The Gift of Gannets

I have to confess I am simply beguiled by Northern Gannets; I never tire of watching them swoop and dive and cut across black skies over a stormy sea. And the amazing thing about them is that, just as I am lamenting the end of “skies filled with swallows”, they show up. Here on the Cape, Gannets are seen off our coast both in spring and fall. April and May, September to November are the times to look for them. But I think of the two seasons, the fall is the most spectacular for the slate gray November skies or stormy Nor’easters provide the most dramatic backdrop for those long, tipped with black, but mostly white, wings.

Today is just such a day; wildly windy, a sky that goes from light gray to dark gray then back again, and I happened to arrive at the beach with the tide on the way out, so the sandbars were sea-glass green. Gorgeous! Again and again I think of a favorite line from a Psalm, “The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me.” Indeed, for me, they have. Not only were there Gannets slicing back and forth across the sky, both mature and immature, but also the sea ducks have begun to arrive.

Medium-sized rafts of Surf Scoters and White Winged Scoters have showed up. The White Winged ones have white on their wings, (there’s a shock eh?) that you see more clearly when they are flying. To someone new to looking at these birds, they all look rather alike, rafts of black looking ducks floating on the water, but there are differences.

Surf Scoters, if they are male, have white on the front and back of their head, and if they are female, they have two white spots on the side of their head. They are also the ones that have this wonderful Disney-like habit of diving all at once, as though there were some underwater buzzer they were all cued to. They pop back up at different times, but it can be puzzling if you see them on the water, then put your binoculars to your eyes and they have vanished. It can happen that quickly. But continue to watch, and “pop, pop, pop”, up they come again. I love that!

Loons also show up off our coast for the winter. They leave their yodeling calls behind in Maine, but here, they spread themselves out along the shore, not in large rafts but, one here, one there. That actually makes them easier to spot because they are, first of all, likely alone, and they are pretty heavy- bodied birds that ride low in the water. For me, finding Loons positioned in their spots along the shore, is another sign that fall is well underway.

Cute little Sanderlings are still working the shore in their manic way, racing one way and then another on those cartoon-like legs. I watched one switch directions continually for at least 4 minutes or so before ever probing for something in the sand. “Not here, no, not here either, back over here.” It would seem more energy was expended than was replenished by the wee crustacean it finally found. Sadly, they will be gone in probably just another week.

The weather remains threatening. It is incredibly warm, but the forecast is for rain, so deciding whether my Walking group is a “go” or not is so frustrating. The gray skies are bringing out the vibrant colors of fall, the warm wind makes it feel like Florida with foliage, but getting everyone soaked wouldn’t make for a good experience either. Ah, the joys of being a walking leader in New England! Guess I will show up and see who are the game ones that a little wild weather doesn’t stop. And if you live on the Cape, the wilder the better for Gannets, so get yourself to the shore and see the beauty unfold for yourself.