A field companion to the natural sites of Cape Cod

Cape Cod was once a wilderness. It was then an essential refueling stop for hundreds of migratory species, and this is still the case today. The Cape is also home to other wild creatures often unseen by its visitors. As such, this book seeks to provide the reader with a rare visitor experience—to imagine Cape Cod before human habitation by witnessing its vibrant wild flora and fauna. The story of Wild Cape Cod is told through dramatic photographic images of migratory birds, marine animals (including whales), and various sea and land animals from across the animal kingdom. View landscapes representative of the geography and the four changing seasons and be inspired to get outside and look at Cape Cod through the lens of a raw and wonderful wilderness that just so happens to have humans living nearby. This is an ideal photography book for all nature enthusiasts, conservationists, and lovers of Cape Cod.

The classic nature memoir of Cape Cod in the early twentieth century, “written with simplicity, sympathy, and beauty” (New York Herald Tribune). When Henry Beston returned home from World War I, he sought refuge and healing at a house on the outer beach of Cape Cod. He was so taken by the natural beauty of his surroundings that his two-week stay extended into a yearlong solitary adventure. He spent his time trying to capture in words the wonders of the magical landscape he found himself in thrall to. In The Outermost House, Beston chronicles his experiences observing the migrations of seabirds, the rhythms of the tide, the windblown dunes, and the scatter of stars in the changing summer sky. Beston argued: “The world today is sick to its thin blood for the lack of elemental things, for fire before the hands, for water, for air, for the dear earth itself underfoot.” Nearly a century after publication, Beston’s words are more true than ever.

A richly illustrated full-color guide to the unique plants, wildlife, and environments of Cape Cod and the other nearby "Outer Lands" that face the Atlantic Ocean This essential guidebook presents the most abundantly illustrated and fascinating account of the natural history of Cape Cod, its nearby islands, Block Island, the western coast of Rhode Island, and southeastern Long Island ever published. Exploring the ecology and most common plants and animals of the various regional environments--beaches, dunes, salt marshes, heathlands, and coastal forests--the book also encompasses marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish offshore. For nature-loving local residents and visitors alike, this essential book will be a treasured resource.

Did you know that horseshoe crabs have been around for 200 million years? That mussels spin long anchor lines and climb steep slopes with them? Do you know what a Beetlebung tree is?