Brian (Chip) Vanderhoop, 49, saved the livelihoods of a lot of fishermen as the U.S. Coast Guard boathouse burned. The Aquinnah harbor master and shellfish constable would prefer little notice; it is just out of character for him to talk much about himself or to pose for a photograph. Of his five Vanderhoop siblings, he is the quiet one.

The first blue mussels on the experimental offshore mussel farm in Vineyard waters will be harvested in the coming weeks. The mussels are large enough to go to market, according to Scott Lindell, an aquaculture specialist with the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.

There are two small farms. One is north of Chilmark; the second is west of Noman’s Land. Two Island fishermen, Alec Gale of West Tisbury and Tim Broderick of Chilmark, are tending the farms with a 55-foot workboat, the Jane Lee, out of Menemsha.

The merlins that nested on Chappaquiddick have fledged three chicks. Lanny McDowell, Bob Shriber and I were invited by the owners of the house next to these falcons to come and photograph the hatchlings before they flew. Lanny took some great photos as usual, and we thank the owners for their hospitality and excellent observations. This is the second documented nesting of merlins in Massachusetts, the first being in the same area two years ago.

Bird Sightings