The temperature rose to record highs on the second weekend of January, 2020 reaching 69 degrees Saturday and 73 degrees on Sunday, filling the parking lot at Crane Beach

Crane Beach in Ipswich on January 12, 2020. After reaching record temperatures on Friday, the temperature climbed overnight, reaching 67 degrees at 3 am, and climbed to 73 degrees by mid-afternoon Sunday.

In 2018 William Sargent finished his fourth book about the politics of erosion on Plum Island and decided to embark on a series of rambles from New Hampshire to Gloucester, Massachusetts.

His purpose was to investigate the natural history of this beautiful coast. But as so happens when writing about natural history today he ended up discovering a troubling new environmental catastrophe, the die-offs of whales, seals and shorebirds from the buildup of chemicals that have been steadily accumulating in the lungs of the planet–our oceans. His book  North of Boston, The Edge of a Warming World is available at Amazon and Jabberwocky Bookshop, at the Tannery, 50 Water St. Newburyport, MA 01950, where they can also be ordered online. Read Bill Sargent ‘s articles at the Plum Island Outdoors site

Books by William Sargent

North of Boston- Edge of a Warming World

Plum Island 2017: The Resurrection

Plum Island; 4,000 Years on a Barrier Beach

Plum Island 2016

The House on Ipswich Marsh: Exploring the Natural History of New England

Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism, and Human Health

Islands in the Storm