After battling the extreme Cape wind to take pictures at Racing Beach, I drove around and found Sippewissett marsh and beach. I've been looking for the entrance to this damn marsh for years, and it isn't well-marked on maps OR on the street. Beaches on the Cape are typically local secrets; the best ones are hidden at the terminus of unassuming paths or residential neighborhood roads.
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| peeking through the woods to view the marsh |
Sippewissett marsh and beach are nostalgic for me. Part of my term abroad was spent in Woods Hole on the Marine Biological Laboratory campus and greater Cape. One afternoon was spent mucking around Sippewissett marsh performing species counts and sampling. I was in heaven. So, 11 years later, I finally found it.
The marsh begins at the beach and stretches for miles! In this particular location, the marsh's connection to the sea is through a very narrow and shallow inlet. When the tide changes, millions of gallons of sea water funnel through this little opening.
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| Inlet to the marsh. See? It's tiny! |
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| Shallow inlet channel, which is mostly sand. It's really easy to see marine life drift or swim by! |
I arrived just in time for the tide to go out. Local fauna, especially birds, are well aware of the significance of tidal changes and position themselves along the inlet shoreline, waiting for schools of fish and other delicious marine life to follow the tide out.
The marsh is relatively shallow and tidal channels are, for the most part, exposed to air. Non-burying marine life must flee or find deeper channels - which are also dangerous! You'll have to forgive me, by the time I walked over to the inlet, the sun went down and I did not have enough light to photograph the marsh. Next time!
I did, though, have a great time capturing the sunset on the beach side!
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| My favorite. I couldn't believe my luck! |
It was a fantastic evening and can hardly wait to return!
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