Exploring wildlife in the Three Bays Watershed
Cape Cod — the name conjures up images of sandy beaches and endless waves. The 12,458-acre Three Bays watershed not only has the beaches and waves, but also includes bays, salt marshes, rivers, ponds and cranberry bogs. These diverse habitats in our watershed are home to a variety of wildlife species, if you know where to look.
The intertidal zone — the area between a beach and the water itself — is alive with all kinds of wildlife, large and small. It’s not uncommon to spot a tiny grey and black-ringed shorebird with fast-moving feet scuttering from the wrack line to the water’s edge and back. These piping plovers make the trip from the Bahamas to nest on our beaches and raise their young. Other birds seen along the beach include cormorants, herring gulls, Least and Common terns, and willets.
Jellies can be seen pulsating throughout the shallow and deeper waters around the bays and beaches. Some of these species, like the milky-white and pinkish sea nettle with incredibly long tentacles, to the wide pink moon jelly, can deliver a painful sting to whoever accidentally crosses its path. The sea nettle is a favorite snack of sea turtles found swimming off shore. Much more plentiful along the shoreline are comb jellies, small, clear, and iridescent, which have no stinging capabilities. While wading in the water, take caution not to accidentally step on any crabs buried in the sand.
Blue crabs will stop and hold their claws up, ready to fight, while a lady crab will be more likely to swim away. Fiddler crabs live in the grasses and salt marshes adjacent to the water’s edge. The male fiddler crab has one exceptionally large claw to attract females, hence their name. These crabs won’t pinch unless provoked.
Despite being the largest “crab” found in the Three Bays watershed, horseshoe crabs are in fact more closely related to spiders and have been around since before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Their tails are often mistaken for a stinger, when in fact they serve as a rudder and a tool used for flipping themselves over. You will often find what appears to be many horseshoe crabs scattered along the beach. These are empty shells from when they molt and grow a new and larger one.
While walking, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the variety of shells scattered along the shorelineand in the water. Scallops, slipper shells, mussels, jingle shells, quahogs, moon snails, periwinkles, whelks and oysters are some of the more common species you will find in our watershed.
When thinking about the Three Bays watershed, it’s important to not forget the animals that live near and in our rivers and ponds.
A favorite pastime among both locals and tourists alike is kayaking. Slowly paddling along the edge of a pond, one can encounter multiple species of colorful lilies and berries. Birds like great blue herons and green herons can be found slowly stalking their next meal along the water’s edge, taking each step slowly and deliberately. Bullfrogs and snakes love using these lilies and aquatic grasses for sunbathing and protection from predators. If you do happen to encounter a snake, take comfort in the fact that Cape Cod contains no venomous snakes; although some species such as the black racer and northern water snake can be aggressive. Northern water snakes can also be seen curled up along sunny banks of a pond or river.
Old logs that fell from violent winter storms are typically strewn around ponds, creating a perfect environment for sunbathing painted and spotted urtles. If you get too close, the turtles will plop into the water, where they will swim toward shade to hide from predators. Other turtle species, including snapping turtles, call the muddy bottom of a pond or stream their home, occasionally coming to the surface for a quick breath or meal. Keep your eyes open for these turtles. They have an extremely powerful bite that can do serious damage to limbs.
As you wander through the watershed, don’t forget to look up. Often, you can see an osprey soaring high above. If you’re lucky, you’ll witness an osprey dive for its food. They drop toward the water at full speed and hit the surface like a bullet, spraying water in every direction. If successful, the osprey will be clutching a fish in their sharp talons as they fly back to their nest perched high above in a tree, on a utility or osprey pole, or a chimney.
f you look carefully, you may catch a glimpse of a fish swimming underwater in the bays, rivers or ponds. A variety of fish species live in the Three Bays watershed including blueback and alewife herring, American eels, striped bass, flounder, killifish, scup, and pickerel, to name a few.
As you can see, the waters throughout the
Three Bays watershed are home to many different species. We must work together to protect and preserve these waters for future generations. Please visit our Barnstable Clean Water Coalition website at BCleanWater.org to learn more about what you can do to get involved.
See you at the beach!
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