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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, Jan. 14 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

Two Pacific Loons were at Race Point in Provincetown this week, along with a Harlequin Duck, 3 Dovekies, 6 Common Murres, a Glaucous Gull, and 13 Iceland Gulls. Meanwhile, the Spotted Towhee continued at the Provincetown Airport, and a Black-Throated Blue Warbler visited a hummingbird feeder elsewhere in town.

Canvasback ducks are named for the males’ distinctive white backs, reminiscent of canvases. Their species name, valisineria, refers to what they most like to dive for: the aquatic wild celery, Vallisneria americana. According to the American Bird Conservancy website, these birds’ diet earned them a reputation as tasty gamebirds, and “commercial hunting in the 19th century nearly sent this big duck the way of the passenger pigeon.” The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and later the National Wildlife Refuge system’s conservation of wetlands have aided its recovery. (Photo courtesy USFWS)

A single Orange-Crowned Warbler was seen in Wellfleet.

There was a Canvasback 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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