It’s Thanksgiving week, and I have actually got that huge, brown bird on my mind. Simply considering it makes my mouth water– it’s a chance that does not occur really frequently, perhaps just when a year. I’m naturally discussing the chance to see that uncommon Brown Booby that’s been spending time off Eastham over the recently. What did you believe I suggested? In any case, this geographically challenged tropical seabird has actually been seen 3 times in the recently, no doubt feeding on an obscure fish that’s been supplying a vacation banquet for seabirds in the bay. And the booby isn’t the only tropical animal in the bay today– 2 type of sea turtle are cleaning up at a record clip in the recently. While I would generally telephone in some turkey-related drivel this week, it’s clear we require to talk about the odd things going on in Cape Cod Bay right now.
It resembles international warming theater out there. The Brown Booby is generally restricted to warm Caribbean waters, with Fort Lauderdale marking the severe northern end of the variety map. They have actually ended up being yearly visitors to the quickly warming Gulf of Maine in the last years– I now anticipate a number of sightings per year here on the Cape. They carefully look like the associated Northern Gannet, however smaller sized and slimmer proportioned. Grownups are dark chocolate brown all over however the tummy and wing linings, which are white, and sport a a pointy tail and huge, pale spear idea of a costs.
The booby is simply among a cast of thousands presently feeding off of Eastham’s bay side beaches– countless gulls and gannets are making a thanksgiving banquet of an odd baitfish that frequently cleans ashore on bay beaches in fall, the pointy dealt with Atlantic saury. These huge, silver baitfish have a needle-sharp beak extending from the lower jaw. It appears like something that would be dangerous to consume entire, however the birds are stuffing, obviously including this booby, as it’s been seen 3 times today. Saury relocation south each fall, and some constantly appear to get captured in Cape Cod Bay as the temperature level drops, cleaning up on particular beaches en masse.
If that sounds familiar, it’s since it’s the exact same thing occurring with the other animals cleaning up on bay beaches today, Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles. The Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay sea turtle rescue program has actually seen around 150 been available in over the last 5 days, generally in Eastham, the majority of discovered by our experienced and federally allowed staff and volunteers. We get them supported, gather the preliminary information, and send them off to rehab centers at the New England Fish Tank and the National Marine Life Center in Bourne.
Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
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The variety of these juvenile, seriously threatened sea turtles winding up cold-stunned on bay beaches each year has actually been gradually increasing, thanks to a mix of the warming Gulf of Maine and effective preservation efforts on their nesting beaches in Texas and Mexico. Twenty years ago it was uncommon for us to see more than 50 or 100 cold shocked sea turtles each year, now we can get that numerous in a couple of days, and season overalls in some cases leading 1000.
So that’s where we’re at in Cape Cod Bay today– a Caribbean seabird is chowing on cold baitfish who are attempting, unsuccessfully, to swim south to warmer waters, while numerous seriously threatened, young sea turtles from the Gulf of Mexico battle to survive in the quickly cooling bay. Both turtles and fish are cleaning ashore in numbers on particular beaches.
If you occur to discover a sea turtle, please location it well above the high tide line, cover it with seaweed, and mark it in some method so our staff can discover it. Next, call Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay at 508-349-2615 x6104. If you discover a saury, well, they’re dead so you can’t do much, however perhaps you can attempt frying it up if it’s fresh– I understand folks who have actually attempted them. If that sounds severe, well, to paraphrase what the kids state: saury, not sorry …
