Nature Connection: Beaches Aren’t Just For Humans

 Cape Cod is a wonderful summer playground for locals and visitors alike. Every beach is full of chairs, umbrellas, pails and shovels, picnic baskets, towels, and people of all colors, shapes and sizes enjoying some time in the sun and water with family and friends. There is swimming, sandcastle building, surfing, snorkeling, sunbathing and all sorts of games to play. It’s all wonderful fun, as long as we all remember that we aren’t the only ones enjoying summer on the beach.

 Some people forget their manners on the beach and leave their trash behind. Some don’t bother to fill in the holes they dug, and some feed the birds and other wildlife. Thankfully, most of us are respectful of each other and of the beach, and we try to enjoy ourselves while not causing harm to others, human or otherwise.

 I love to walk the summer beach very early in the morning, long before others are setting up their blankets and chairs. I’m often alone, though occasionally I pass another like-minded soul. We nod and smile, sometimes share a word or two, but my guess is that we are both there at that time for the same reason. We want to enjoy the pastel-colored sky just after sunrise as we walk in quiet meditation, observation and solitude.

 The early morning beach is quiet, but there’s plenty going on. Depending on the tide, there may be gulls looking for food, ospreys diving, fish jumping, crabs crawling, and terns calling. Early to mid-July is when the young terns and piping plovers are active, learning to find their own food as they also learn to fly and navigate the beach without becoming dinner for someone else. Young plovers eat creatures living in the sand, but young terns must learn to dive for tiny fish. This must seem almost nonsensical to them.

 In my yard I have three young jays who follow orioles and catbirds around, begging for food. Their own parents are already nesting again, and these three amigos are not fans of being on their own. They only have to learn how to catch bugs or find seeds, no diving necessary. When they get really obstinate outside my window, I may mumble things like, hey, at least you’re not a baby tern. They’d never survive.

 The sky was full of gray and violet clouds over a silvery, still sea on this day. There were hints of coral and pink, but the possibility of rain was ever present. A horned lark warbled from the dunes, two willets chased and yelled at each other, and a half dozen or so least terns were calling and fishing. Whenever one caught a fish, it hurried to shore to feed one of its begging babies. This was somewhat comical as several babies would rush the adult for the food, screaming and pushing each other out of the way. We like to think nature is all peaceful and lovely but there’s plenty of pushing, shoving and yelling that goes on as well as a fair amount of stealing. 

 Ospreys nest nearby, and it is not uncommon to see them diving for bigger fish than what the terns can handle. When they catch one, they rise into the sky, fish secured tightly in talons, and head for their nest where hungry young ospreys await. Gulls will often try to intercept an osprey’s fish, but usually the osprey wins. In areas where eagles harass them, however, the eagles usually win. It’s a tough world out there.

 I followed some fresh coyote tracks for a bit. It stopped to eat the remains of a crab and sniffed around a dead fish carcass, according to the tracks, before continuing its trot down the beach. A piping plover appeared in front of me dragging its wing, an age-old way of drawing attention away from its nest. I stopped and was able to spot the two babies it was protecting, and I changed direction so they could go about their business in peace. Later in the day the beach would be packed with humans, large and small, and this hour of peace was important for them. I would find another piping plover a little way down the other side of the beach, so well camouflaged I could have stepped on it. The only thing that caught my attention was the movement as it ran ahead of me.

 An oystercatcher stood on the edge of the jetty, a sight I am lucky enough to catch several times each summer. It must be a good spot for checking out the area. Several pairs are nesting on another beach just down the shore from the one we were on, but they fly between them regularly.

 There were a few beach roses still blooming as well as a few spikes of dusty miller, but most had gone by. The beach pea pods are growing, and although they are edible, they are often buggy and best left for wildlife.

 It is a good idea to carry a bag or bucket to collect trash as we walk. Some towns no longer supply trash cans, and it’s good to plan to carry our trash home with us. For visitors this means bringing their trash back to a campground or hotel. Hikers, hunters and scouts have been doing this for years, and it’s a good habit to get into.

 Food trash invites wildlife to come closer to humans, and some folks like to feed the gulls, ducks, foxes and even coyotes to get a closer look. Unfortunately, our food isn’t healthy for wildlife, but neither is the taming that happens when we do this. A fox or coyote or Canada goose can inflict a painful bite trying to get food from an unsuspecting child or adult. 

 It’s summer, a time to enjoy our beaches. Let’s just remember we’re not the only ones there.