The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were reported from at least 6 locations this week.

A Prothonotary Warbler continued in West Barnstable and single White-eyed Vireos continued in several places this week.

Two Little Blue Herons were at Mill Pond in Truro, with single birds were seen in Orleans and Harwich. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was at South Cape Beach in Mashpee.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a Chimney Swift, 3 Pacific Loons, an American Oystercatcher, a Black Guillemot, 2 Common Murres, 18 Razorbills, 3 Iceland Gulls, 2 Manx Shearwaters, 2650 Northern Gannets, and a Merlin.

Birds at Wellfleet Bay sanctuary included 6 Black Vultures, a Summer Tanager, a Hooded Warbler, up to 2 White-eyed Vireos, a Yellow-throated Vireo, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Other sightings around the Cape included a Thick-billed Murre in Woods Hole, 5 Whip-poor-wills in Falmouth, single Summer Tanagers in Orleans and Harwich, 31 Glossy Ibis in Chatham, a Black Brant in Eastham, 5 Red Crossbills and an Orange-crowned Warbler in Wellfleet, a Worm-eating Warbler in North Truro, and 3 Rusty Blackbirds and 4 Blue-winged Teal in Provincetown

Cape Cod Weekly Wildlife Sightings is sponsored by the Bird Watchers General Store in Orleans and Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. The following sightings were reported between April 10 and April 16, 2024.

Two different Swallow-tailed Kites passed Head of the Meadow in Truro on Monday.

Prothonotary Warblers, Summer Tanagers, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, and White-eyed Vireos were among the other early overshoot migrants that turned up in several places this week, to the delight of birders.

A Tricolored Heron was at Fort Hill in Eastham and single Little Blue Herons were in Orleans and Harwich.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included 2 Pacific Loons, a Black Guillemot, 120 Razorbills, 9 Common Murres, 9 Iceland Gulls, and 24 Horned Larks.

Birds at Wellfleet Bay sanctuary included 2 White-eyed Vireos, 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

At least 2 Black-headed Gulls continue on various beaches between Osterville and Hyannis, and other sightings around the Cape included an early Roseate Tern and in Falmouth, a Thick-billed Murre in Woods Hole, 2 early Whip-poor-wills on Camp Edwards, a continuing Dickcissel in Yarmouth Port, an Orange-crowned Warbler in Brewster, 1-2 Red Crossbills several places, a Blue Grosbeak in a yard in Eastham, and 2 Black Vultures in Provincetown.

An early Summer Tanager visited a yard in Chatham on Friday, while a yard in Eastham has been hosting an early Indigo Bunting and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

A Black Brant was photographed in Sandwich this week.

At least 3 Black-headed Gulls continue on various beaches between Osterville and Hyannis.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a Manx Shearwater, 60 Razorbills, 4 Common Murres, 5 Iceland Gulls, 125 Red-throated Loons, 225 Northern Gannets, and a Common Raven.

At Bell’s Neck conservation area on West Harwich, sightings this week included a Northern Pintail, 27 Green-winged Teal, 4 Blue-winged Teal, 21 Black-crowned Night-Herons, a Clapper Rail, 25 Ospreys, and an early Ovenbird.

A Western Kingbird continues in Eastham, and other sightings around the Cape included a Black Vulture in West Barnstable, a continuing Dickcissel in Yarmouth Port, an Orange-crowned Warbler in Chatham, an odd sighting of a Sora on roof top in Provincetown, and several reports of early Purple Martins including 2 in Mashpee and 3 in Provincetown.

The young male King Eider continued among Common Eiders at the Scusset Beach end of the canal this week.

The Western Kingbird overwintering in Eastham was reported again in neighborhoods north of Salt Pond visitor’s center.

At least 3 Black-headed Gulls continue on various beaches between Osterville and Hyannis.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a Pacific Loon, 3 Common Murres, 9 Iceland Gulls, a Glaucous Gull, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 290 Red-throated Loons, 220 Northern Gannets, and a Lapland Longspur.

At Bell’s Neck conservation area on West Harwich, sightings this week included 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, a Blue-winged Teal, a Wood Duck, 25 Black-crowned Night-Herons, and 12 Ospreys.

Other sightings around the Cape included the Northern Shrike at Crane WMA in Falmouth, a Brown Thrasher at Peterson Farm in Falmouth, two Barn Swallows in Sandwich, 3 Marsh Wrens in Barnstable, a continuing Dickcissel in Yarmouth Port, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Chatham, a Yellow-breasted Chat in Eastham, single Orange-crowned Warblers in Truro and Brewster, and a Northern Waterthrush in North Truro.

A young male King Eider was found among the Common Eiders at the Scusset Beach end of the canal this week.

The Bohemian Waxwing continued sporadically in Yarmouth Port this week, mostly keeping company with Cedar Waxwings and the Townsend’s Solitaire continued at High Head in North Truro.

At least 3 Black-headed Gulls have been seen on various beaches between Osterville and Hyannis.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included an early Manx Shearwater, 2 Pacific Loons, 2 Thick-billed Murres, 2 Black Guillemot, 90 Razorbills, 4 Common Murres, 8 Iceland Gulls, a Glaucous Gull, and 325 Red-throated Loons.

At Bell’s Neck conservation area on West Harwich, sightings this week included a Blue-winged Teal, a Northern Pintail, 43 Green-winged Teal, 6 Black-crowned Night-Herons, 7 Snowy Egrets, 11 Great Egrets, 2 Clapper Rails, 12 Greater Yellowlegs, 6 Osprey, and 3 Bald Eagles.

Other sightings around the Cape included a Brown Thrasher in Sandwich, a continuing Dickcissel in Yarmouth Port, a continuing Whimbrel in West Dennis, single Orange-crowned Warblers in Orleans and Brewster, an American Bittern in North Truro, and a Black Vulture in Provincetown.

The first Ospreys, Piping Plovers, and American Oystercatchers were reported this week, a few days ahead of schedule.

The Bohemian Waxwing continued sporadically in Yarmouth Port this week, mostly keeping company with Cedar Waxwings.

A Townsend’s Solitaire continued at High Head in North Truro, where other sightings included a very early Purple Martin, 3 Common Ravens, a Marsh Wren, 5 Gray Catbirds, a Brown Thrasher, a Common Yellowthroat, and 50 Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a Pacific Loon, 4 Piping Plovers, 2 American Oystercatchers, 537 Razorbill, 16 Common Murres, a Thick-billed Murre, 2 Dovekies, a Glaucous Gull, 5 Iceland Gulls, 156 Red-throated Loons, and an early Barn Swallow.

Other sightings around the Cape included a Northern Shrike and a Brown Thrasher in Falmouth, a Great Egret in Mashpee and up to two in West Barnstable, an American Bittern and a Willet in West Harwich, a Willet and a Lesser Yellowlegs in Chatham, 2 Barn Swallows at Monomoy NWR, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow in Wellfleet.

A Bohemian Waxwing continued sporadically in Yarmouth Port this week, mostly keeping company with Cedar Waxwings.

A Townsend’s Solitaire continued at High Head in North Truro this week, and the Lark Sparrow continued at the Salt Pond visitor’s center in Eastham.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a Pacific Loon, a Black Guillemot, 254 Razorbills, 3 Common Murres, a Dovekie, a Thick-billed Murre, a Glaucous Gull, 25 Iceland Gulls, 25 Horned Larks, and 10 Tree Swallows.

Other sightings around the Cape included a Northern Shrike in Falmouth, a Semipalmated Plover in Hyannis, 2 Black-headed Gulls at Dowses Beach in Osterville, a Great Egret and a Tree Swallow in West Barnstable, a Dickcissel in Yarmouth Port, a Willet in Chatham, an American Bittern in Eastham, 2 Red Crossbills in Wellfleet, a Marsh Wren in North Truro, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Provincetown.

A Townsend’s Solitaire continued at High Head in North Truro this week.

A Painted Bunting was reported from a yard in Dennis on Sunday.

The Western Kingbird and Lark Sparrow continued at the Salt Pond visitor’s center in Eastham this week.

Birds in a complex of cemeteries in Provincetown this weekend included a Snow Goose, a Clay-colored Sparrow, a Chipping Sparrow, and a mixed flock of blackbirds including Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and 2 Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included 5 Harlequin Ducks, a Black Guillemot, 87 Razorbills, a Common Murre, a Glaucous Gull, 7 Iceland Gulls, a Merlin, and 9 Tree Swallows.

Other sightings around the Cape included a continuing Northern Shrike at Crane WMA in Falmouth, 2 Black Vultures in Bourne, a Brown Thrasher and 2 Great Egrets in West Barnstable, a Semipalmated Plover in Hyannis, a Dickcissel and a Blue-winged Teal in Yarmouth Port, a Whimbrel in West Dennis, a Willet and an American Bittern in Chatham, and a Red Crossbill in Wellfleet.

A Townsend’s Solitaire was photographed at High Head in North Truro this past weekend.

A Tufted Duck has been among the hundreds of Greater and Lesser Scaup at Long Pond in Harwich this week.

The Western Kingbird and Lark Sparrow continued at the Salt Pond visitor’s center in Eastham this week along with an Eastern Phoebe.

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included 2 Pacific Loons, 2 Thick-billed Murres, 175 Razorbills, 9 Common Murres, a Black Guillemot, a Glaucous Gull, 11 Iceland Gulls, 20 Tree Swallows, and 23 Snow Buntings.

Other sightings around the Cape included 2 Black Vultures in Bourne and 3 more in Sandwich, a Yellow-breasted Chat in Falmouth, a Northern Shrike in Falmouth, a Semipalmated Plover in Hyannis, a Dickcissel in Yarmouth Port, an American Bittern in Chatham, and a Short-eared Owl and 2 Nelson’s Sparrows at Nauset Beach in Orleans.

The Western Kingbird and Lark Sparrow continued at the Salt Pond visitor’s center in Eastham this week along with an Eastern Phoebe, and the Western Grebe also continued on Mashpee Pond.

Birds at Great Island in Wellfleet included an overwintering American Oystercatcher, 29 Black-bellied Plovers, 71 Ruddy Turnstones, 420 Sanderlings, and 850 Dunlin. 

Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a Pacific Loon, 2 Thick-billed Murres, 115 Razorbills, 17 Common Murres, a Black Guillemot, 5 Black-legged Kittiwakes, a Glaucous Gull, 24 Iceland Gulls, and 11 Tree Swallows.

At nearby Provincetown Harbor there were 4 Harlequin Ducks, 2 Northern Pintail, a Red-necked Grebe, a Black Guillemot, a Thick-billed Murre, 2 Purple Sandpipers, and a Common Raven.

Other sightings around the Cape included a Rusty Blackbird and 2 Black Vultures in Sandwich, a Northern Shrike in Falmouth, 3 Great Egrets and a Saltmarsh Sparrow at Sandy Neck in Barnstable, a Semipalmated Plover in Hyannis, an American Bittern in Eastham, and a lingering Northern Waterthrush and 25 Pine Siskins in North Truro.