Cape Lookout

 Our good friend Mary loves the Cape Lookout hike but has been unable, physically, to hike it for some time. On Sept. 2nd, she was scheduled for surgery, so, in the weeks before, Johnny and I hiked the Cape for her... twice. I took many, many photos and have been sending her a photo a day to keep her spirits up. Here are some of the photos from our first hike, when we only went half way. A peregrine falcon caught Johnny's eye and he took me back to see it...

 Photos I did not send to Mary were of the plaque that hangs on the cliff along the first half of the trail. It commemorates the Army Air Corps plane that went down in the fog there in 1943. My dad, who was in the Army Air Corps (which later became the Air Force), knew the men on board. That was two years before I was born.

 Johnny and I have hiked this trail many times in the past, looking for Black Oystercatchers when we were doing BLOY abundance surveys. Many times, we found them foraging in this cove on the north side of the trail, which is about the end of the "easy" portion.

The trail after this point is considered "moderate" difficulty. Or was before the heavy rains earlier this year. Now it is a muddy mess with tree roots aplenty to climb over. I hiked it on our second trip but Johnny wisely waited at the point where he had seen the Peregrine the week before. The bird did not reappear, but Johnny enjoyed talking to the many hikers who passed him.

 

There were a few attempts at boardwalks... but they had been washed askew.

 

Of course, it is a scenic trail with frequent glances through the trees at the ocean... except when all you can see is fog...

 

In all fairness, once in a while, a boardwalk held firm...

 

...and there was always the view... of fog

Where the trail skirts the steep cliff down to the ocean, the ocean was occasionally visible... barely...

The tree roots kept my view focused on my feet anyway.

 

Near the point, the trail improved...

But the fog did not...

My recommendation to Mary? Pick a non-foggy day and just hike the first half. There are plenty of fine ocean/beach views looking south... when the fog clears.

Ocean Reprieve

 

 

It's been a tough several weeks plus on the farm, so today's hike to the Thumb in spectacular weather with a Black Oystercatcher chick in view on Middle Rock was just what I needed. Actually, I swear I saw two chicks with two adults but missed the second chick in my photos. They kept disappearing behind the rock fortress where my co-monitor, Casey, had guessed the nest was.

As an added bonus, the South Rock pair appear to be renesting. 

First, the Middle Rock story in photos, sort of in the order I took them:

 

 

adult left, chick behind to the right

chick, rock fortress where nest was suspected is left of chick

chick, closer

adult on foraging rock gathering food for chick(s)

foraging rock with BLOY barely visible

The nest rock is big rock in foreground. Foraging rock is the little roundish one to the right (north)

2 adults, 1 chick (between the adults)

same as above but farther away

adult

Middle Rock (nest rock) with Black (or Back) Rock behind

adult on left, chick behind, 2nd adult far right, with a 2nd chick likely behind the "fortress" behind the visible chick

adult and chick

 

I'll save the South Rock photos for my Black Oystercatcher blog. For those who would just like to see the beautiful ocean scene from my Observation Post, here it is:

Cascade Head in the distance

The offshore island covered in guano

My view from The Thumb of the nest and foraging rocks below. A good scope and/or good camera is essential. The view is too distant for binoculars.

The trail back toward The Knoll from The Thumb (the most civilized part of the trail)

The trail from The Knoll to the parking area

 Earlier this year, during the month of rain, the trails were a slippery, muddy mess. Today they were beautiful.

 

A July Photo Journey Through Our Farm