This Week’s Bird Sightings

Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 21 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

Male and female Bell’s Vireos construct their nests together, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The male sets supports and the female fashions a cup, using grass, fine plant stems and fibers, small dry leaves, wool, moss, plant down, paper, and strips of bark. She then lines the nest and tightens the structure using spider silk. Finally, the pair adorn the exterior of the nest, often using spider egg cases. (Photo Dominic Sherony)

The Bell’s Vireo was rediscovered at Fort Hill in Eastham this week.

At Race Point in Provincetown, sightings this week included a Pacific Loon, a Manx Shearwater, an Atlantic Puffin, a Western Sandpiper, 4 Dovekies, a Thick-Billed Murre, 34 Common Murres, a Black Guillemot, 1,348 Razorbills, 410 Black-Legged Kittiwakes, a Glaucous Gull, 11 Iceland Gulls, 700 Northern Gannets, and a Snowy Owl.

It’s a slow news week, even for the birds.

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 email to [email protected].