Cape Cod Bird Club

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

SPRING WALKS

Goodwill Park – Falmouth
Thursday, June 4 - 8:00 AM
Meet at the entrance on Goodwill Park Rd off Gifford Street, about .6 miles north of the Jones Rd/Gifford St intersection. A variety of warbler species, Brown Thrasher, and many nesting songbirds are among the species you can expect in this beautiful woodland habitat.
Leader: MJ Foti ([email protected])

Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve – Harwich
Friday, June 12 – 8:00 AM
From Rt. 39 in Harwich, take Bank Street to #203 - the Harbormaster’s Workshop. Cold Brook Preserve
underwent a major ecological restoration project completed in fall 2024 featuring easily accessible trails throughout 66 acres of wetland and surrounding woodland. The intricate pond and trail system provides ideal habitat for a variety of passerines, hawks and waterfowl in addition to otters and other mammals.
Leader: Sharon MacDonald ([email protected])

High Head – N. Truro
NOTE DATE CHANGE: Sunday, June 14 – 8AM
Meet at High Head Bike Trail parking lot. Bear left when you reach Cliff Rd to stay on High Head Rd, a dirt pathway that leads to parking for the bike trail. We’ll be looking and listening for rails, bobwhites and American Bittern skulking through the marsh as well as searching overhead for raptors and scanning the thickets for passerines. Walk begins on the paved bike trail but may also include hard pack dirt trails of mixed elevation. Leader: MJ Foti ([email protected])

Forest Beach Conservation, South Chatham
Friday, June 26 – 8 AM
Take Rte. 6 to exit 85 and head south towards Rte. 28. Make a right on 28 and a left in .5 miles at Forest Beach Rd. This will take you directly to the beach where parking is free of charge. We’ll walk the marsh trail to where it meets Mill Creek and return via the beach – about one mile of walking in soft sand – before heading towards the overlook on Bay View Road. There you will find a generous parking lot with an overlook offering panoramic views of Nantucket Sound. Waterproof footwear recommended.
Leader: Sharon MacDonald ([email protected]) ------------

05/28/2026

Important stuff!

We’re holding a FREE talk on tick safety for everybody on Cape Cod — Wednesday, June 24 at 1pm.

Cape Cod Extension entomologist Escher Cattle will explain how to reduce your risk of contacting the bugs, and what to do if one bites you.

Museum admission is not required to attend the talk.

05/18/2026

Save the Date for International Horseshoe Crab Day! It's one of our most popular events of the year, and we've got some fantastic exhibits lined up for you, including seeing our live juveniles. Come along and learn more about the Cape's 'Original Wash-a-Shores' - they've been around for 450 million years! It's on June 19 at CCMNH from 10am - 2pm.

05/16/2026

The Massachusetts Army National Guard’s Natural
Resource Program is hosting grassland bird tours in
May and June on Camp Edwards. This is an
unusual opportunity for avid birders, naturalists
and photographers to walk through the Camp
Edwards grasslands on a guide-led tour.

There are several hundred acres of grassland
managed on Camp Edwards at Joint Base Cape
Cod. This thriving habitat, a rarity in the rest of
Massachusetts, is home to a variety of grassland
bird species including four state-listed species:
Upland Sandpiper, Northern Harrier, Grasshopper
Sparrow and the Eastern Meadowlark.

Tour Dates and Registration Information
Each tour is limited to 20 people and spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis. All tours are from 6
a.m. to 8 a.m. Tour dates are:
• Friday, May 29; registration deadline is Thursday, May 21
• Saturday, May 30 registration deadline is Thursday, May 21
• Friday, June 5; registration deadline is Friday, May 29
• Saturday, June 6; registration deadline is Friday, May 29
Children over 10 years of age are welcome on the tour.
To register for a tour, please send an email to: [email protected], with your name, telephone number, and which tour date you would like. A confirmation email will be sent with further information including directions, base access, meeting place and parking.

05/09/2026

Looking for something to do tomorrow?

On the night of 9 May, Sweden will be anything but quiet.
During “Fågelsångsnatten” – the Night of Birdsong – reporters and experts are out across the country. They broadcast live from locations such as the bird paradise of Tåkern in Östergötland, the coast near Tromtö in Blekinge, Morups Tånge in Halland, and the wetlands around Brånsjön in Västerbotten.
And for one very special reason: to capture exactly how the birds sound on this one spring night – from midnight and for eight hours straight.
For many in Sweden, this eight-hour live broadcast has long become a small springtime ritual.
📅 May 9, from 00:02
🎧 Live on Swedish Radio P1 & available later as a podcast
Find the link in our comments.

05/07/2026

May 11, 2026
7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

BIRDS UP CLOSE: An Engineer Explores Their Hidden Wonders reveals the marvel of how birds work—from the tips of their beaks to the sheen of their tail feathers. Consider feathers: They define birds’ wings, enabling flight. They insulate against cold. They repel water. They even control sound. And how feathers work is just one aspect of the wonders of birds explained by MIT engineering professor and lifelong birder, Lorna Gibson, PhD, in Birds Up Close.

Feathers, bones, bills, eggs, flight: all come in for scrutiny in this engaging book. What produces the iridescence of plumage? How does the internal structure of a bird’s bones make them lightweight? How do different birds use their bills and tongues—from woodpeckers penetrating the holes they drill to hummingbirds imbibing nectar, to sandpipers needling the sand, and to phalaropes drawing water droplets containing plankton into their mouths without sucking (no lips!)? What controls the shape of eggs? How do birds fly?

Lorna Gibson, Drawing on her expertise and personal experience in both engineering, and as a birder, Dr. Gibson explores how birds work by looking at their hidden microscopic structures, and using engineering principles. Her up-close look at avian mysteries provides a perspective like no other for birders, curious observers, as well as the expert ornithologist.

05/07/2026

All Day Sea Birding Trip
May 16
8:30 am

Join the Dolphin Fleet for a 6-7 hour seabird trip, departing MacMillan Wharf at 8:30am. This extended trip allows us to travel the rich feeding grounds surrounding Cape Cod. It’s a time of year when many seabird species are migrating into, through or out of local waters depending on the species. It’s also a time of year when seabird diversity is particularly high. Possibilities include: Razorbills, Loons, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Gannets, Bonaparte’s and Iceland Gulls, Jaegers, maybe even early arriving terns. We'll have two spotters onboard. We will make sure that novice sea-birders will broaden their seabird identification skills. Seals or whales can be an added bonus.

Please note: The trip is weather dependent. No pets allowed. This trip is not advised for young children.

05/05/2026

MORE SPRING WALKS WITH CCBC

Mass Audubon's Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary Thursday, May 7 – 8 AM
From Mashpee rotary, take the exit for 151 west (Nathan Ellis Highway) and travel approx. 2.7 miles. Turn right onto Currier Rd, and take another right onto Ashumet Rd. The dirt parking lot will be on your left. This property is known for its variety of hollies along with areas of dense thickets, woodland trails and small but productive Grassy Pond. Expect 2-3 miles of walking along dirt trails with mild hills.
Leader: Sharon MacDonald ([email protected])

Clapps Pond – Provincetown Wednesday, May 13 – 8 AM
Drive 1.2 miles past the traffic light at Race Point Rd. on Route 6. Parking is permitted along the side of the road as per Provincetown Parking Commission. We’ll follow a wide loop-trail running along a ridge offering many overlooks of the pond, the surrounding bogs and woodlands. This is a three-mile hike with some sizable hills which we expect will take a full 2 1/2 hours to cover. We hope to be rewarded with some migrating thrushes, vireos and perhaps even one of the more southern warblers.
Leader: Jeff Bryant ([email protected])

Bridge Creek Conservation – Barnstable Friday, May 15 – 8 AM
From Route 6, take exit 65 for MA-149N, then merge onto Meetinghouse Way. Parking is available behind West Barnstable Fire Department - the trailhead is located to the left. Small boardwalks spring up to help navigate these boggy wooded trails as you listen for warblers, vireos, and other passerines. Past sightings include Hooded Warbler, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos and Virginia Rail.
Leader: MJ Foti ([email protected])

Scusset Beach State Reservation – Sagamore Thursday, May 21 – 8am
Take Scusset Beach Road to the main entrance. Parking is .25 miles past the entrance at the fishing pier. We’ll walk the bike path that parallels the canal and check out the woodland trail under the powerlines in hopes of seeing the annually nesting Blue-winged Warbler. The campground area and adjacent field by the playground can host a variety of sparrows, warblers, thrushes and other spring migrants. Expect 2 to 3 miles of paved and wooded dirt trails.
Leader: Val Freysinger ([email protected])

https://capecodbirdclub.org/wordpress/walks/

05/03/2026

Whales and Birds - a great Cape Cod combo.

May 16, 8:30 am, P-town.