Story by Strickland Wheelock, Kathy Seymour, and Tia Pinney
Photo by Bruce Black
What an amazing trip to Cape Cod! Thanks to wonderful weather, we enjoyed close views of thousands of pelagic birds from shore, and 2 mega rarities: the Mountain Bluebird and Western Kingbird. All in all, we saw 81 species over the weekend!
Our trip highlight was undoubtedly Race Point at dawn. As the sun rose, a constant parade of Razorbills, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Bonaparte’s Gulls, Northern Gannets, and Manx, Great and Sooty Shearwaters passed by close to shore. The birds were drawn to shore in a feeding frenzy, allowing scope views of birds both flying and resting in the water. The volume of individuals allowed a rare opportunity to practice identification of these pelagic species.
Photo by Bruce Black
Incredible rafts of sea ducks were present along the coast, with many hundreds of Common Eider, and Surf, White-winged, and Black Scoters. They were joined by Red-throated and Common Loons, Red-necked Grebes and a few Iceland Gulls. Local ponds gave us an opportunity to compare ducks that prefer sheltered waters, such as Northern Pintail, Lesser and Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser and Ruddy Duck. A Black Guillemot at MacMillan Wharf in Provincetown was a nice surprise.
Our Saturday afternoon vista from Fort Hill was awe-inspiring, with golden light illuminating a vast expanse of marsh, mudflat and creek where we found Brant, shorebirds and more than 20 Great Blue Heron. A Merlin teed up near the parking lot and provided a rare opportunity for extended scope views. A Mountain Bluebird drew us to the grasslands at Crane WMA, where we also had Eastern Meadowlark, sparrows and other songbirds. Inside information led us directly to the Western Kingbird at the Historical Society building across from the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center, and we all had plenty of time to enjoy this striking bird.
Thank you to everyone who joined us on this unforgettable trip! For more information about our birding trips, be sure to check out our program catalog.