The sixth annual Cape Winter Birding Weekend was possibly the best ever! Despite having to postpone the event for three weeks due to blizzards and bitter cold and the remaining alpine-scale snow piles preventing access to some traditional birding stops, we racked up the second highest species total for the event (64 vs. 65).
A major highlight was a spectacular alcid show on the Sunday boat trip to Stellwagen Bank with five species of alcids in flocks of 80 or more, four puffins making up for the absence of Dovekies. Most of the winter avian stars including Barrow’s Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, King Eider, Rough-legged Hawk, both white winged gulls, including a record number of Iceland Gulls and Purple Sandpipers, as well as the alcids performed on cue, often in ideal viewing conditions.
We added two species to the cumulative total of 91: Sharp-shinned Hawk and Lesser Black-backed Gull. Also notable was the absence of two species never missed before, Peregrine Falcon and Carolina Wren. The dearth of wrens was undoubtedly related to the deep and prolonged snow cover, which makes foraging especially challenging for this “southern” species. The absent Peregrine, which is usually easily spotted on its accustomed perch on Gloucester’s City Hall, is harder to explain, since the population of its favorite urban menu item, the Rock Pig, seems unaffected by the winter weather.
In addition to outdoor activities, the Weekend is crammed with excellent lectures, live raptor programs, optics demonstrations, and art exhibits geared to all ages and levels of expertise. Plans are already underway for next year’s Weekend in February 2017. By Chris Leahy
Black-legged Kittiwake, Martha Goetschkes
Common Murre, Martha Goetschkes