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RARA AVIS

This Week’s Bird Sightings

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Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Jan. 30 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Western Kingbird and Lark Sparrow continued at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham this week. There was an American Bittern at Fort Hill, and a Clay-Colored Sparrow and an Orange-Crowned Warbler were seen elsewhere in town.

There was a Lincoln’s Sparrow at the Wellfleet Bay sanctuary.

Three American Woodcocks were seen in Truro.

The American Bird Conservancy calls the Snow Bunting “a tough survivor.” It is the most northerly recorded passerine in the world. Its white coloration is its most obvious adaptation to the extreme environment it inhabits on the frozen tundra. The males return to the Arctic first, in mid-March to early April, when temperatures can still plunge to 30 degrees below zero, according to the conservancy: “Males arrive early to claim and defend prime territories with suitable nesting sites. When the females arrive, around four to six weeks later … the males soar high into the air and glide down again while singing beautiful warbling songs.” (Photo by Colin Canterbury/USFWS)

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included 3 Pacific Loons, a Pomarine Jaeger, 4 Thick-Billed Murres, 950 Razorbills, 442 Common Murres, 95 Black-Legged Kittiwakes, 28 Iceland Gulls, and 20 Snow Buntings. Meanwhile, at MacMillan Pier there were 4 Harlequin Ducks and a Black Guillemot.

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].

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