It was a beautiful day today, so a friend and I decided to go for a walk on the beach out to this fort in southern RI. We ran into a couple of nice guys while we were out there, but didn't get a chance to ask if they were on UER. Anyone out there wanna fess up?

This fort was built in 1901, it was one of numerous artillery installations constructed as part of the coastal defense network for New York City.

It was removed from the list of active coastal artillery posts in 1909 due to a fatal design flaw discovered during war games held in years previous to this.

Nice shots - I've been meaning to take a trip back there now that the leaves are in. Have to do that soon!

I noticed the antenna in the background of a couple of the shots, and being a radio-geek, I was going to ask about it, but if it is very close to the waterline, I'm already making the educated guess that it's a CODAR antenna.

http://www.codar.com/index.htm


/-/ooligan

Posted by Forgotten Beauty Photography Nice shots - I've been meaning to take a trip back there now that the leaves are in. Have to do that soon!

You should post pictures if you go! I love your sets, I'd like to see what you end up capturing.

Posted by /-/ooligan I noticed the antenna in the background of a couple of the shots, and being a radio-geek, I was going to ask about it, but if it is very close to the waterline, I'm already making the educated guess that it's a CODAR antenna. http://www.codar.com/index.htm /-/ooligan

We ended up walking right by that thing ^_^ Thanks for the info!. I love learning little tidbits like this, that website is kind of wonky on my mobile but I'm going to read up on it when I make it to my laptop

Posted by /-/ooligan I noticed the antenna in the background of a couple of the shots, and being a radio-geek, I was going to ask about it, but if it is very close to the waterline, I'm already making the educated guess that it's a CODAR antenna. http://www.codar.com/index.htm /-/ooligan

So I did some research and found out that the folks at UMass Amherst are studying the movements of the common terns as well as some bats, which are nanotagged down there. There is a clearly marked conservation area (which I was careful to avoid, because who wants to get busted for that?!) nearby. Apparently there are 11 of those antenna (antennae? What is the plural of antenna?) set up in various places along the peninsula and on boats as well. I am regrettably not a radio nerd but now you've peaked my curiosity, good eye on spotting it in my pics.

I gotta ask, the first picture of you and your friend - did you get someone else to take it, or did you simply set it up on a tripod and timer?

Just curious.

Mmmmm bunkery goodness
You got inside too.

Mmmmm bunkery goodness
You got inside too.

Posted by Darendor I gotta ask, the first picture of you and your friend - did you get someone else to take it, or did you simply set it up on a tripod and timer? Just curious.

Someone else took it ^_^ we're not that agile haha

Posted by blackhawk Mmmmm bunkery goodness You got inside too.

That required a little bit of upper body strength ^_^ but it wasn't overly tricky or anything. There were some VERY angry birds, we were intruding on their turf...

Posted by Little Sister That required a little bit of upper body strength ^_^ but it wasn't overly tricky or anything. There were some VERY angry birds, we were intruding on their turf... http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x418/jennwood420/FtM/B99FB4B7-A15B-4A4A-8B45-5796F0315024_zpshrhf dhvj.jpg

What kind of birds?

Posted by blackhawk What kind of birds?

The ones that were making a ruckus and dive bombing us looked like barn swallows to me, the shape of their wings and their coloring. Do barn swallows live near the water?

Also, that nest has white feathers though so it must have belonged to a different kind of bird. There is a conservancy on that peninsula so there's lots of wildlife we saw a TON of horseshoe crabs!

These guys were not alive, but at least it looks like they died doing what they loved 😂

450 million years old and still going strong!

Posted by Little Sister The ones that were making a ruckus and dive bombing us looked like barn swallows to me, the shape of their wings and their coloring. Do barn swallows live near the water? Also, that nest has white feathers though so it must have belonged to a different kind of bird. There is a conservancy on that peninsula so there's lots of wildlife we saw a TON of horseshoe crabs!

Very dangerous. Those little fucks caused me a $650 tripod tip over.
Did you have scrambled eggs for dinner?

Very cool photos. Looks like fun. What a neat little nest filled with feathers.

not barn swallows but likely one of a variety of terns. (the birds).

Posted by PowSkierNH not barn swallows but likely one of a variety of terns. (the birds).

I'm sure the nest had tern feathers in it, but it's possible that the swallows went out and collected the feathers for their nest. Terns are generally white and larger than what I saw, and that nest is definitely not big enough for a tern ^_^

What I saw was smaller, black with a bit of rust color. It had that tell-tale "W" shaped wings you often see with Swallows. I'll go back and see if I inadvertently captured any shots of the birds.