This page is about the beach and park on West Island in Fairhaven. You can also go to the general Fairhaven page.
Website about West Island Town Beach
Website about West Island State Park
PDF trail Map of the State Park
West Island is part of Fairhaven. Although small, it has two pretty locations on the island. On our visit in May 2020, we first went to the town beach. While the beach wasn't crowded, some of the rocks were.
This tern was successful at catching lunch:
There were some interesting items on the beach. Some previous visitor had made a tiny 'bucket sand castle tower' and decorated it with a shell.
Another shell:
This next abstract picture is actually a jellyfish that had washed up on the beach.
While at the beach, we saw a man walking the other direction. While staying a respectful and safe 6 feet apart, we chatted with him briefly. He was there to check on the Piping Plover breeding grounds. We will write more about him, actually, when we add The Lloyd Center. Piping Plover are an endangered bird ... more about that later on this page.
The State Forest has an unassuming entrance, just a spot for a couple vehicles to park. There is a wooded area with paths that lead to the shoreline. This is not just any ordinary woods; it contains many fairy houses! There was clearly a bit of a scavenger hunt that the people living nearby had put together.
As we walked through the woods, we could see the Spring greenery.
It is a very pebbly shoreline.
Guessing game: can you figure out what these next two pictures show close-up?
The first picture is a Horseshoe Crab. The second picture is a beached jellyfish, but a different type than the earlier one.
Here is another gull with a meal.
From the shoreline of the State Forest, one can see the Cape Cod Canal and two bridges: the closer train bridge is on the left, and then the Bourne Bridge is on the right. The railroad bridge is almost 15 miles as the crow (or more likely, gull) flies. The Bourne Bridge is just under 16 miles in a straight line. (To drive there, it is 30 miles.)
We saw some Willets, which are (relatively) large sandpipers. They were busy foraging for their own meals.
(Pause for a moment here; this next picture is animated.)
Finally, getting back to the Piping Plover. Their population is threatened, because people tend to take over their beach nesting grounds. This is why some areas are marked off and protected for them. Piping Plovers are an adorable bird! We will leave you with some pictures of them.
Back to the Preserves main page
Updated December 2020