January 19 through January 25, 2012

A slaty-backed gull was seen on the breakwater in Wellfleet Harbor on Sunday. The first state record for this rare Asian gull was just a few years ago.

The painted bunting on Shore Rd. in Eastham continued this week.

At least one snowy owl continues on North Beach Island in Chatham, though any barrier beach in the area could harbor one of these arctic owls.

Mashpee/Wakeby Pond held a redhead, 125 ring-necked ducks, 85 lesser scaup, 27 common goldeneye, 3 common mergansers, a common loon, a pied-billed grebe, 225 American coots, and a belted kingfisher this week.

Miscellaneous sightings included 300 scaup on Sider’s Pond in Falmouth, a hermit thrush at Peterson’s Farm in Falmouth, a bald eagle on Ashumet Pond in Mashpee, a Eurasian green-winged teal and a northern shoveler in Marstons Mills, a black-headed gull in Hyannis, a gray catbird in West Barnstable, a northern shrike in a yard in West Yarmouth, a yellow-bellied sapsucker in Eastham, a common raven at Fort Hill in Eastham, a continuing black-throated blue warbler in Wellfleet, and a great egret and an eastern phoebe near the Pamet River in Truro.

If you have questions about these sightings, or want to report a sighting, call the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615 or send e-mail to:

sightings@massaudubon.org.

If you have cute or cool bird photos, send them to us and we may put them up on our Facebook page: