Keep Calm and Bird On: October 2021

Ginger Andrews • Oct 01, 2021
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews

The bird picture begins to shift faster in October, like a seasonal kaleidoscope. Winter ducks of pond and sea start to arrive: Wigeon, Canvasbacks, Redheads. scaup, scoters, mergansers.


Summer residents like Snowy and Great Egrets are getting more restless, gathering into flocks, rising up out of marshes, circling, and sinking back down again. Preparing. There is a term for it: zugunruhe, literally, “the urge to travel.” Snowys leave first, while Great Egrets may linger on.


It is always worth looking closely at Snowy Egrets in the fall. Immature Little Blue Herons are about the same size, and still in their juvie immature white plumage. They are best recognized by their grey lores, the area between the base of the bill and the eye, and greenish legs.


It’s always worth studying birds closely anyway, if possible. We never know what might show up, “accidentally.” A rare bird is one that’s unusual, but not unprecedented.

An “accidental” is one that has been seen less than five times in 50 years. Just last month, an American White Pelican (see above) landed here for the fourth time, after an 11-year gap. Migratory, common in the west, it’s not necessarily lost, just more adventurous, perhaps.


So, enjoy the expected seasonal returns, but be prepared for the unexpected. Fall is the best time for rarities and accidentals. Records are made on Nantucket. But in such cases, documentation is essential. The more extraordinary the record, the more extraordinary the documentation required. A bad photo is always preferable to no photo, and often, without a photo, officially, it just didn’t happen. The moral of that is, be brave—but take pictures.

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“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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