Cape Cod 2003

Sunday, August 31
When we woke up we had the birding or kayaking decision to make. After a little discussion, we opted for the birding and headed down to Chatham. We were running late and weren't sure of where we were going so we didn't have time for breakfast. In Chatham we stopped and grabbed a cup of coffee and a cranberry-nut muffin. I quickly gobbled down the muffin, but didn't have time to finish the coffee as we soon arrived at Outermost Harbor. We got there before our new-found friends who arrived a few minutes later as did the rest of our party—all women except for me. We purchased tickets and got on board the rather small boat along with several fisherman. I was told to hold unto my hat as the boat took off and sped across to South Beach. The fishermen got off at the "regular" unloading place and then we took off again to the end of the island. As we approached the end, Joan exclaimed "Seals!!!" as we came upon a group of 30 or more. The others in the boat were not as excited as we were. Seals are quite common there. In fact, several companies run seal watching cruises. We got our seal watching as an added bonus. All told there were well over 100 seals in the waters. Our companions identified them as Gray Seals and we realized that those were the same species that we had probably seen the day before. The boat approached the island and we waded ashore. It was quite windy on the island and the temperature was in the sixties. Comfortable for me; Joan's goose bumps indicated that she found it more than a little cool. We saw a large flock of birds, got out our scopes and started looking through them. Most were Common Terns, although there were good numbers of Laughing Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Black-bellied Plovers. Betty asked if anyone could find anything different. We all looked but it was Joan (who else) that noticed that two that had just arrived were smaller and different looking. She got out Sibley's and identified them as Black Terns. After studying the flock for a while, I left the group to take some pictures of the seals.

When I returned to the group, they were watching a Northern Harrier hovering over grassy dunes. I have seen harriers on many occasions but had never seen one remain so motionless and so intent. We moved on and saw a flock of terns and gulls in the air. We were hoping that they were stirred up by a Jaeger (as had happened several times when we were there last year). The flocks took flight a number of times, but we could never find the cause of their unrest.

We walked on and came to a group of shorebirds. Most were Semipalmated Plovers. The flock also included Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and American Oystercatchers. Joan found a Roseate Tern amidst another flock. A couple of Piping Plovers scurried along near us. I wandered off to take some more pictures.

When I came back, the group was intently studying a flock of birds and they told me that they found some Hudsonian Godwits. Other goodies included Ruddy Turnstone, Willet, and Short-billed Dowitchers. Then a Marbled Godwit was found as well as some Red Knots. A flock of shorebirds took off and a man who was passing said that it consisted of 250 Red Knots.

He also mentioned that there was a Lesser Black-backed Gull in the area. We looked at other birds, nothing exceptional and then I recalled the Lesser Black-backed Gull. As soon as I mentioned it, Joan said, "There it is." As the words came out of her mouth, I also saw it. That was pretty much it for birding on South Beach, so the group headed for the pick up point and waited for the boat to come.

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Copyright © 2003 Richard L. Becker