Birding in Massachusetts: Race Point and Beyond

July 15, 2022

Ahh, the seaside. Is there anything quite as nice as a long walk on the beach... to bird?

Our first morning on Cape Cod brought ideal weather conditions for an absolutely gorgeous walk down Race Point beach. There, I met up with birding friend Liam, where we spent a few hours strolling the sand, stopping frequently to watch the birds.

Right away, he pointed out Common Eider and Manx Shearwater, sitting on the calm surface of the Atlantic. A few Northern Gannets flapped past in the hazy distance, far out over the ocean. Double-crested Cormorants and gulls were common, though it was an adjustment for me to get used to seeing Double-crested and only Double-crested Cormorants along the coast; here on the West Coast, Brandt and Pelagic Cormorant far outnumber Double-crested in coastal habitats. Other than that, the skies over the water were nearly as quiet as the sea itself; most of the birds we saw were along the sandy shore.

Piping Plover

Piping Plover and Least Tern both nest in the protected dunes just above the beach, and both were present in good numbers as we walked down the beach. Plovers are one of my favorite groups of birds (I know, I say that all the time), and these little guys have to be contenders for the "cutest bird" award! I just adore them!

Piping Plover

Unfortunately, Piping Plovers are in some trouble. Piping Plovers along the Atlantic Coast are federally listed as a threatened species, largely due to habitat loss and disturbance, mostly from recreational beach use. Like the Snowy Plovers of California, these diminutive shorebirds nest on sandy beaches, where their nearly invisible ground nests are at risk of trampling by beach-goers and their furry friends. (The information I share in this article about California's Snowy Plovers goes for Piping Plovers on the Atlantic Coast as well!)

Piping Plover

The state of Massachusetts is leading the way in Piping Plover conservation, and according to their website, it now has the largest number of breeding pairs of Piping Plovers on the Atlantic Coast: an estimated 700 pairs, up from just 140 in 1986. As a point of reference, the entire global population of Piping Plovers is only around 10,000 birds.

Piping Plover

Scarcely bigger than the plovers, but far more conspicuous due to their shrill vocalizations and generally rowdy tern-ish behavior, Least Terns are indeed the world's smallest species of tern.

Least Tern

While populations of Least Terns in California are listed as endangered, they are faring better on the Atlantic Coast. Nesting on the ground on beaches and dunes, the shallow nests of Least Terns are also nearly-invisible to the casual observer, and as such, at risk of being accidentally destroyed by beach-goers.

Tiny Least Terns!

During the breeding season, sections of beaches and dunes along all coasts of the U.S. may be cordoned off to protect nesting terns and plovers. Please respect these boundaries!!

Least Terns

We also spotted a flock of Common Terns, with an exciting surprise mixed in: a few endangered Roseate Terns. In all the excitement, my birder brain must have malfunctioned... and I somehow didn't get a single photo of these guys!? (I did see them again later in the trip, farther north in Maine.) You'll have to settle for another colored pencil drawing instead.

Common Terns with two Roseate Terns (right). Colored pencil.

No beach trip is complete without some time spent devoted to scanning gull flocks! In the northeast, the largest species of gull is the Great Black-backed Gull. At 2.5 feet long, with a 5 foot wingspan, this is, in fact, the world's largest species of gull! There's no missing these guys. But combing carefully through a flock loafing on the beach, we picked out a yellow-legged Lesser Black-backed Gull, a visitor from Europe more commonly seen on the Atlantic Coast during the winter (no photo - you'll just have to take my word for it).

Three Great Black-backed Gulls, with a very small-looking Laughing Gull in the foreground.

And of course, what would the Atlantic Coast be without its resident Laughing Gulls? (Their calls sound like laughter, which makes me laugh - a well-named species all around!)

Laughing Gulls

After [reluctantly] leaving Race Point, we spent some time exploring the quiet beaches and saltmarshes up and down the Cape, where pilgrims took their first steps in their new land, prehistoric horseshoe crabs still paddle through the shallows, and majestic Osprey nest and fish.

I'm a real sucker for wetlands, and these eastern saltmarshes are no exception! They are truly wild and beautiful places.

While Western Willets winter along the coast of Central California, sporting their muted gray basic plumage, seeing Eastern Willets in their delicately spangled breeding attire was something special. In both cases, Willets in flight can be told from other shorebirds at a glance by their flashy black and white wing stripes. But more than their coloring, the Willet's rollicking song catches and holds the attention of anyone visiting an Eastern saltmarsh in summer! I absolutely love hearing their calls, wild and ringing across vast expanses of saltmarsh.

Willet

One more gift of the saltmarsh: ancient horseshoe crabs, the eggs of which are a vital food source of the millions of shorebirds that migrate along the east coast. These living fossils have been on the earth for somewhere around 450 million years... and here they were, puttering along in the shallow waters of Cape Cod. Amazing.

I could (should?) write a whole post about these fascinating arthropods, but for now, if you want more cool facts about horseshoe crabs, check out this article from the Ocean Conservancy.