2021

Plum Island, Massachusetts

There's the government-owned Plum Island of New York, but Massachusetts also has a barrier island of the same name. This island is famous as a vacation spot, getting its name from the purple sands at high tide. I went here with my father, and we saw a variety of tidal flora and the animals it supported.

These little baub-like plants were always interesting to me. Beach plants just really love being covered in spikes for some reason, but these almost look like grapes.

How well do you know your seagulls? Herring gulls and ring-billed gulls are most common, but this one is a great black-backed gull, apparently the largest gull in the world.

A double-crested cormorant in flight!

There were a couple northern mockingbirds hanging about on this fence here.

Now for one of my favorite pictures of all time - this little guy is a pine siskin! This bird had been flying back and forth between a few large bushes for several minutes, and me and Dad had been going back and forth between spots trying to track it down. I've used this picture as a banner and wallpaper for a long time.

Here's a beach rose, in the white variety. They're invasive to North America, but it's nothing to be sad about. They arrived back in 1845 and by this point they've become naturalized to New England's coastlines. The bees enjoy them, too.