May 1, 1997
I had the midday shift at the south end of the beach
today. This is actually the first time I've done the full
shift at the south end. Usually I'll get all set up and
then get called back to the north because whoever is
supposed to be there hasn't shown up. But today we had
the full complement of plover wardens. Good thing too. It
was a gorgeous day and everybody and his brother sister
and grandchildren were at the beach. I talked to 16
people. I can only imagine how busy the north end was -
south is usually slow because people have to drive 7
miles through the refuge to get to Sandy Point and most
of it is dirt road. Anyway, it was a popular place to be
today. The people were all very nice, respectful, and
considerate of the plovers. Nobody challenged me or told
me I or the refuge policy was stupid. This is good. Makes
it easier. Lots of questions today. Like: You get the idea. Oh yeah, somebody asked about beach
erosion and barrier beaches again. Remind me to write up
my barrier beach speech. In a rare moment with no visitors to contact, I was
watching some cormorants come in for a landing when I
notice some big white birds with black on their wings
plunge diving headfirst into the water. They were pretty
far out. Those 10x50 binoculars are really something.
Anyway, I had to watch them for a long time before I
could get a good enough look to determine they were
gannets. I was surprised as gannets are usually much
further out at sea. The wind had changed 'cause there was
a storm coming so they probably got blown in a little
closer to shore. I kinda wished I had my scope but I has
having plenty of fun just watching them dive through the
binocs. There were six of them. Way cool. I didn't leave the beach until after 4:00 because
there were so many people who needed directions and
information. Then it's a long drive up the dirt road back
to the gate house to return the radio and turn in my
report. So by the time I left the refuge I was ready for
dinner never mind a late lunch. I stopped in at The
Tannery Cafe in Newburyport, next to Jabberwocky, one of
my favorite bookstores. I had a nice lunch/dinner of
veggie lasagna while two tiny femmes in leotards and
tutus stared at me. They couldn't have been more than 5
years old. The tinier one was about 3. They were
fascinated by me and my lasagna... go figure. After supper I browsed at Jabberwocky for awhile and
then headed home to feed the demented orange wacko before
heading to Cambridge for my meeting.
The predicted thunderstorms hit when I was about halfway
to Cambridge. Jagged purple lightning split the sky. It
was fun to watch but I would have enjoyed it more if I
was watching it from home with a cup of herbal tea in my
hand. I was listening to the Red Sox game on the car radio
and observed that the weather phenomena I was observing
on the Cambridge side of the river seemed to hit Fenway
Park a few minutes later. It was weird hearing them
describe exactly the weather I'd just experienced.
Anyway, the game went into rain delay and then got
called. I drove home in the pouring rain, called Nancy,
cuddled the demented orange wacko, and decided it was too
late to upload this to the net.
Piping Plover Count: 25 - I guess the
adults are all back from the migrations. Let the nesting
begin!