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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, April 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

Newly arrived local breeders in various locations in the last week included Eastern Whip-Poor-Wills, Willets, and the first handful of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds.

Scarlet Tanagers used to be classified as Thraupidae, but now everybody knows they are Cardinalidae (that’s cardinals, to you). When they share habitat with cowbirds, a funny thing happens, according to the folks at the Cornell Bird Lab. “When a pair of tanagers notices a female cowbird approaching, they aggressively drive her away. If they don’t notice, the cowbird gets rid of a tanager egg and replaces it with one of her own. The tanagers apparently can’t tell the difference, either before or after the egg hatches, and they raise the imposter along with the rest of their brood.” (Photo courtesy USFWS)

Those 2 White-Crowned Sparrows are still around in North Truro.

There was an earlier-than-expected Green Heron in Wellfleet, and 12 singing Red Crossbills in South Wellfleet.

Another early bird, a Scarlet Tanager, was seen in Eastham.

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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