Cape Cod Forest Bums & other MA goodies.

It's true.  Cape Cod ain't all seashores and sandcastles.  I dragged my parents around several wooded areas including Beech Forest in Provincetown, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Crane WMA, and Sandy Neck.  Here are some highlights...

Northern Cardinal, Beech Forest

 Red-eyed Vireo, Beech Forest


Forest toad, Beech Forest


Crow vs. Baltimore Oriole, Wellfleet Bay

 My second (and final) lifer on the cape was the Prairie Warbler...

Sandy Neck

Crane Wildlife Management Area was a new spot for me and it reminded me of a lot of places from home, except lacking a river or lake.  The orioles loved it there.

 Baltimore Oriole, Crane WMA

Orchard Oriole, Crane WMA

 Eastern Kingbird, Crane WMA

My mom found a really cool snake that I believe is a milk snake.


It freaked us out at first as we heard it rattle, but I read that milk snakes make faux rattling sounds.  All good.

I left the Cape to head back towards Boston and spend a day with my brother.  The weather took a turn and we ended up birding Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in an utter downpour.   It was comical and heartbreaking at the same time because I knew how many potential lifers were lurking in that spot.

I only pulled my camera out a couple of times because of the rain.  One time was to chase a bird that turned out to be a House Sparrow.  But one time was to chase a bird that was singing energetically deep in the shrubs.  I hopped a small creek and got tangled in something prickly and peeked between branches and there it was!  My 400th bird species!  A motherfreakin Black-throated Blue Warbler!


Terrible photos, but they work.

We checked out a couple other areas nearby and by the time we were done with lunch the weather had cleared.  We spent some time wandering around Lynn Beach.


Bonaparte's Gulls provided most of the entertainment.


My brother and I were surprised by the number of dead stingrays we found around the beach, but this Great Black-backed Gull was just plain stoked.


There were some tidal pools along the beach that had these little hermit crab guys in them...


And that's about it from my trip.  Only three life birds, but lots of birds I had only seen once or twice before.  Overall, a great time! 

Comments

  1. Congrats on your life birds! The oriole shots are great. Neat sighting of the snake. Great outings and report! Happy birding!

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  2. ugh...would've preferred some sandcastles.

    Nah not really, your photos here are freakin' delightful, and it was a pleasure to read.
    It's weird to come to your blog and see posts with plenty of sunlight. Weird...

    Congratulations on those mighty handsome warblers and a mighty handsome 400.

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  3. Awesome! I was able to sneak out for a short bit and met some friends at Sandy Neck. Had life Prairie Warbler, White-winged Scoter, and Saltmarsh Sparrow. That place was badass.

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  4. Congrats on seeing your 400th bird~that rocks! Love your variety of interesting sights. I had no idea there were faux rattlers out there!

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  5. You certainly had a great time around Cape Cod. Fabulous selection of wildlife species and congrats on the lifers Jen.

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  6. I have some serious Warbler envy on that one. Nice job!

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  7. That Prairie Warbler sure is pretty. Photos 2 & 3 have some good camouflage going on. What a fun trip!

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  8. Black-throated Blue Redemption! Congrats on the bird, and the lifer milestone.

    I birded Marblehead once...the locals werent very impressed with the migrant numbers but to me it was dripping with birds. Still the only place Ive ever seen Gray-cheeked Thrush.

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