Yesterday we had a glorious walk through the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon Society, see: http://tinyurl.com/dju94o). The day began with menacing clouds that, phew, soon cleared to reveal a perfect blue sky…perfection enhanced by the sanctuary wildlife’s cooperation. Animals and birds, in fact, politely posed for our cameras…well, at least…most of the time.

We had been to the sanctuary twice before, but I had never seen red squirrels there…until yesterday. We encountered two of these feisty little critters hanging out by the sanctuary birdfeeders. I suppose that at one point I got too close to one of them, because it began darting up and down a tree next to me, scolding me very loudly…piii piiiii piiiii! Trying to calm it down, I didn’t move an inch…until I realized that the frustrated little thing was thinking of jumping right onto my head. Or so it seemed. Perhaps a mother with a nest nearby. I backed off at that point, of course. I don’t want to upset creatures of any size! Needless to say, I got some great shots (the photo I chose to post, though, shows my adorable little friend posed to jump onto a…birdfeeder)…although, as usual, Stefano’s shots are much better. But more difficult for me to post.

We saw many many birds. The thing I love about this sanctuary is its variety. You can see marsh birds, forest birds and sea birds. Three habitats in the same location. More than 260 bird species can be found here. So we took photos of blue jays, cardinals, great white egrets…and a bunch of other birds that we didn’t recognize. Stefano remarked that we are such ignorant, albeit enthusiastic!, birdwatchers that we might be snapping photos of common pigeons and believe they were exotic caracaras… That is almost the case…we really should find the time to study some bird watching books…

Case in point. Yesterday, we came upon a couple of birdwatchers sitting in a bird hide. They clearly took us for experts, perhaps based on the length of Stefano’s super-duper camera lens. I casually asked if they had spotted anything of interest. One of the guys answered, “well, it hasn’t been too bad. We saw two yellow-tailed wiggiewoddles and a speckled roastmybum…” “Ah, yes,” I quickly answered, pretending to have recognized both species. This encounter made me realize that if someone ever asks me what I have spotted, I will have to be ready with a couple of totally invented but plausible species names…

We have filled up the next few days with all sorts of activities, from boat rides through Nauset marsh to another whale watching trip, a walk around Great Island in Wellfleet and so forth. Hence, I apologize for not responding to those who have contacted me via my blog’s Contact form. I will respond to all of you upon my return to Italy. Thanks!