Truro, a Nature Lover’s Paradise

We are in Truro on Cape Cod, where we have been coming for some years now. Truro, located on the outer cape near Provincetown is the least populated town on the Cape. Known for its wild, natural beauty, dramatic sandy cliffs, and prehistoric kettle holes, it is popular with writers, artists, and nature lovers.

We are again staying at Westoe cottage, built in the 1920’s, one of eight Sladeville Cottages, which are all part of the historic registry. The Westoe cottage is on the Pamet River, which is rich with wildlife as it meanders through the salt marsh. It is fun to float down the river with a lifejacket in the tidal current or kayak over to the Corn Hill Beach a short distance away.

According to the sound ID on my Merlin Bird app, I found a new bird for my life list- a Whimbrel, which I had never heard of. According to the Cape Cod Seashore National Park Service, Whimbrels “hunt in in saltmarshes and mudflats for fiddler crabs. They visually spot the crab’s burrow in the mud and then extract it using their long decurved bills. They also use this technique to capture swimming crabs, mud crabs, crayfish, mole crabs, small fish, marine worms, sea cucumbers, sand shrimp, and small mollusks such as coffee bean snails. They will rinse off the crabs they catch and remove the largest claw before they consume it.” There are certainly plenty of fiddler crabs here. John says I can’t put it on my life list until I actually see one, so off I go to spot a Whimbrel!