Entry 1, Mass Audubon Wellfleet sanctuary 6/23/22
Friday, June 23rd 9:00 am
Overcast with a lots of humidity
The park bench that I am currently sitting on overlooks the marsh and can see Indian neck as well as the small Islands that are connected by a boardwalk
I hear loads of little bugs buzzing all around me, all around my face
I hear the Willets that must have a nest near to where I am sitting, they are extremely defensive creatures as well as extremely protective, when you get too close to their nest they will let you know and keep letting you know until you move
I can hear the leaves scratching against each other due to the soft breeze, as well as the sea grass rubbing against each other
There are coyote tracks a couple feet to the right of me, you can tell they’re coyote tracks because of the X indent in their footprint on the sand. It seems like there were two running side by side. Upon further investigation, I also found some deer tracks, some of the footprints much deeper than others, which means they were most likely running at full speed away from a predator.
As I was walking and investigating these tracks I saw a strange kind of coral looking thing, it was white and round, kind of looked like a small white tree stump, turns out that it was a Whale vertebrae, which I had never seen up close before. The whale skull was further ahead but I simply did not feel like looking at that further.
Why are Willets so agressive?
Where do Willets make their nests?
How many bird species live in the marsh?
What other bird species are protective of their nests?
Why do coyotes have X’s on their paws?
What do coyotes eat?
How big do coyotes get?
Where do coyotes typically nest?
Are coyotes a protected animal?
When is the busiest time of day for deer?
How long does it take for a whale to decompose?
How many whales are beached per year in cape cod?
How tall can seagrass grow?
What kinds of trees are in/around the marsh?
How does seagrass help keep the ecosystem in check?
How is a marsh a good habitat for animals? What does it bring to the plate?
What are the protected species of Cape Cod?
Why are horseshoe crabs protected?
Why are diamondback terrapins protected?
Why do diamondback terrapins lay their nests higher up in the marsh?
What is the most endangered species that lives on Cape Cod?
What kinds of bugs live in the marsh?
What do ticks do/ what are they?
What kinds of soil do marshes tend to have?
Where do animals tend to make nests in a marsh?
How does a marsh help protect animals?
Why are willets so aggressive?
Willets tend to sound the siren whenever something that they deem a predator gets a little too close to their nest. Willets start to make noise, and trill loudly until that predator goes away. Willets are so protective that they are actually known to fake injuries, most typically a broken wing, in order to lure predators away from their eggs or their chicks. Willets nest on the ground, usually among dense short grass, sometimes on open ground. Willets are so aggressive towards humans because we get so close to their nests on the ground, their nests are extremely hard to see and find. Willets tend to just stand and yell at people until they go away. From my own personal experience, if it gets really bad they sometimes divebomb who they perceive to be predators.
” “Noisy Willets of the Salt Marsh.” Menunkatuck Audubon Society, menunkatuck.org/noisy-willets-of-the-salt-marsh. Accessed 23 June 2023. ”
Sitting on a bench and exploring the trails of the Wellfleet Mass Audubon society was a very interesting experience. Observing for so long was really interesting going from one spot to the next, always trying to find new things to catch your eye. The Willets really caught my eye because they simply just didn’t go away and basically forced me to focus on them. I knew that i was most likely close to a nest to make them act like that, but I had no idea the lengths that htye would go to or the fact that their nests were on the ground hidden in the tall grass.