I am posing as a writer.
Black Crowned Night Heron
Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 03:52PM  |
| The Black-crowned Night Heron has been spotted in Hull Village recently… |
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Hull is host to an unusual avian summer visitor whose seasonal home is on top of and deep within the trees. Maybe you have seen it cast its daunting 45-inch shadow in Hull Village while scanning from the dusk sky for fish, crustaceans, reptiles, or insects. It is the watchful and confident Black-crowned Night Heron, or by its proper name Nycticorax, meaning “night raven,” for its nocturnal hunting habits and caw-like protest noise. Its habitat is found near water on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. According to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, this heron’s numbers are increasing after the cessation of DDT use and cleaner harbor water. The Black-crowned Night Heron’s wide habitat and higher place on the food chain makes it an indicator of ecosystem health. Linda
Cocca, coordinator of the Wildlife Information Line for the
Massachusetts Audubon Society, was taken aback by the sighting in Hull.
“I was just speaking to our ornithologist, who says the closest nesting site of the Black-crowned Night Heron is on Sarah Island in Hingham. There is nothing closer to Hull in our reports or in the bird atlas.” Resembling a penguin to the layperson’s eyes, it is a stocky bird with a short neck, black bill, gray wings and white underpinnings. Its legs are short and a yellowish pink, and its eyes are like amber red marbles. Gender is hard to discern, the only difference being that the female is slightly smaller. Arriving sometime in March from their winter homes as far south as Mexico, they unpack to then construct rather primitive-looking nests from chaotically stacked sticks lacking in insulation. There may be as many as a dozen nests in a single tree, as they are colonizing nesters. Eggs are a pale greenish-blue and heron clutches number anywhere from three to five. The young get equal care from both parents; in fact, the generous heron has been known to brood chicks not even of their ilk. Chicks are fed a delectable mixture of partially digested frogs, fish, and crabs, and make their fledgling appearances after about six weeks. Many fall to their early demise at two or three weeks old when they begin to climb about the nest, unable to fly. In the middle of July, the brooding colonies disperse and take to their seaside roosting lookouts for ample feeding opportunities. By October, the industrious herons start heading south again. Should you come upon this formidable bird, be careful. Aside from its loud squawking, it will also empty the contents of its stomach if disturbed. |
Randy Parrott
Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 11:20PM It has been two years since Parrott fell five stories while on assignment in Italy, losing 90 percent of his blood on the pavement. After over 30 hours of surgery to his face, and just as much on his leg, he continues his recovery.
Edna Hibel
Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 10:59PM “There is no such thing as a bad painting,” she pointed out in a warm, friendly voice, “just an unfinished painting.”
Surf 68
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 08:37AM ![HITTING THE BOARDS – Surfers who rode the waves of Nantasket in the 1960s and ’70s gathered once again in Hull for the first ‘Surf 68’ reunion. Shown clockwise from top left are Roger Crawford of Marshfield, John Burns of Cohasset, Bob Coletti of Norwell, Warren Horsley of Randolph, Audrey Berman-Cassevoy of Hull, and Rip Amontea of Hingham. [Lucy Wightman photo]<p>](http://hulltimes.com/clients/hulltimes/7-3-2008-10-58-26-AM-5445611.JPG) |
| HITTING THE BOARDS – Surfers who rode the waves of Nantasket in the 1960s and ’70s gathered once again in Hull for the first ‘Surf 68’ reunion. Shown clockwise from top left are Roger Crawford of Marshfield, John Burns of Cohasset, Bob Coletti of Norwell, Warren Horsley of Randolph, Audrey Berman-Cassevoy of Hull, and Rip Amontea of Hingham. [Lucy Wightman photo] |
Surf 68’s 40th reunion made an impressive splash onto Hull shores last weekend.
Barrels and Rocks
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 08:32AM When voters at the spring town meeting defeated a proposal to fund the familiar green trash barrels that dotted the beachscape curve, some residents predicted that Hull’s “carry in-carry out” trash policy would result in beaches overrun with garbage.
Thus far, most of those predictions have not come true. In fact, during a survey of the beach this past weekend, residents and visitors found it to be remarkably tidy.
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| Rocky road – Although the town cannot remove rocks from the beach, residents have found ways to make the path to the water easier to navigate. [Lucy Wightman photo] |
'Pioneering' students mark end of charter school careers
Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 08:53AM ![HEAD OF THE CLASS – The first four students to attend a charter school in Massachusetts from kindergarten through 12th grade graduated from the South Shore Charter Public School last weekend – Hull’s Nick Sisson, Jimmy Beggan, Nora Jordan and Samantha Wholley. Teacher Ted Hirsch [also from Hull] carried on his tradition of recognizing creativity with a headstand. [Lucy Wightman photo]<p>](http://www.hulltimes.com/clients/hulltimes/6-13-2008-12-03-35-PM-10503594.jpg) |
| HEAD OF THE CLASS – The first four students to attend a charter school in Massachusetts from kindergarten through 12th grade graduated from the South Shore Charter Public School last weekend – Hull’s Nick Sisson, Jimmy Beggan, Nora Jordan and Samantha Wholley. Teacher Ted Hirsch [also from Hull] carried on his tradition of recognizing creativity with a headstand. [Lucy Wightman photo] |
By Lucy Wightman 12.JUN.08
The first students to complete a full 13 years in a Massachusetts charter school graduated last weekend. The four pioneers live in Hull and are confident about how the South Shore Charter Public School [SSCPS] in Norwell has shaped them. All have been accepted into their top picks for college.
Big wheels spin at Nantasket Car Show
Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 07:42AM ![KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ – Thousands of visitors enjoyed the Hull Police Department’s annual car show on Nantasket Beach Sunday. Michael Finnie, 17, of Scituate, poses in the restored 1946 Ford pickup he purchased himself. For more photos, see page 18.<br>[Lucy Wightman photo]<br>](http://www.hulltimes.com/clients/hulltimes/6-13-2008-12-07-24-PM-10829369.jpg) |
| KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ – Thousands of visitors enjoyed the Hull Police Department’s annual car show on Nantasket Beach Sunday. Michael Finnie, 17, of Scituate, poses in the restored 1946 Ford pickup he purchased himself. For more photos, see page 18. [Lucy Wightman photo] |
Kevin Mulvey
Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 10:09AM ![WINDOW DRESSING – Kevin Mulvey, president of the Hull Artists Studio Connection, shows off one of his stained-glass works at his home studio. [Lucy Wightman photo]<p>](http://www.hulltimes.com/clients/hulltimes/5-30-2008-9-10-33-AM-10604912.jpg) | ||
| WINDOW DRESSING – Kevin Mulvey, president of the Hull Artists Studio Connection, shows off one of his stained-glass works at his home studio. [Lucy Wightman photo]
Wednesday 28May
Grad NightWednesday, May 28, 2008 at 09:23AM Hull Times May 22 2008
By Lucy Wightman 22.MAY.08 Four years ago, nine Hull mothers planned an end-of-the-year dance for their eighth-graders. This past Monday night, six of the same mothers sat in an empty Hull High School cafeteria with thick stacks of dog-eared notes gathered from almost one year of weekly meetings to plan a memorable rite-of-passage for all graduating Hull seniors Friday 31Aug
East West Journal - CrystalsFriday, August 31, 2007 at 02:00PM I used to have a column in a magazine called East West Journal Friday 31Aug
East West Journal - Un CouplingFriday, August 31, 2007 at 01:57PM How to deal with the ending of a love Friday 31Aug
Friday 31Aug
Friday 31Aug
Friday 31Aug
Boston Magazine - StrippersFriday, August 31, 2007 at 01:38PM An article written for Boston Magazine Friday 06Jul
OstracismFriday, July 6, 2007 at 11:03AM Human beings are not the only species who exhibit the phenomena of rejection. Sunday 17Jun
Becoming FullySunday, June 17, 2007 at 07:29AM when fully friends I will fight for you and against. there will be no fighting for or with some vision of the me |
![WHAT A NIGHT – A group of Hull parents is organizing an all-night party for graduating seniors on June 8. Shown at a recent Grad Night planning meeting are, from left, Fran Troy, Linda Dennett, Donna Brady, Carol Morris, Ellen Leeber, and Sharon Striglio. Not shown: Cathie Jones, Joanne Cameron, and Joyce Capen.<br>[Lucy Wightman photo]<p>](http://www.hulltimes.com/clients/hulltimes/5-28-2008-12-15-14-AM-5187280.JPG)