MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

A baby humpback whale was sighted in the Edgartown inner harbor this past week. Ferry captain Bob Gilkes saw it as he drove the ferry on Suday. People who were fishing on Memorial Wharf ran to get their cameras, and one of them identified the type of whale. A humpback is a baleen whale that eats krill and small fish and can grow to about 50 feet. Like the bluefish, it was probably migrating south and made this unplanned detour. It may have been this whale that became stranded on a sandbar in Katama Bay. After efforts to help the whale failed, it managed to wriggle off the sand during the night on Monday, possibly at high tide, and was seen swimming offshore the next day.

Migration continues on Chappy with all manner of species heading south. For humans, it always seems like the wrong time of year to leave, but if you’re traveling on your own power, it probably makes sense to leave before the food supply peters out. The osprey that was born this summer in a nest along the road to my house has finally left. Last we heard, Bea, the tagged osprey, had made it to the Caribbean, and now all the ospreys from the three poles along the inside of Cape Pogue Pond have finally left, and we’ve stopped hearing their plaintive cries of abandonment.

Great egrets nest in the swamp behind Dick and Daryl Knight’s house, and as the summer goes on more gather there as they get ready to fly south. On July 31 there were 11 nesting, and on Sept. 12, there were 27. Recently some have left, but other snowy egrets have joined them. I saw them flying toward the swamp on Sunday, when it was so windy. Their large white forms and long legs are impressive overhead. It was a windy day, and they’d gone to roost earlier than usual. Dale Carter called the Knights to see if the egrets had arrived at the swamp because a dozen had just headed west from near her house. When they arrive, they squawk and fight over the best roosting spot, and when they settle down, they look like a bunch of white bags caught up in the branches.

Daryl saw an unusual sight while driving past the Becker/Thacher driveway one morning recently. She noticed bushes swaying at the side of the road and wondered if there were skunks playing. Then two otters appeared from the brush, and in their undulating movement, headed across the field. As if they were in a duet, both stopped and at the same moment turned their heads to look back at her.

If you like to celebrate the harvest with other people, this weekend should make you happy — but you’ll have to leave Chappaquiddick. The annual Living Local Harvest Fest has lots of fun, free community events that aim to celebrate the Island and accelerate the uptake of sustainable living here. It takes place at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury on Saturday, Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a community potluck at 6 p.m.

The Community Solar Greenhouse Fall Festival will be held on Sunday, Oct. 4 from noon to 3 p.m. at 114 New York avenue in Oak Bluffs. They will serve free soup from Linda Jean’s, and there will be music by the Dunkls of the Vineyard Brass Quartet, homegrown plants and produce, demonstrations and crafts, home-baked goods, knit goods, and “Trifles and Treasures” from Vineyard attics, plus a raffle and lots more.

If you want to stay on Chappy, and film festivals are more appealing, don’t forget the marathon showing at the community center on Saturday and Sunday. Mary Spencer will show selected films from the recent Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival, and serve chowder and veggie lasagna.

The schedule is as follows: Saturday: noon Men’s Group, 104 minutes; 2 p.m. Lemon Tree, 106 min.; 4 p.m. Cherry Blossoms, 127 min.; 6:30 p.m. Days and Clouds, 115 min.; 8:30 p.m. The Pope’s Toilet, 90 min.; 10 p.m. international short films. Sunday: noon Departures, 130 min.; 2 p.m. Moscow Belgium, 102 min.; 4 p.m. Captain Abu Raed, 102 min.; 6 p.m. The End of the Line, 90 min.; 7:30 p.m. The Maid, 95 min.

The next potluck at the community center is on Wednesday, Oct. 7 starting at 6 p.m. and Laura Jemison host.

The On Time II is out of the water for a short time — at least that’s the hope — while it’s being painted and checked over. Then as soon as she’s back in the water and the Derby is over, the On Time III will come out for a longer overhaul. At that point, you can plan for extra time getting to know your Chappy neighbors and visitors while waiting in the ferry line.