Everybody in East Harbor Loves Raymond!

To me it feels unusually autumnal within some of these June moments; a northerly wind gusts and rustles the lush green leaves that then become silver. Against an utterly blue sky an egret coasts and swoops looking like some origami ornament overhead.

But then again, there is still the usual summer feel – ferries offloading more cars, returning college students arriving early for summer jobs, the scent of cut grass awaits families, even boats and moorings are united again.

When our Island Sentinel team monitors East Harbor it’s not unusual for us to count the vessels that start rafting up in July and August – just off the Golf Course next to the old red roofed Coast Guard Station. Data suggests each year there seems to be more boats, I am grateful though that each year there seems to be less rubbish and marine debris along these sands; to me a sign of good neighborly stewardship.

There is a healthy and lush Eelgrass meadow within that Harbor too. I bring this up so boaters will be extremely mindful not to drag anchor and impact this unique habitat.

And then there is “Raymond. The Fish team at Mystic Aquarium helped me to identify a stranded Atlantic Torpedo ray (torpedo nobiliana) which Island Sentinel Olivia Backhaus discovered this month while recording morning observations at low tide up East. Come to find out Raymond “can produce an electric charge of about 170-220 volts. “Not enough to kill a healthy human, but it would knock ya for a loop!” That same morning the unique creature was ever so gently assisted back into the harbor.

So as we enjoy the glorious days of summer, so thankful for Fishers Island Sound with seagrass habitat that’s willing and able to recover, we can all remind each other to tread lightly because “Everybody loves Raymond”.