Every year the shorebird breeding season has its challenges and 2020 was no different. Fortunately for us, the shorebirds were unaware of Covid-19 and still continued to nest at their respective beaches across the island. From the 2020 preliminary data for Nantucket which includes Tuckernuck and Muskeget Islands, there was a total of 57 breeding…
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The hot and humid summer season is flying by. Sweltering days spent in social distance are blending together, leaving some of us to scramble for a moment of quiet and peace. We can all use an excuse for a walk on a breezy day, realign our nature connection, and take in the color and diversity…
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Some of our Science & Stewardship staff have taken time out of their busy schedules to engage in ecology education at a social distance. These methods of outreach in the times of Covid are creative ways to show our local & Off-island fans what research and ecology work we’ve been up to in quarantine. Dr.…
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By Neil Foley, Education Coordinator and Ecologist Sunrises on Nantucket are worth the effort every time, even for a night owl like myself. Before most of the island wakes for the day and the rotaries jam with the traffic, it’s a spectacular feeling to face the fog banks and listen to a chorus of songbirds…
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Moonlight, warm waters, and high tides are the perfect conditions to bring in the one of the most mysterious marine animals to Nantucket shores. In late May through June, horseshoe crabs will start their journey from the the ocean floor to shoreline to lay their eggs. The females are noticeably larger in diameter as compared…
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These days, it seems like everything we took for granted as normal is getting cancelled, closed or postponed due to COVID-19. From a socio-economic perspective, it is apparent that this coming summer will be nothing like recent seasons here on Nantucket. For those of us who love nature and the outdoors, the ongoing rhythm of…
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This weeks blog comes from our local School-to-Career Intern, Lily Bartlett! Lily has been an incredible help and has been working hard on a wide variety of projects since she started with us in September . Thank you again, Lily! As coronavirus has taken over our usual routines, we can turn to nature as a…
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by: Danielle O’Dell, Ecologist/Field Supervisor The Science and Stewardship staff have continued to delve deeper and deeper in to the Northern long-eared Bat world! This season, we added a new member to our bat crew! Neil Foley, our long-time Coatue Ranger and Shorebird Monitor, got his rabies vaccination, and with all of his experience removing…
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Stand outside on the warm nights of June, as spring folds into summer, and turn on a light. Soon enough you will hear the engine-like thrum and eventual collision of a June Beetle (sub family Melolonthinae) clumsily seeking the source of illumination. Keep the light on and hang a sheet to attract the multitudes of…
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As if we all needed another reason and reminder to slow down a little bit, warmer weather has arrived finally and June is high time for turtles to start moving out of wetlands in search of nesting locations and summer habitat. Unfortunately, these slow moving creatures often have to cross busy roads to get from…
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