Weekly Bird Report

On Nantucket Sunday morning the local birding group found a male Townsend’s Warbler, the first time the species has been identified on the island. The Townsend's Warbler is usually restricted to the Pacific Northwest. 

  Go ahead, use your ears to identify the birds in your backyard.  On the Weekly Bird Report, Vern Laux says learning the calls of a few singing birds in our area is not hard, and he walks us through some common birdsong heard at this time of year, including the Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, the Northern Flicker, and the American Robin. Should you take an interest, says Vern, you could learn the songs of all the nesting species in your neighborhood, or even on the Cape and Islands, in one summer season!

The weather this past week made it hard for not only recently returned ospreys, but all early arriving birds. In the Weekly Bird Report, Vern Laux observes that American oystercatchers have been hard pressed by the weather and probably wish they had remained on the Gulf Coast or in the Carolinas for another week or two. Nonetheless, these incredibly marked large shorebirds have been arriving by the dozens on Cape and Island beaches.

Spring is the time for observing the display of the American Woodcock, a birding highlight on the Cape and Islands. On the Weekly Bird Report, Vern Laux offers tips and strategies for locating the elusive bird.  Your search begins in a field surrounded by woodlands, just before dusk or before dawn. Your best bet is a clear night with little wind, but as the season progresses, the birds display almost all the time regardless of weather.