bits from the beach

July 23, 2005

 

 

 

Unsuccessful flycatching move of the day: a ring-billed gull pursuing a pair of dragonflies locked in their nuptial embrace. Despite being linked together, they dodged the gull twice and got away.

Whale vertebra deja vu of the day: Erin is giving the whale talk again today. She comes down to the beach early to bury the whale vertebra so the kids can dig it up. The whale book is overdue at the library. Note to Congress: give the USFWS enough money to buy a children's book about whales. Tomorrow's talk is on greenheads: no vertebrae, no library books, what will she use for props? I talk up her talk to all the visitors asking/complaining about them today. She tells me she's written a greenhead FAQ. I look forward to reading it.

Beach reading moment of the day: Unit 61 asks a beachgoer if that's the new Harry Potter she's reading. It's not. It's the DaVinci Code. Since he's broken the ice, I take a brief survey and find folks reading the latest Jonathan Kellerman, the latest John Grisham, the latest [insert similar genre author here]. How can Dana Gioia think literary reading is in decline?

Long day, lots of visitors to greet, trespassers to chase, explanations to give. No time to count the gulls but there seem to be a lot of them.

Too tired to write more witty stories of life on the beach.

 

Todays' Bird Sightings
Newburyport
turkey vulture 4
Plum Island
tree swallow
least tern
ringbilled gull
herring gull
great black backed gull
double crested cormorant
purple martin
American crow

Mammals
visitors 22
refuge staff (3. 61, Erin)
Tom Wetmore

Coast Guard Assets
none

Today's Reading
The Grail Bird
by Tim Gallagher

This Year's Reading
2005 Booklist

Today's Starting Pitcher
Wade Miller

 

 

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Copyright © 2005, Janet I. Egan