Janice Zepko
Five members participated and racked up 52 species, including some special finds. I’ll share our birding spots and some highlight birds we identified.
Sider’s Pond, Falmouth – 60 Red-breasted and 20 Hooded Mergansers, a Red-throated Loon, and a Great Blue Heron
Salt Pond and ocean viewing across the street – 32 Bufflehead, 6 Goldeneye, 1 Surf Scoter, 2 Razorbills, 15 Long-tailed Ducks, 30 Common Goldeneye, 250 Common Eider, 1 Horned Grebe, 1 Common Loon
Ashumet Pond, Falmouth – 75 Ring-necked Ducks, 60 Coot, 5 Ruddy Ducks, 60 Bufflehead, 75 Common Goldeneye and a Barrow’s Goldeneye hybrid
Mashpee Pond-Attaquin Park, Mashpee – 1 Western Grebe, 2 Common Loon, 35 Bufflehead
Marstons Mills Pond, Marstons Mills – 15 Northern Pintail, 1 Ring-necked Duck, 2 Hooded Merganser, 3 American Wigeon, 20 Gadwall and a Kingfisher
Shawme Lake, Sandwich – 1 Eurasian Wigeon (close and excellent views) and 95 American Wigeon
Town Neck Rd, Sandwich at the Treehouse Brewery parking lot – 8 Razorbills, 75 Common Eider, 1 Black, 25 White-winged and Surf Scoters, and 2 Common Loons
Cape Cod Canal – Added 8 more Razorbills at close range, 1 Gannet, 75 Common Eider, 15 White-winged Scoters, 2 Red-throated Loons, and 8 Common Loons
Skipping Plymouth altogether in hopes of getting a reported Barrow’s Goldeneye at Little Quitticus Pond in Lakeville, we headed straight there. The bird was not to be found, nor did we get the Short-eared Owls hoped for at our last birding spot, Cumberland Farms in Middleborough. Despite ending the trip with missed birds, we did enjoy a great day of coastal birding!