Lovell's Island

On Sunday, we visited Lovell's Island, One of the many Boston Harbor Islands, some miles from Georges Island. When we arrived on the island this was my impression of the island and what I experienced that day:

• The site seemed untouched by modern technology and amenities. Visitors were controlled with rules of conduct towards the island and its habitats. An abundance of greenery which included trees and bushes with edible and non-edible fruit. Designated areas for camping. Did not see your average tourist.
  





• The island seemed very private. You were able to hear nature, the water, birds, and the bustling of the trees. The shore line was very rocky, consisting of small, medium, and large rocks in varying shapes. I noticed that the further out you went in the water, the larger the rocks became. The larger rocks very covered with sharp sea barnacles (I have a wound to prove it!)
  





• We arrived on the island around 10:30am, so the tide was low. The water temperature was cold at the very beginning of the shore line, but again, became warmer the further you traveled into the water. The water clarity was very clear at the line, but then became a bit cloudy as you worked you way into the deeper part of the tidal pool.
  





• We saw marine snails (species periwinkles), hermit crabs, Asian crabs and also a small lobster. The most common species I saw were the marine snails, species periwinkles. Second were hermit crabs, varying in size, depending on the size shell it decided to take up residence in.
  





• What we observed at Lovell Island was much different than what was observed at the Barking Crab because the species being observed were more noticeable and easily describable. It didn't occur to me at the time that there were more species that could be examined if only we looked a little closer like we did at the first site. I'm sure organisms could have been found under many of the rocks on the Lovell Island beach shore line.
  





• We saw two different types of snails, marine and land. The marine snails, again, are periwinkles, a gastropod commonly found at the edge of shore lines on rocky beaches in North America. The land snails found, is what I believe, to be a grove snail. The common names a brown or white-lipped depending on the color variation. The snails are originally from Europe and have recently been introduced to North America.