~ by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station ~ Last week I went with some of my high school interns to do water sampling at the small bridge located in Madaket at the intersection of South Cambridge Street, Red Barn Road, and Massasoit Bridge Road […]
Island Science
Caw Me, Crows on Nantucket
~ by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station ~ I have always been fascinating by crows, we have several very vocal ones here at the field station that will fly off in a huff when you disturb them while walking the trails. Every day I […]
Hump(b)ACKs
~ by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station ~ One of the many luxuries that Nantucket visitors can experience is the chance to see a humpback whale, and just a few weeks ago we had one cavorting very close to the island in the shallow […]
Crab Wars
~ by Marc Hensel and Dr. Sarah D. Oktay ~ Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station. There is a habitat war going on between many different colored armored soldiers who hide in the muck like WWII combatants and fight to the death over territory and food. Much of the […]
Raccoon on the Loose on Nantucket
-by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station- For the first time in many years, we have a new mammalian intruder who has managed to stowaway on a boat and make their way to the island. What would be a farcical children’s book story for the […]
Basking in the Sun, Ocean Sunfish
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station We have had three visitors this week, a Mola Mola otherwise known as an ocean sunfish, a beautiful humpback whale out by Great Point and an errant washashore/rode-ashore raccoon, and I thought I would write about one of […]