Keep Calm and Bird On: January 2024

Jan 02, 2024
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
The fact is, we never know what may show up in the winter. Look closely and you can see the unmistakable head of an-out-of season Whimbrel in the icy marsh. A young bird taking a late jaunt found the UMass Field Station marsh a welcome rest stop for almost a month.

Winter birding? For die-hard birders, it’s a no-brainer. Of course we want to look at birds in the winter! That’s the best time! Undistracted by summer hordes, birds enjoy the extra space, not to mention peace and quiet, that winter brings. And the cast of characters we see in winter is as different from the summer regulars, as lolling half naked on a towel is from the winter coat, gloves, headgear, boots, etc. that we put on to keep frostbite away.


For winter comfort, forget fleece. Layer wool. Insist on wind and water proof, emphasis on proof. It takes a serious commitment on the part of a manufacturer to produce functional clothing, and most can’t be bothered. Let’s face it, most so-called winter garb favors appearance over comfort and is designed to only cover the thirty seconds between the car and the door. But assuming one has already heeded the Irish maxim, “There’s no bad weather, just improper dressing,” there are still a few useful extra tips. One is to find a lee. Try a beach with the wind off-shore that day. Get on the lee side of a dune, a tree, a building. Or park in such a way that the car blocks the wind.


This makes it easier to enjoy the White-winged Gulls, alcids such as Razorbills, two species of Loons, three species of Scoters, or Harlequin, Common Eider, or Long-tailed Ducks. Red-necked or Horned Grebes in salt water, Pied-billed in fresh; the ubiquitous Buffleheads; or Canvasbacks or Red-heads, American Wigeon or Coot: there is plenty to look at in the winter. Yellow-rumped Warblers will be with us as long as there are bayberries to eat, and a stray Palm or Orange-crowned Warbler may linger into January.


No matter where you go, Nantucket is still a wonderful spot for birds in any season.


Photo by Ginger Andrews

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Keep Calm and Bird On: May 2024

08 May, 2024
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.” -Edith Andrews

Shards

By Jascin N. Leonardo FInger • 06 May, 2024
I have written of my love for sea glass and pottery shards in the past and the recent replacement of the sewer and water lines on Vestal Street created a small shard collection over the last month. Since the work required the asphalt to be completely removed (all twelve inches of it!) and the road to be dug up multiple times as they worked to remove pipe, relay new pipe, hook up the water meters, and install drainage and manhole covers, this resulted in the earth in the street being tossed about quite a bit. And, with that, came the shards! Some of these likely came from the sewer line (yes, yuck) but others came from being simply in the dirt of the road – which was not paved until 1946/1948. Pieces were likely tossed out at times, made to act as filler in holes, or simply tossed. So I found all sorts of pieces I will keep here at the Mitchell House. They included: a lovely piece with a red floral, many pieces of plates, glass, the top of a late nineteenth or early twentieth century (medicine) bottle, glass shards, a flattened spoon, a brass knob (found by a neighbor) some nails, a spike, pieces of a larger container or two based on the size and curve and coloring of the shards, and possibly a Wampanoag stone tool. One person’s trash is another one’s treasures! JNLF

Is That A Wrap?

22 Apr, 2024
Yes. Well, almost. After about a month of working – and some living (staff and or neighbors) – on Vestal Street with all the sewer and water replacement work, the paving happened today (April 17, 2024). This is the first “layer” – a three-inch binder coat. In the fall, once time has passed, they will return for the final one inch of the finish layer. Some of the other things along Vestal Street will also be repaired and updated between now and the final coat – and a bit after that. But we are very happy, after all these years to have a modern system of piping – and all new drainage we never had before! While the curator in me loved the old clay pipes, they were riddled with roots from the trees, holes, and in some places, collapsed, and the twelve inches of asphalt had to go. Vestal Street was only paved in about 1946/1948 – and has not been paved in maybe twenty years so that is a lot of asphalt in about fifty years! And with climate change and the increase in how much rain we get in these heavy rain events, all that water rushed down Vestal Street with nowhere to go – except our cellars. I am sure the neighbors are happy too! A thank you to the Town of Nantucket’s Sewer Department, especially David Gray (who may regret giving me his cellphone number forever), N&M Excavating and Utilities (Dean, we appreciate you being so nice when we had too many questions), Victor-Brandon Corp for paving, and numerous others. We are looking forward to great flushing, powerful hose lines, and rainwater being whisked away via the new, never-before-had storm drains! JNLF And to all the N&M workers who wondered why I was constantly looking down as I walked along Vestal Street, you should see the trove of porcelain shards, glass, old nails, a bottle neck, 19 th century spoon, and even possibly a Wampanoag stone tool I found!
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