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bird watching

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 18, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Brown boobies
    Two Brown Boobies visited the Outer Cape on Monday. (Photo Muriel Gottrop)

    The folks at the Audubon were excited about the fact that two different Brown Boobies were reported on Aug. 17, an immature one at First Encounter Beach in Eastham and an adult at Race Point in Provincetown.

    Other First Encounter sightings included 92 Whimbrels, 3 Pomarine Jaegers, 6 Parasitic Jaegers, 18 Black Terns, 60 Forster’s Terns, 60 Cory’s Shearwaters, 150 Great Shearwaters, 20 Sooty Shearwaters, and 15 Manx Shearwaters.

    Other sightings at Race Point in Provincetown this week included a Sabine’s Gull, an Arctic Tern, 6 Black Terns, 50 Roseate Terns, 400 Common Terns, a Northern Pintail, and many hundreds of Cory’s, Great, Sooty, and Manx Shearwaters.

    A kayak trip in Nauset Marsh turned up 6 American Oystercatchers, 2,400 Semipalmated Plovers, a Whimbrel, 4 Red Knots, 18 White-rumped Sandpipers, 2,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 290 Short-billed Dowitchers, 7 Great Egrets, 35 Snowy Egrets, and 12 Black-crowned and 9 Yellow-crowned Night Herons.

    A Black-headed Gull appeared in Truro.

    Wellfleet wasn’t watching birds this week, apparently.

    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 e-mail to [email protected].

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 11, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Sooty tern
    Sooty terns blew in from the tropics with last week’s storm. (Photo Patrick Kavanagh)

    Tropical Storm Isaias tracked through New England last week, bringing some tropical seabirds to the region, including two Sooty Terns reported at Race Point in Provincetown.

    Other sightings at Race Point this week included a Sabine’s Gull, a Black-headed Gull, and good numbers of Cory’s, Great, Sooty, and Manx Shearwaters.

    Blue Herons were reported in Truro.

    A Magnolia Warbler was seen at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary.

    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 e-mail to [email protected].

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

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

    Hudsonian Whimbrel
    That’s no ordinary Whimbrel. It’s a Hudsonian. (Photo Dick Daniels)

    Somebody got back to it this week, because reports from Race Point in Provincetown included a South Polar Skua, a Parasitic Jaeger, a Sabine’s Gull, a Black-headed Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Glaucous Gull, 1,100 Common Terns, 40 Roseate Terns, 4 Arctic Tern, 75 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, 87 Cory’s Shearwaters, 49 Great Shearwaters, 218 Sooty Shearwaters, and 8 Manx Shearwaters.

    11 Whimbrels were seen at the Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary.

    There was an American Bittern in North Truro. And the Bufflehead was seen again there, too.

    Eastham? No sightings. Nada. Zip.

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

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

    Purple Sandpiper
    In a week of birdwatching disappointments, we learn that the Purple Sandpiper isn’t even purple. (Photo Andrew Cannizzaro)

    Reports from Herring Cove to Race Point in Provincetown included a Glaucous Gull, a Little Gull, and a Purple Sandpiper.

    The Audubon reported no other sightings on the entire Outer Cape this week. Hello, bird folk, are you OK out there?

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 16, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Atlantic Puffin
    Provincetown hosted an Atlantic Puffin this week. This one appears disgruntled about what some other bird has left behind. (Photo Melissa McMasters)

    Sightings at Race Point included an Atlantic Puffin, a Royal Tern, 2 Little Gulls, 350 Bonaparte’s Gulls, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, an Arctic Tern, 9 Roseate Terns, a Great Cormorant, and both Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, plus a Yellow-headed Blackbird nearby in the Hatches Harbor marshes.

    The Bufflehead was back in North Truro this week. Also 2 Gadwall were seen in that town.

    In Wellfleet, the only reported sighting was a Yellow-breasted Chat.

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 9, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Brown pelican
    A wonderful bird is the Pelican. But its beak is actually called a gular sack and contrary to popular doggerel it is not a built-in lunch bag. Pelicans scoop up fish with their pouches; they don’t store food in them. (Photo Chrissy McClerran)

    A Brown Pelican flew by Race Point in Provincetown on June 7, and other birds at Race Point this week included a Little Gull, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Sooty Shearwater, and 2 Manx Shearwaters.

    The bird people must have been gardening this week because they didn’t drop many bird-report dimes.

    In North Truro, someone spotted a King Rail.

    There was a Nelson’s Sparrow at Wellfleet Bay sanctuary.

    Is that all there is?

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    on Tuesday, May 26, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Bufflehead
    A Bufflehead is still about in Truro. (Photo Chrissy McClarren)

    A late Bufflehead was reported in North Truro. A King Rail was there again, too.

    A Ring-necked Duck was seen in Provincetown.

    Also in Provincetown, at Race Point, sightings included a Sandwich Tern, a Black-headed Gull, 2 Little Gulls, a Black Guillemot, and 3 Common Murres.

    A Wilson’s Phalarope was seen in Wellfleet this week.

    We don’t know what happened with the Eastham bird people this week. Audubon didn’t report any sightings there. Let’s go, 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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Sandhill Crane
    A Sandhill Crane. Two flew over Longnook Beach this week. (Photo USFWS)

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, May 12, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

     

    A Wilson’s Plover was found at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham.

    A Summer Tanager was seen in Wellfleet.

    Two Sandhill Cranes were reported over Longnook Beach in Truro.

    A Pileated Woodpecker was seen flying along in North Truro on Monday but not since. And a King Rail and 3 American Bitterns were sighted elsewhere in North Truro.

    And the bird watchers seem to have taken the week off in Provincetown, as there was only one reported sighting, a Glaucous Gull seen at Race Point. That can’t be the only bird in town right now.

     

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 28, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Hooded Warbler
    The Hooded Warbler, a southern bird, has been to visit Provincetown. (Photo Magnus Manske)

    A Hooded Warbler, a southern bird, made its way to Foss Woods in Provincetown.

    Also seen in Provincetown were Black Vultures.

    Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown this week included a Pacific Loon, a Parasitic Jaeger, 5 Common Murres, 70 Razorbills, and 6 Iceland Gulls.

    At First Encounter in Eastham, many storm birds blown into the bay by Monday’s storm were counted on April 28, including 3 Parasitic Jaegers and 1,300 Northern Gannets.

    A Yellow-throated Vireo was spotted in Eastham this week.

    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].

     

    LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

    Letters, April 23, 2020

    From Stephen Greenberg, Butch Mullaney, and Page Kidder

    By

    Trump and the Coming Election

    To the editor:

    I am a retired lawyer who spent 49 years with two large firms. Real estate lawyers in both firms used to regale us with stories about Donald Trump’s antics — his extensive dealings with organized crime; his love of bringing lawsuits that never went anywhere; how, when his back was against the wall, he would declare bankruptcy and stiff lenders, suppliers, and contractors. A colorful character.

    Somehow, that colorful character became president. He drew an inside straight: a win in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote by almost three million.

    Many who have known Trump say that he thrives on chaos. He certainly has brought his own brand of chaos to the government.

    Recent polls say that about 42 percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion of Trump’s performance. In head-to-head polls against Joe Biden, he is not that far behind. Trump could again draw an inside straight and be re-elected, even though his chances of winning the popular vote are virtually nonexistent.

    What gives? Is hatred of the “other” so great in parts of our population that it overcomes any sense of decency? I get it that some support Trump because he gives them stuff, but can anyone doubt that Trump has been a disaster for the country, and that, if re-elected, Trump unbound would be a much larger disaster?

    Stephen Greenberg
    Wellfleet

    How Lucky

    To the editor:

    How lucky we are to live in this wonderful community and country during this crisis, with our police, rescue squad, fire dept., and health care workers.

    And the young people at Monomoy High School in Harwich, who donated $5,000 to the Cape Cod Covid-19 Response Fund and the Family Pantry of Cape Cod from their aborted class trip.

    And the states that are now cooperating with one another’s medical needs. And Robert Kraft, for his humanitarian contributions. (Oh, please, don’t make me like the Patriots.)

    All the while, Big Brother tweets and holds political rallies daily and so-called press briefings as the country roils in chaos.

    Because of all of our great people, we will get through this.

    Butch Mullaney
    Provincetown

    Stay-at-Home Birdwatching

    To the editor:

    A note in your bird sightings, that birdwatching can go on during this time of isolation, inspired me to write.

    Remember Jack Snipe? The old Coot ran a café down near the shore — named it Belcher’s Gull. Seems the same bird often perched on the Spotted Rail looking for a snack.

    Food was nothing special. People came for the music, especially to hear the shy Red-faced and Nashville Warblers.

    When it wasn’t too windy, Jack (who wasn’t too Swift) would go outside, bandanna tied in a Red Knot covering his bald head, and fly his Mississippi Kite. Some thought him a bit of a Bufflehead.

    One night Chuck — Will’s widow (Poorwill was dead) — came into the café for a Swallow or two with the Orange Bishop (out of his habit) and the Northern Cardinal. Well! That Lark gave the Wandering Tattler something to Chat about!

    At closing time, when the lights began to Flicker, Jack would check the Gray Nightjar to see if the night Owls had left any tips. If not, he would Grouse, and then with his faithful dog Wagtail head on home.

    With apologies (but thanks) to Roger Tory Peterson

    Page Kidder
    Yarmouth Port

     

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    A Tricolored Heron visited Coast Guard Beach this week. (Photo Keenan Adams/USFWS)

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 14, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    An Indigo Bunting was seen in Provincetown this week.

    Birds at Race Point in Provincetown included a Pacific Loon, 261 Common Murres, 470 Razorbills, 9 Laughing Gulls, 7 Iceland Gulls, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 280 Red-throated Loons, 32 Common Loons, 1,775 Northern Gannets, and a Broad-winged Hawk. And we know they’re not birds, but this: a mother and calf North Atlantic Right Whale was confirmed off the Race as well.

    A Swallow-tailed Kite and a Sandhill Crane were seen in North Truro this week. In other Truro news this week: someone saw a Baltimore Oriole.

    A Brown Pelican was filmed off Lecount Hollow in Wellfleet; possibly the same bird was later seen on Nantucket.

    A Tricolored Heron continued at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham this week.

    An American Bittern, 2 Northern Bobwhites, a Wilson’s Snipe, an American Kestrel, a Winter Wren, a Seaside Sparrow, a Nelson’s Sparrow, 2 Marsh Wrens, and 4 Eastern Meadowlarks were among the sightings at Fort Hill in Eastham this week.

     

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 24, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    The Arctic subspecies of Black Guillemot continued at MacMillan Pier in Provincetown as recently as the 19th.

    Also in Provincetown, there were many sightings at Race Point, including 400 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Piping Plovers, 110 Sanderlings, 25 Dunlins, 4 Common Murres, 275 Razorbills, 7 Iceland Gulls, 385 Red-throated Loons, a Short-eared Owl, and a Common Raven.

    The Clay-colored Sparrow was still at Evergreen Cemetery in Eastham, along with 13 Chipping Sparrows.

    Piping plovers
    Piping Plovers have appeared in Provincetown. (Photo Kaiti Titherington/USFWS)

     

    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].

     

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 17, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were seen in Eastham this week.

    Peregrine falcon
    In Provincetown, a peregrine. (Photo NPS/Andrew Kuhn)

    The Arctic subspecies of Black Guillemot continues at MacMillan Pier in Provincetown, along with the typical subspecies of Black Guillemot and a Peregrine Falcon.

    Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included 20 Dovekies, 600 Razorbills, and 25 Iceland Gulls this week.

    The season’s first Piping Plovers and Ospreys are arriving on cue, just off the outermost part of the Cape, with plover sightings at Nauset Beach in Orleans, and Osprey sightings also in Orleans.

    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].

    RARA AVIS

    This Week’s Bird Sightings

    By

    Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
    A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was seen in Wellfleet this week. (Photo Dick Daniels)

    Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 10, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

    The Arctic subspecies of Black Guillemot continues at MacMillan Pier in Provincetown, along with the typical subspecies of Black Guillemot and at least one Thick-billed Murre.

    Excellent sightings continue at Race Point in Provincetown with at least one Pacific Loon, a Short-eared Owl, 2Common Murres, 500 Razorbills, 1 Glaucous Gull, and 16 Iceland Gulls reported this week.

    A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker turned up in Wellfleet.

    A Clay-colored Sparrow and a flock of up to 11 Chipping Sparrows continues at Evergreen Cemetery in Eastham this week. Plus, an American Bittern was seen at Fort Hill.

    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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