rEELing in a Summer Camp Experience on Cape Cod

Ed. Note: Summer day camp on Cape Cod at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is a magical experience. Camp director Amy Ferreira recounts one special outing. Each child departs camp with his or her own story of exploration and discovery. Do you know a child between the ages of 4 and 14 who would like to make day camp part of summer 2010? Please share this information with the family!

 
It was a hot, overcast August day on Cape Cod when we set out for the tidal flats. We were heading to the place where the salt marsh creek empties into Wellfleet Bay, intent on catching an eel. With  nets & buckets in hand counselors and twelve seven and eight year olds left the nature center in high spirits.  This was going to be a highlight of our summer day camp experience!

We spread out over the flats, getting our equipment ready, while others beachcombed for shells  like moon snails, whelks, quahogs, and razor clams. When we were ready, each child had a dip net or a seine net and we entered the water.  The cool water felt good after a warm hike down to the water’s edge. The overcast sky was perfect, as the sun wasn’t beating down on us and we could spend hours out here if we wanted. Our first few scoops with the nets pulled up the usual mummichogs, silversides, shrimp, and a few hermit crabs. It was a good catch and the campers were able to hold each of the animals, but they had their sights set on eels.

We continued to beachcomb and use our nets, when all of a sudden I felt a nudge at my leg. I looked down, but didn’t see anything. A few seconds later I felt it again. It wasn’t the gentle prick of shrimp, but a real nudge against my calf. Then another against my ankle. I asked everyone if they felt anything, which of course drew everyone closer to and into the water. My seining partner then yelled out “OH! I just felt it too!” All the campers started to squeal with excitement as they looked on. What was it!?!

A few minutes later we finally caught a glimpse. It was an eel! At long last…an American eel! And then we saw a second one, both swimming near the marsh edge, in the creek, right around our feet. Some campers squealed with excitement, some with nervousness, some even ran out of the water, but they all had smiles on their faces and their eyes were glued to the water. We used  the seine net to corral them and draw them up out of the water. They were HUGE! Each about 4 feet long and jet black!

They wiggled and wiggled so much that they soon fell out of the net onto the sand. The kids squealed again, as we all ran over to try to pick them up and put them in the bucket, but with their scales being so small they were just too slippery.  So we tried using our dip nets to scoop them up. We were successful in catching them, but as we brought them over to the bucket they slipped through one of the holes in the net. More squeals of delight! We caught them again and got them in the bucket long enough for the campers to come and see and touch. But in the midst of all twelve campers huddled around the bucket touching these fish, they got out again!! More squeals of delight!

We realized the buckets were way too small and the eels needed to go back in the creek. We hated to let them go, but we knew it was best for them. We said some quick good-byes and let them go. One day they will head thousands of miles away to the Sargasso Sea to mate and lay eggs, but for this one day they were here with us. This memory will last a long time in the minds of these campers and in mine. It was quite a day on the flats. We had a lot to tell the parents when we got back!

There are more great day camp experiences in the offing for summer 2010! Download our brochure and application!

Amy Ferreira
Education Coordinator