The Cape Flyer, a summer weekend train that runs from South Station in Boston to Hyannis on Cape Cod, started running this year. We pounced on the opportunity to travel from Boston to the tip of the Cape car-free. We took the train leaving at 8am and arriving in Hyannis at 10:18am.
Bicycles are permitted in a special bike car at no extra charge. 20 bikes rested on racks in our train car, with space for quite a few more. The ride was smooth and pleasant.
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Last week, we headed to Jamaica Pond at dusk to see if we could find any bats. Two friends with a bat detector joined us. This device picks up the echolocation calls that bats use to create an image of their surroundings in the dark.
We started detecting the bats around 9:30pm on the north side of the Pond near the old Pinebank mansion. The calls got louder as the bats approached us. We even managed to see a few, although it was too dark to take photos.
We climbed the stairs and proceeded to the baseball field. More bats!
Most of the bats called at around 30 kHz which, according to this chart, makes them big brown bats. This squares with Mass Audubon, which says that big brown bats prefer urban areas.
Thanks to Kieran and Sandy for teaching us how to detect bats.