Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 8, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Pink-Footed Goose moved to Orleans, but there was lots of other bird action on the Outer Cape this week. On Sunday, in Eastham, there was a huge Dovekie flight due to the weekend storm, resulting in over 6,000 passing First Encounter, after which several ended up in freshwater ponds all the way from Sandwich to Provincetown.
Besides the aforementioned Dovekies, the amazing Sunday seabird sightings at First Encounter included 29 Pomarine Jaegers, 5 Common Murres, 4 Thick-billed Murres, 980 Razorbills, 2,300 unidentified alcids, 1,650 Black-Legged Kittiwakes, 4 Great Shearwaters, and 4,250 Northern Gannets.
A Boreal Chickadee was found visiting a feeder in Wellfleet on Monday, representing only the second record for Cape Cod in at least the last 30 years. There were also 20 Evening Grosbeaks in Wellfleet.
Truro hosted 8 Tree Swallows.
An Atlantic Puffin topped the highlights from Race Point in Provincetown this weekend, where other sightings included 7 Pomarine Jaegers, 615 Dovekies, 38 Common Murres, 5 Thick-Billed Murres, 1,650 Black-Legged Kittiwakes, 11 Great Shearwaters, and 1,800 Northern Gannets.
If you have questions about these sightings, or want to report a sighting, call the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
