To our great surprise, we crossed paths with a wild turkey yesterday on Spectacle Island. We knew turkeys weren’t strong fliers, so how does one get to the Boston Harbor Islands?
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Jef led three of us on an urban nature walk around a very urban beach. Savin Hill Beach in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston is bordered by Interstate 93 and William Morrissey Boulevard. We were surprised at the diversity of water birds we found, including a few I hadn’t previously seen in the Boston area.
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We saw quite a few birds last Monday on our trip to Spectacle Island, including a species of gull for the first time. We counted 45 double-crested cormorants near the island’s shores.
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The last time I explored tide pools on the Boston Harbor Islands, I was taking Bruce Berman’s Snails to Whales class. We learned the geography of the Harbor, visited the islands, learned about the clean-up, and saw so many creatures I never knew existed in this area. We saw a few of those same creatures on Spectacle Island this past Monday.
Taking cover near a rock, this Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) does its best to remain hidden. This non-native crab can be distinguished from others in our area by the three “teeth” it has running down each side of its shell. Other species have at least five.
Honey locust trees in Christopher Columbus Park near Long Wharf have already started to turn. A good number of their leaflets were yellow this afternoon. Most of the honey locust trees in the city are still green, but probably not for too long.
On Monday, when Boston’s current heat wave was in its infancy, we took a ferry from Long Wharf to Spectacle Island, one of the many Boston Harbor Islands. Spectacle Island has gracefully taken Boston’s garbage and, recently, much of the dirt from the Big Dig. The flora is now re-establishing itself. The island features a visitor center, a sea kayak program, and a small swimming beach.
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