Several members of the FGC attended the Autumn Guided Walk at Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary in Barnstable on October 11, 2024. David Shapiro, senior naturalist at Cape Cod Audubon Society led the 90-minute tour which was both informative and engaging. Our first stop was a homemade bird house designed for purple martins which migrate from Brazil to Cape Cod (and other areas) to have their young. Nesting occurs from March through July. Each spring several of these bird houses are placed on a pole to house these beautiful birds. The Purple Martin eats insects and drinks water while in flight. The next stop was a viewing spot of beautiful Barnstable Harbor. Our guide asked us to imagine what had been there twenty thousand years ago and then explained that ice covered the land. Over the years, the ice melted and left rocks, sand and debris which is now a beautiful barrier beach that includes Sandy Neck Beach. This barrier beach continues to spread eastward. The tour took us onto wooded paths that revealed different birds and habitats including the Belted Kingfisher, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, and nesting box of the screech owl. After the tour, one talented participant went back to the bridge area overlooking the pond and took some beautiful pictures of male and female yellow-rumped warblers and turtles warming themselves on a sunny log. Our guide pointed out several invasive species such as porcelain berry that are present in the relatively “unmanaged” section of the sanctuary. Limited resources do not allow the sanctuary to fully eradicate them. He also discussed the life cycle of the American eel from the Sargasso Sea to freshwater rivers and ponds. We learned about vernal pools, and we were able to view one in its dry condition due to the time of year. We then made our way to the “managed” area of the sanctuary that showed beautiful fields of native grasses and flowers. Our final stop was at a corral that held friendly goats.
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