The Columbus Day Weekend lived up to its considerable and deserved reputation as offering some of the best birding of the year with the discovery of an immature Brown Booby, a tropical seabird that was unknown from this part of the world until 3 years ago. In recent years sightings have increased all over the Gulf of Maine; something is clearly going on with this species. The bird was seen all 3 days of the long weekend off of Provincetown.
On the morning of October 14, a Black-throated Gray Warbler, a western species that rarely strays to the east, was discovered at Jackson Point on Nantucket. This striking species has only been recorded a few times from the Cape and Islands during the fall migration. It was well seen and record photos were taken to confirm the presence of this bird. An immature Red-headed Woodpecker seen nearby added some excitement, as did the Clay-colored Sparrow feeding on the ground below the warbler.
Brown Creepers, tiny woodland mites that are the only members of their family, were widespread, with as many as a dozen flitting around in a few trees on Nantucket. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a woodpecker with a funny name, as well as several other species of woodpeckers were also on the move.
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