It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…No, Wait, It IS A Bird: Cape Cod, A Birder’s Paradise

I grew up in New England, and one of my parents’ favorite pastimes was watching the birds at various feeders and bird baths they had placed around the yard. They weren’t birders, mind you, they just enjoyed watching the antics of birds bathing and munching on seed. It seemed pointless to me at the time, if not downright boring, but I’ve come around.

Rich is a bird lover of sorts. Not all birds, mind you. Oh, he marvels at the size and color of our summer hummingbirds and the sheer beauty of the male cardinal with his crimson breast. He gets a kick out of the chic-a-dees who seem indifferent to his presence on the deck as he fills the feeders. But some birds he categorizes as just plain “nuisance birds”, more trouble than they are worth. The grackle, crow, and blue jay would fall into this category for him.

He can spot a red-tailed hawk from a distance and an osprey by its wings. He puts out oranges for the Baltimore orioles in spring in hopes that they will linger longer. On his recommendation, we put binoculars and

bird books in all our guest rooms, primarily for our foreign visitors who seem equally impressed by a sparrow as a downy woodpecker. He is, in a word, an admirer and protector of our winged friends. But he is not a birder.

He does not go off on long hikes armed with spotting scopes and bird logs, nor does he stand motionless as if a bird dog “en pointe” when he spots a great blue heron. It’s a simple pleasure for him, I suppose, to watch unnoticed from the kitchen window as he prepares the morning repast for our guests. First the tit mice, then the sparrows. Next, the chickadees and cardinals. The downy woodpecker comes and goes as he pleases. He is protective of their seed, admonishing the gluttons with a quick “ssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhttt” to get them moving, and letting the squirrels (those interlopers) know who’s boss.

It was Rich who introduced me to my favorite harbinger of spring. As the gray of winter gives way to longer days and milder temperatures, the gold finches shed their winter khaki green for their summer garb of yellow. Long about April, when you yearn for summer breezes but cannot yet feel them, a gold finch appears at the feeder with one bright yellow feather, (canary yellow, you might say) amidst the green. And in that moment you know, just as you know that the leaves will fall in autumn, that spring has arrived on Cape Cod.

According to some experts, Cape Cod, it seems, is one of the best spots along the Northeastern seaboard to view birds, especially during the migration seasons, when more than 260 different species of birds may make a stop on Cape Cod. They feed on local delicacies, such as marine worms, insects, crustaceans, and mollusks before continuing their journey. Having started in the Arctic Circle, the trip might end in South America, 12,000 miles away. Cape Cod lies about half way along this busy flyway, and places like Monomoy Island and Nauset Marsh are regular stopovers for these birds.

Spring is the best time to view migrating birds, and August is best for observing shorebirds. Winter birds are plentiful, too. Herons, egrets, and sandpipers, all birds associated with wetland habitats, are abundant in winter.

Some of the best spots for observing birds are in wooded areas, such as the Crane Reservation in Mashpee, or the Beech Forest in Provincetown. The Wellfleet Bay/Audubon Sanctuary and the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster offer short hikes that take you through upland areas and marshlands to Cape Cod Bay.

Sandy Neck Recreational Area in Barnstable and Monomoy Wildlife Refuge in Chatham offer a beach and wetlands habitat.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, birds are omnipresent on Cape Cod. They share this fragile ecosystem with us, and add a layer of enjoyment to those of us who appreciate them. Come visit Cape Cod and catch a glimpse of any number of the birds that frequent our shores, including:

• pine warblers
• rufus-sided towees
• common yellowthroats
• Carolina wrens
• gray catbirds
• northern orioles
• black-capped chickadees
• tree swallows
• ospreys
• red-tailed hawks
• red-winged blackbirds
• willets
• sparrows
• common terns
• common grackles
• least terns
• kingfishers
• oystercatchers
• great blue herons
• laughing gulls