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Ocean Views

Join ‘Expedition Block Island’

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Feb 24

Category:

Ocean Views

Have you ever wondered what was in that cove, around that point, or over that dune? After the Groundhog Day count, many islanders go in search of mountain slopes, coral reefs, hunting lodges, colossal amusement rides, grandma’s attic, or any oasis for introspection — in general, we head to parts...
Alabaster swans and charcoal coots

Kim Gaffett

Sun, Jan 1

Category:

Ocean Views

On Dec. 26, 2016, the Ocean View Foundation organized its 16th annual Community Bird Census (CBC) in the tradition of Elizabeth Dickens, who for nearly 50 years orchestrated the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count on Block Island. Each of those years she would rally the island’s...
Whistling Swans on Sachem Pond

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Dec 23

Category:

Ocean Views

On a chilly, Dec. 7 morning, Maggie Komosinski and I waited for the rain to stop and give way to a leaden sky of clouds before heading out in search of an odd-looking goose that we had seen – but not identified – the day before. We traipsed through field and dune and pond edge. We wended through...
Block Island Beach Cleanup: There is always more to do

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Sep 24

Category:

Ocean Views

International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is a 30-year project of the Ocean Conservancy that collects information about ocean and shoreline debris from around the world. In 2015, about 18 million pounds of trash was collected by 800,000 volunteers around the globe. The Ocean Conservancy uses the...
Ladybugs & moths: A double hitter

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Jul 1

Category:

Ocean Views

Join Ocean View Foundation and Rhode Island Natural History Survey for two unique programs on Thursday, July 7 at 1 p.m., and again at 9 p.m., on Corn Neck Road near the trail to the Labyrinth. The Lost Ladybug The Rhode Island Natural History Survey wants help looking for ladybugs on Block Island...
Celebrate Earth Day

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Apr 15

Category:

News, Ocean Views

Next week is Earth Day. (Friday, April 22, for those of you for whom this date does not come readily to mind.) A day, and a week, to celebrate our home planet. Next week is also spring break here on Block Island. With the Island Free Library, Ocean View Foundation will be marking the occasion with...
It takes a village, to save a peregrine

Kim Gaffett

Sun, Oct 18

Category:

Ocean Views

On Oct. 5, I received three different phone calls/messages about an injured ‘hawk.’ The first call was from Norris Pike — which I could not take because I was in the bank — who described a large hawk on the porch of a house that he is building on the west side. The second call, from Donn Frageau,...
“Not what you look at, but what you see.”

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Jun 13

Category:

Ocean Views

Q. What do horseshoe crabs and Eastern spring beauty have in common? A. They both make rare appearances in May. And, both need more than merely to be looked at, in order to see their complete beauty. Eastern spring beauty ( Claytonia virginica , a.k.a...
A visual symphony, and a month to be savored

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Jan 31

Category:

Columnists, Ocean Views

It was a visual symphony. The light came up slowly and the stage was revealed: a twisted bony armature of grey. The trunk, smooth and substantial, gave way to branches like arms with elbows and wrists, and then to a halo of twigged filigree. My old, and alas, declining, shad tree reappears each...
February Transitions

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Feb 8

Category:

Ocean Views

On Block Island, in February, islanders count people like ornithologists count birds. During the snows of February’s first weekend, the Chinese New Year of the Horse was ushered in, Sea Hawks prevailed (not a mid-winter osprey return), Phil in Punxsutawney saw his shadow, and 931 people (the...
Of Snowflakes & Snow Owls

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Jan 8

Category:

Ocean Views

The 13th annual Community Bird Census held, by Elizabeth Dickens-inspired tradition, on Dec. 26 was again a day of delight, surprises and inspiration. Although not a stellar year by species count, only 46 species (the 13-year average is 50), but the day did not disappoint. We were delighted to...
Snowy Owl report for 2013

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Dec 20

Category:

Ocean Views

“In Nov. and Dec. the greatest flight of Snow Owls ever recorded. The following numbers were shot on B.I. most of which were mounted. Hugh 3, Fred Shogren 1, Omar Littlefield 1, Ed Dodge 1, Harold Dunn 3, Sands Littlefield 2, Papa 1, George Millikin 2, Lincoln Payne, Jr. 2, Lester Littlefield 1,...
Celebrate R.I. Natural History Week

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Nov 1

Category:

Ocean Views

Where better to celebrate Natural History Week than right here on Block Island? The selection of the first week of November, by Gubernatorial Proclamation, seems especially fitting for us here. Keen observers will notice many changes in the natural environment in early November, not the least of...
International Coastal Cleanup Block Island Style

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Sep 28

Category:

Ocean Views

Many thanks to the Block Island volunteers who participated in the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) on Sept. 21. Thanks especially go to Block Island Recycling Management and the Town of New Shoreham for sharing the cost of the transfer station fees to dispose of the debris collected by 30-plus...
Where are the Monarchs?

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Sep 21

Category:

Ocean Views

The date of Sept. 15 was as likely as not to be the peak of goldenrod blooms on Block Island. Whether it is a glowing field of gold or the subtle elegance of a stonewall edged by yellow, mid-September is a time of stunning beauty. Just when you think that a summer-browned field cannot become more...
Did you Know ... The Buzz on Bees

Kim Gaffett

Mon, Jun 24

Category:

Ocean Views

Did you know that we are just coming to the end of the officially declared Pollinator Week in Rhode Island…and, the nation? It is true: both Gov. Chafee and the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared the week of June 17 as Pollinator Week — a special time for recognizing the important role...
May Day Tips

Kim Gaffett

Sat, May 4

Category:

Ocean Views

May Day is a traditional day of spring celebrations calling to mind May baskets and Maypoles. Or it is a day to unite workers around the world for better working conditions? May Day is also an internationally known call for help and assistance. As we infuse our daily lives with the sight, smell,...
Ocean Views: Winter Vacation

Kim Gaffett

Tue, Mar 5

Category:

Ocean Views

It seems that the end — and beginning — of each season is celebrated with dual-purpose events. For instance, are Ground Hog Day and Easter celebrations of the end of winter or the beginning of spring? And, is the ever-popular February vacation a celebration of winter, a tool for endurance, or a...
Fishing for fish

Wed, Feb 13

Category:

Ocean Views

There was a time when the question about a February fish dinner was confined to “cod or flounder?” But the days of coming home to find that a local fisherman has left a mess of tobies (cod fish roe) in your ice box is long since gone. And, on Block Island, it is no longer possible to seek out a...
From Holboell's Grebe (1912) to Common Gallinule (2012)

Kim Gaffett

Thu, Jan 10

Category:

Ocean Views

On December 26, 1912, Miss Elizabeth Dickens (age 35), in her first of 50 years of keeping a daily bird journal, recorded seeing: “Horned lark 35, Snowflake 50, Herring gull 10, Holboell’s grebe 1, Horned grebe 1, Red-breasted merganser 2.” On December 26, 2012, a small but intrepid group of bird...
Elizabeth Dickens: a local hero, 100 years ago

Kim Gaffett

Tue, Dec 25

Category:

Ocean Views

"February 21, 1912: Canada Geese." Thus began Elizabeth Dicken’s 50-year habit of recording bird sightings on Block Island; and here we are, 100 years later, delving into those journals to discover and observe the birds of 1912, their common — sometimes individual — names, and the making of...
Chicken-of-the-Woods

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Dec 5

Category:

Ocean Views

Q. Is chicken-of-the-woods an animal, vegetable or mineral? A. None of the above, it is a mushroom. Chicken-of-the-woods ( Laetiporus sulphureus , formerly Polyporus sulphureus ) is a beautiful fungus* in both form and color, and in the mystery that it evokes. To come upon this...
B.I. & Rhode Island Natural History Survey

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Nov 28

Category:

Ocean Views

Q. What do the Block Island plants mile-a-minute vine, pale green orchid, and winterberry have in common? A. They have all garnered special attention from Rhode Island Natural History Survey on Block Island. The Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS) is a non-profit...
Ocean Views: Purple Haze, Marsh Rosemary, Sea Lavender

Kim Gaffett

Thu, Sep 13

Category:

Ocean Views

If it is September on Block Island then it is time to bathe summer-tired feet in the soothing mud of a salt marsh. Many of the island’s September visitors will flock to our sand/mud flats and tidal marshes to glimpse shorebirds headed south after their breeding season in the north. Yes, ruddy...
Summer beasts

Kim Gaffett

Tue, Jul 3

Category:

Ocean Views

Fireflies, moths, butterflies, beetles, mantids, dragonflies and damselflies are summer’s beautiful beasts. July is the month of long twilight, short nights, and warm still mornings — the perfect time to observe some of nature’s most fantastic winged creatures. The life cycle of any of the island’s...
June fog

Kim Gaffett

Sat, May 26

Category:

Ocean Views

Water is a phenomenal substance. It is believed that where water does not exist life does not exist. Consider the hunt for signs of water in our solar system — Mars for instance — in hopes of divining evidence of once-upon-a-time life. Water is a shape-changer; between ice and steam there is dew,...
Tiny May flowers

Kim Gaffett

Tue, May 1

Category:

Ocean Views

There are many signs that herald the arrival of spring. One of the most noted is the sudden bursting forth of flowers in May. Blooming shrubs and trees such as shad, apple, azalea, beach plum, or horse chestnut immediately come to mind. Perhaps it will be the brilliance of dandelion, hawkweed,...
Ocean Views: Marine animals and the sound of spring rolling in

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Apr 4

Category:

Ocean Views

Although there is great promise of warmth and new life in April, the month can be cold, grey and bony: a month with an exoskeleton. But April also beckons for beach walks, a time when almost anything can be found at the island’s edge. The shoreline can be wide and flat at low tide, or narrow and...
Malleable and resolute: Clay is the 'bedrock' of Block Island

Kim Gaffett

Sun, Feb 26

Category:

Ocean Views

It can be pounded and extruded, hand-built or thrown, excavated to create cozy nests, or become wind- and rain-sculpted hoodoos. Clay is Block Island’s “bedrock.” In its simplest form, clay is a substance made of very small particles of minerals such as aluminum silicate. Much smaller in grain size...
What are you doing over February Vacation?

Kim Gaffett

Mon, Feb 13

Category:

Ocean Views

If your week of winter wandering will be based on the “Bermud a of the North” — Block Island, that is — consider joining one of the following free Ocean View Foundation programs. Monday, February 20: Great Backyard Bird Count — a Block Island Tutorial The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a four-...
Ocean Views: Wax myrtle, myrtle warbler

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Feb 1

Category:

Ocean Views

Grey is the color of February. But look closely; it can be a stunning grey. Charcoal grey trunks of shad, blotched with ash-grey lichens, almost luminescent in late-afternoon light. Stone walls, uncluttered by vines and leaves, weight hill and dale with intricate granite-grey tatted edges. Incoming...
January cod

Kim Gaffett

Thu, Jan 19

Category:

Ocean Views

Steakers, tobies, tongues and cheeks: January is — was — the month for cod fishing. As most know, Block Island fishermen hunted inshore. They fished the seasons, and winter was the season of codfish. In the days when “boats were made of wood, and men were made of steel,” island fishermen would go...
Snowflakes 0: American Crows 331, and counting

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Jan 4

Category:

Ocean Views

The weather proved too warm for snowflakes, flurries or feathered. Although a hearty group looked high and low for snow buntings (or Snowflakes) and snowbirds (or slate-colored juncos) none were seen as we swirled and drifted around Block Island during the eleventh annual OVF Community Bird Census...
Chasing snowflakes

Kim Gaffett

Mon, Dec 26

Category:

Ocean Views

For a scant two hours on the morning of December 18 the quiet Block Island air was adrift with lightly tumbling snowflakes; the season’s first – and hopefully not only – snow flurry. In the shadows and shelters of north-facing objects one could find a few unmelted flakes wedged between still-green...
Hoary frost and December nights

Kim Gaffett

Mon, Dec 12

Category:

Ocean Views

A morning stroll in 60 degree weather takes me by the smooth-as-ice “duck pond” on Old Town Road. I note, as a few mallards slip into the surface — seemingly buoyant both above and below the watery lens — that this wide-edged soup bowl in the landscape is full to the brim, and beyond. And I am...
November fishing

Kim Gaffett

Tue, Nov 1

Category:

Ocean Views

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. – H.D. Thoreau Block Island is covered and surrounded by piscine environments, and November is the perfect time for fishing – if not necessarily catching. I suspect that nothing quiets the soul or...
Full Manisses Moon

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Sep 28

Category:

Ocean Views

October is a month of reacquaintances and stunning beauty. Exhibit no. 1: It has been nearly a year since we’ve had the pleasure of greeting our old friend Northern Blazing Star ( Liatris borealis ). This lovely plant (both rare and native) thrives in some of the island’s most austere...
Full Sand Moon

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Aug 10

Category:

Ocean Views

It is the season of sandcastles and hot-footing it across black sand. The dog days of summer when bodies can find their own form in warm soothing sand. We may take it for granted but the sandy shores of Block Island form a complex and dynamic buffer between stable land and the animated sea. In a...
Roseate Moon

Kim Gaffett

Wed, Jun 1

Category:

Ocean Views

Juneberry, beach plum, chokeberry, chokecherry, blackberry, multiflora, pasture, rugosa, Dorothy Perkins: roses all. The first days of June on Block Island are laden with any number of wild flowering plants of the rose family (rosaceae). Beach plum’s long, thick stems of small white flowers are...
Horsefoot Moon

Kim Gaffett

Thu, May 19

Category:

Ocean Views

Horsefoots are plodding out of the sea; drawn by new and full moon ebb tides, they have been doing this for 350 million years. One of earth’s oldest creatures, horseshoe crabs are truly fascinating. And now is the time to start a season of observations. Horseshoe crabs (not a true crab, but rather...
Rocks, stones and erratics: the 'bedrock' of life

Kim Gaffett

Mon, Apr 11

Category:

Ocean Views

Rocks, stones and erratics: the “bedrock” of life Garnet, quartz, mica, pyrite – stones, rocks, erratic boulders: the substrate upon which all Block Island life exists. Block Island’s geology offers several allegories. As a terminal moraine (a debris field of materials relocated here by moving and...

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