[SEMCO] [Mass Audubon] The Wellfleet Bay Wrack Line - December 2007

Fri Dec 7 11:30:58 EST 2007

The Wrack Line - Wefleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary's eNewsletter

The Wrack Line 

December 2007

After a summer (and fall!) break, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife
Sanctuary's free monthly newsletter is back. If you do not want
to receive this newsletter, or if you need to change your
e-mail address, please click here. 
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/CO?i=kxPsYtHiaG7iR_bKgOJFwYayo6PCTet_&cid=1361

Cold Stunned Sea Turtles
Sanctuary staff and many! volunteers have been walking
Cape Cod Bay beaches looking for stranded sea turtles. Turtles found
by the beach walkers are brought to the sanctuary, and those
that survive are driven by volunteers up to the New England
Aquarium where they are gradually warmed and cared for. As of December
5, 33 turtles have been found. Most are Kemp's ridleys, but a few
green turtles have been brought in - both species are endangered. To
find out what's happening this stranding season see our new blog.
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=UxFwXZcZRQnS0_QJGeXiiQ..

http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=kl5R-fl3XSlN33SQ0iiKqg..

Wellfleet Bay Blog
Want to know what we're up to here at the sanctuary? We have all sorts
of research projects, school classes, workshops, and after school
programs and we have started a blog full of pictures and articles to
keep you in touch with what's going on. We will be updating the blog
several times a week and invite your comments and input. Watch for
staff and volunteer profiles as well. Click here to check it out!

http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=8p6-8bD2yjC7TeELvsd68A..

Eider die-offs
Every fall thousands of common eiders migrate south from breeding
sites in Canada and Maine and winter in large numbers
along Cape shores. Over the past few years there has been a
seasonal die-off of common eiders with large numbers of them found
dead on Outer Cape beaches. Julie Ellis, coordinator of the SEANET
program at Tufts University will be at Wellfleet Bay on Thursday
December 13 at 3:30 PM to discuss findings from their study of these
mortality events.
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=dD8EY2zTKCaw9OLeb98C7w..

http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=grZAFIeOKsJELddg5BFo2g..

SEANET volunteers walk beaches to monitor eider and other seabird
mortality. Julie will return to Wellfleet Bay on January 17, from 9:30
to 12:30 to train new volunteers for this program. Contact Cynthia
Franklin, Volunteer Coordinator, if interested.
cfranklin at massaudubon.org

Winter Birds
Cape Cod birders don't need groundhogs to predict the weather. We know
that winter arrives on Razorbill wings and is given voice by the
ice-chip notes of Common Redpolls.  We know that when a Snowy Owl
spends the day on a rooftop in Yarmouthport, that he is trying to tell
us something - winter is here to stay. And for fans of our winter
birds, this year is turning out to be a bounteous one. Unpredictable
winter visitors like redpolls, crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks, Bohemian
Waxwings, and Pine Grosbeaks have all been seen multiple times at
various spots on the Cape, and all have been seen at least once here
on the Sanctuary.

These species are irruptive, meaning they move south from their boreal
forest breeding areas at unpredictable intervals, spurred by a failure
of one of their major food crops in the north: conifer cones for
crossbills, birch catkins for redpolls, and mountain ash berries
for Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings. Here on the Cape we can find
redpolls feeding on seaside goldenrod and other daisy-family seed
heads or at your thistle feeder, crossbills in the pitch pines, and
Bohemian Waxwings in the winterberry thickets of Truro,
including at High Head and the Pamet River valley.

Stay abreast of Cape Cod wildlife sightings by visiting Mass Audubon's
bird sightings and clicking on "Cape Cod":
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=vz341tK49VsyMrgkrlaDEA..

Wellfleet Harbor Conference
The fifth annual State of Wellfleet Harbor Conference was held on
November 10. Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary was again a cosponsor of this
conference, whose goals are to inform the citizens of
Wellfleet and the Outer Cape about current research and
monitoring projects taking place in Wellfleet Harbor, and to
identify questions and concerns about the harbor.

The more than 100 people who attended heard about and discussed the
latest information on salt marsh dieback, local effects of global
warming (R. Buchsbaum, Mass Audubon Regional Scientist,
in picture above) , horseshoe crabs, the Mass Estuaries
Project, and the Herring River saltmarsh restoration plan.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

FAMILY & CHILDREN

After School Nature Club will begin the third session on January 8.

Winter Solstice Celebration
December 22, 3 PM

December School Vacation Adventures
December 27 and 28

ADULTS

Why are Eiders Dying?
December 13, 3:30 PM

Owling at Wellfleet Bay
December 27 6-10 PM

Shore to Shore Hike
December 28,  9 AM - 1 PM

(Almost) End of Year Hike
December 29, 2:30 - 4:30 PM

Search all programs >>

http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=9RVBJiN1qrW4_Va_GuPYPQ..

VOLUNTEERS

Citizen Science
There will be many opportunites for volunteers to participate
in research projects this winter and spring - monitoring of
coastal waterbirds and diamondback terrapins, hawk watch at
Pilgrim Heights, SEANET (see article), census and tag horseshoe crabs
All these projects will require many volunteer hours to complete. Training is provided. Interested?
Click here to contact the volunteer coordinator.
cfranklin at massaudubon.org

Exhibit Area Docents
Exhibit area docents help our visitors with bird sightings at the
feeder windows, questions about the new exhibits, and general
Sanctuary orientation. We will have a meeting in mid January to talk
about expanding this program. If you would like to attend, or just
learn more about this opportunity, click here to send a
message to the volunteer coordinator.
cfranklin at massaudubon.org

DON'T FORGET!
13th Annual Cape Cod Natural History Conference
is on Saturday, March 8,
from 9 AM to 4 PM.

ETCETERA...

Please remember to bring your membership card when you visit the
Sanctuary for the fastest admission and discounts.
Thank you!

MEMBERSHIP

Consider a Mass Audubon Gift Membership for those on your holiday
list. As a special bonus, gift recipients will also receive a Mass
Audubon T-shirt.
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=-47PUl-To9YfPj2q5aOE8Q..

Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Mass Audubon
291 State Highway, Route 6
P.O. Box 236
South Wellfleet, MA 02663
508-349-2615
wellfleet at massaudubon.org
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=Ddoqj2i5Wi9akrtl3kVTpg..

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