May 9--Nancy finds condoms and dog poop on beach

May 9th:  Once again, there was quite a bit of trash to be found on WB this morning.  I collected four bags of trash, including a balloon, a pair of shoes, lots of plastic wrappers and cups, as well as a used condom and the empty wrapper.  Yuck!  (The condom was scooped off the sand with a plastic toy shovel also found on the beach this morning.)  A lady actually stopped me to report her sighting of this particularly disgusting item.  She then said, "People are pigs!"  Ya think??  :)

In addition to the four bags of trash, the following items were taken to the trash cans:  One blanket and the empty half gallon of vodka next to it.  Can you say OUCH???  One large glass bottle; sandy contents unknown, three beach chairs, one towel, one shirt, and 1 1/2 pairs of sandals, and a partridge in a pear tree!

On the south end, I found a very large hole/trench that had been dug up the side of the dune, under the roped off area, and into the bird sanctuary.  This was very upsetting, and I could only hope the thoughtless people that invaded the birds' refuge did not cause any harm or the abandonment of a newly laid nest.   Ugh!!  This was later reported to Lindsay Addison of Audubon so she could assess the damage to the dune and any potential disturbance of the nesting birds.

Just before leaving the beach, a visitor from Tennessee saw me collecting trash near JM Pier and had the following to say:  "It is horrible how people here just trash this beach!  I can not believe folks just get up and leave behind all this litter.  I have had to clean the beach of trash before finding a spot to place my beach chair in the sand. "  Oh my.  Is this really the impression we want to make on our visitors?   

My last observation of the morning involved a lady on the beach with a German Shephard that was doing his business in the dunes.  She must have been in an awful hurry 'cause she didn't even bother to pick up after her pooch.  Double yuck!!

Here's to a nest very soon for WB!

Nancy

May 6 with Nancy, Chinese Lanterns and the question: "Is someone nude?"

May 6th:  This was not the greatest of mornings, in more ways than one.  For starters, I found a very sick shorebird on the north end.  He didn't fly away as I approached, and on my way south, I noticed he was still in the exact same spot.  I got off the 4-wheeler and approached the little bird.  He tried to fly, but was too weak to make much progress.  Without much effort, I was able to lift him from the sand.  Tucking him under my arm, I headed toward Mallard St., where I park the trailer.  I have a box in the vehicle for just this type of situation.  Making sure the vehicle was well ventilated, I left the bird there to rest while I monitored the south end of the island.

The beach was totally trashed!!  I was completely distressed at the amount of litter left behind on the shoreline and at the over flowing trash cans all along the strand.  Even if visitors wanted to discard their trash in the cans, it would not have been possible.  It was completely overwhelming and horrible!  I collected four bags of random trash including four balloons, and one beach chair.  

At the Oceanic, I found numerous Chinese Lanterns, all left behind in the sand.  A cardboard box holding the extra bags and lots of candles was left sitting on the beach grass nearby.  Our new friend Roger was on the beach and once again helped me to clean up this awful mess.  All of the debris was placed in the trash cans.  Roger also handed me the keys I had found along with the pair of pants yesterday.  Oh boy!

Chinese Lanterns littered on the beach.

Next to the Oceanic, I also found a canopy frame (I like to call them skeletons).  According to the WB ordinance, these items should not be left on the beach overnight.   The discovery was called into the NH Co. dispatch center so that the item could be tagged and removed ASAP.

On my way off the beach, I found a hat, wallet, and another set of keys on a bench at Access #11.  Geez!!  The PD is closed on Sunday, but I called NH Co. Dispatch and made arrangements to meet an officer at the door of the building so I could hand over both sets of keys and other items.  This gave me a chance to ask the officer if anyone had been found wandering around nude and drunk on Friday night or Saturday morning.  He just looked at me like I was nuts and shook his head no!  Haha!

I took the small gull to Amelia Mason (the bird rehabber) for care.  She said she thought he was perhaps an immature gull.  Hopefully he is hanging in there!

Nancy