Bird Sightings

A likely tropical kingbird, representing only the second state record for this large flycatcher of the southwest, was discovered at Peterson Farm in Falmouth this week, along with 2 cattle egrets.

Cattle egrets have invaded the Cape, with sightings from Mashpee, Massachusetts Audubon’s Long Pasture sanctuary in Cummaquid, and Provincetown, in addition to the 2 Falmouth birds.

A dickcissel has been at the feeders of Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, where 100 greater yellowlegs, 2 unidentified dowitchers, a merlin, 30 Eastern bluebirds, a prairie warbler, 25 red-breasted nuthatches, a purple finch, and a pine siskin were also seen.

Lingering migrants at the Eastham stump dump included a prairie warbler, an orange-crowned warbler, a blackpoll warbler, a blue-headed vireo, and 10 field sparrows.

A seawatch from First Encounter Beach in Eastham produced 2 single Manx shearwaters, a dozen razorbills, and 1,500 Northern gannets.

Along the ocean side of Wellfleet near Cahoon Hollow sightings included 30 red-throated loons, 1,200 Northern gannets, a merlin, 2 snow buntings, an American pipit, an Eastern towhee, 3 white-crowned sparrows, 45 dark-eyed juncos, an American tree sparrow, and a pine siskin.

Sightings between Provincetown and High Head in Truro included a blue-winged teal, 35 green-winged teals, 30 scaups, a hooded merganser, a pied-billed grebe, 2,000 Northern gannets, 10 great cormorants, a merlin, 25 Bonaparte’s gulls, 12 laughing gulls, 50 common terns, 5 Forster’s terns, 150 unidentified terns, a parasitic jaeger, 2 white-crowned sparrows, 130 dark-eyed juncos, and 25 brown-headed cowbirds.

For more information about bird sightings or to report bird sightings, call the Massachusetts Audubon Society at 781-259-8805 or go to www.massaudubon.org.