Cape Cod Bird Nerd

7.12.16 Tuesday Tweets - John Wing Trail - Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
Brewster, MA

Ridiculous. The bird walk was ridiculous! We saw at least 25 different species during this slightly extended Tuesday Tweets. The weather was spectacular, 82 degrees and plenty of sunshine to share... I suppose I should've guessed that it was going to be a record breaking bunch of sightings ( & sounds!)

We didn't get too great a view of an Eastern Towhee after we crossed the salt marsh. Fortunately the tides were not an issue, so we pushed on the trail & I was determined to make it to the water. There were visitors from Georgia, Michigan and California (where the state bird is the California Quail). When we got closer to the meadow, I was happy to be past the volunteers who were doing a fantastic job, trimming the trail to keep us all a bit safer... we couldn't help but notice that the controlled burn was performed recently. As I was beginning to discuss how & why for the controlled burn on the foliage, folks toward the back of our line simply said, "Uhh....Gretchen... there's a hawk right over your head on the dead tree." AND SO THERE WAS!!! This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, sat quietly perching literally less than 15 feet above us. He just sat there, looking down at us, his right talon pulled up close to his body. I wondered if he might be injured, or perhaps he'd just eaten and was simply too full to fly... it happens.

So we marveled for as long as he would allow, and after at least five minutes, he stretched his wings, took off and landed on a nearby tree, only to agitate a pair of Northern Mockingbirds. They had a lot to say about their displeasure. They were bird swearing at him for SURE! Imagine what words they'd be using if they'd have been mocking humans... WHAT A SIGHTING THOUGH! It was truly a magical day on that trail this morning. Please check out our list, as well as the photos. I've included lots of Rick's pics too, don't miss them!!! Hooray for that fancy lens! Thank you RICK! (double click photos to enlarge)

Our List:
Northern Cardinal
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Gray Catbird
Northern Flicker
Red-winged Blackbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Barn Swallow
Osprey
Belted Kingfisher (!!!)
Red-tailed Hawk
Tree Swallow
Northern Mockingbird
Green Heron (!!!)
Willet
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Song Sparrow
Tern
Cliff Swallow (!!!)
American Crow