Every six hours a 6-foot-diameter weather balloon is launched from Truro to gather data on the atmosphere. On spring evenings, a balloon's release may be accompanied by the flights of woodcocks engaged in their distinctive rocket-like mating display. On A Cape Cod Notebook, writer Robert Finch ponders the curious juxtaposition: helium-filled science balloons and avian courtship behavior.
Audio essay posted above.
Here's a video of a weather balloon launch at the Cape Cod National Seashore:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4egrgu_Xs