Team BirdNation spent a majority of October Big Day in Provincetown, Massachusetts. We visited 3 Provincetown locations: Race Point Beach, Herring Cove Beach, and MacMillan Pier. In the evening we went to Skaket Beach in Orleans. Overall we observed 20 different species and over 2,000 individual birds.
Race Point Beach, Provincetown, MA (14 species, 1068 individuals)
- Large flocks of White-winged Scoters
- 5 Gull species: Bonaparte’s, Laughing, Great Black-backed, Ring-billed, and Herring
- Other bird species: Double-crested Cormorants, Common Eiders, Northern Gannets, Sanderlings, Rock Pigeons, Tree Swallows, European Starlings, a Common Loon
- 2 Harbor Seals
Herring Cove Beach, Provincetown, MA (9 species, 212 individuals)
- Rafts of Common Eiders and White-winged Scoters
- Large flocks of Double-crested Cormorants and mixed Gulls
MacMillan Pier, Provincetown, MA (3 species, 48 individuals)
We didn’t do much birding at MacMillan Pier because we were on our way to lunch but we did see some Common Eiders, Herring Gulls, and Rock Pigeons. The Pier is a cool little area of town and has great views of Provincetown Harbor. You can also see the Pilgrim Monument in the center of town, a tower that commemorates when the Pilgrims landed the Mayflower in Provincetown in 1620.
Pilgrim Monument (Image by BirdNation) MacMillan Pier (Image by BirdNation)
Skaket Beach, Orleans, MA (10 species, 701 individuals)
We went to Skaket Beach around sunset. I didn’t have the camera while we were there, but we saw hundreds of Common Eiders and White-winged Scoters flying over the bay.
Golden Glow (Image by BirdNation) Skaket Sunset (Image by BirdNation)
We had an amazing day birding in Provincetown and Orleans. Did you go birding on October Big Day? If you did tell us about it in the comments.
To read about our October Big Day trip in Cape May last year click here.