The Birches Stay Forever Young
You can spot plenty of native gray birch trees in the brush next to Bound Brook and Pole Dike roads in Wellfleet: just look for the chalky bark with the […]
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. 4 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
