Springtime on Cape Cod

Sometime this week, all over Cape Cod, the tiny buds on our Scrub Oak trees
will burst from their winter cocoon in their early Spring bright yellow. Look for it.

Cape Cod's kindest curmudgeon remembers winters past & present

By Francis I. Broadhurst - Originally a commentary broadcast on WCAI-NPR (89.9)

Becket, Massachusetts 01223. Incorporated in 1765. Population 1,775, the 297th largest (or smallest) in the state

It has been a long, snowy winter like those I remember from childhood growing up in the tiny town of Becket in the Berkshires. The blizzards, snowdrifts and bitter cold forced us to stay inside.

The snow on Cape Cod this year wasn’t the sledding kind little kids could enjoy. The big circle I marked out in the snow so our grandchildren could play “fox and chickens” was only used once. The cold was too intense for outdoor play and the snow too dry to build snowmen and snow forts.

We defied warnings issued by animal control experts about coyotes and opted to feed the birds when heavy snow covered their natural supplies. Russian Olive, bittersweet, inkberry, choke cherry and a variety of wild berry bushes abound on the edges of our land. The cranberry bog in back-- replete with grasses and shrubs—contains boundless opportunities for birds, ducks and other creatures to forage. The blizzards buried most of it.

The snow on Cape Cod this year wasn’t the sledding kind little kids could enjoy

It was worth the effort to put out buckets of sunflower and other birdseed. We thrilled at the incredible air shows our fine-feathered friends put on each day.

We even tolerated the squirrels-- descended from the critters who lived inside our attic several years ago. They still try to come “home” gnawing through the wood facia boards, chewing through and around metal flashing. We’ve kept them out so far but they keep trying. Stubborn creatures whose agility never ceases to amaze me.

We put the birdseed high off the ground on the cover of our compost bin to keep the birds out of harms way. There are several feral cats on the prowl for unwary prey. They never got to our birds even those who fed on the ground. The warning system birds set up through Crows and Blue jays is a marvel.

They compete fiercely for food but seem to cooperate to avoid becoming some predator’s lunch. They kept to a fairly constant feeding pattern: First squirrels, then Jays, Cardinals, Starlings and Grackles followed by Red Winged Blackbirds, Robins, Slate Colored Juncos and a variety of Sparrows. We saw Mocking Birds. Catbirds, Sapsuckers and Woodpeckers-- large and small.

As you drive around this week, look up and try to spot the Ospreys returning to last year's nest which has probably been wrecked by winter

Perky chickadees and Tufted Titmice flew in-and-out

Perky chickadees and Tufted Titmice flew in-and-out at will among the bigger birds.  Graceful Mourning Doves, sometimes sitting motionless like round gray stones against the white snow, sometimes flocking in multiple pairs, would take flight trailing their distinctive woodwind sounds behind. Equally lovely was a Great Blue Heron that haunts the old trout hatchery down the way and an Osprey who finds fishing in Fuller’s Pond too good to pass up.

Large hawks have soared daily high above the bog plummeting like rockets to sweep up prey.  They put on an aerial shows incredible to behold.  As long as they were gliding on the air currents, smaller birds remained hidden in brush and briars. 

But it wasn’t until the Red Winged Blackbirds arrived that we knew Spring was close at hand. Each Spring they return to nest in a nearby swamp. This year they seemed to arrive earlier than usual and in greater numbers.

Another sign of Spring was the draining of the bogs flooded for the winter. When the water went down, flocks of Mallards that had waddled up to partake of seeds put out for the other birds, retreated to the pond. Dozens of them came to scoop up free seeds.  They weren’t supposed to do that. But they were beautiful and provided welcome respite from the dreary cold.

We may have more winter before it’s finally over, but Spring has come to Cape Cod.  Like others penned in by winter’s cold, I can’t wait to get gardening. It’s time.

Francis I. Broadhurst is the senior political columnist on Cape Cod, having written for the Cape Cod Times off and on since 1964. For many years he authored "The Broadhurst Report" on WQRC, and he is a lifelong registered Republican who has served as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Barnstable. You may write him at 88 Stony Cliff Road, Centerville, MA 02632 or e-mail him at FIBcape@aol.com.