The bird migration down our east coast is a living river. Cape Cod, Long Island, and other landforms that jut into the ocean briefly interrupt that stream and become havens for bird watchers. This story is drawn from my journals and reflects my joy at seeing that living river one fall on Cape Cod.
On October 25, 1986, I attended the fall waterfowl walk sponsored by the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. A beautiful, chilly fall day, with a brisk landward breeze out of a cloudless sky, heightened my anticipation of natural wonders.
I can’t remember the naturalist presenter’s name, but she clearly knew the natural world. She began with a slide show of ducks, other birds we would likely see on the trip, and some less common species. Then we viewed preserved specimens from the museum’s collection, though looking at dead birds provides little help with identifying live ones.
After this introduction, we proceeded to the Eastham Corporation Beach, a public beach owned by the incorporated town. Dozens of cars were parked there, and we saw several boats on the bay. A flock of birds circled and came low when the crack of a shotgun suddenly filled the air.
Unfortunately for the hunter, he fired at about 100 yards. Shotguns are generally effective at 50 yards or less. The other hunters began firing immediately, hoping to get a lucky shot before the birds scattered. This was poor shooting for the hunters but good shooting for the ducks. Earlier rounds had been more successful, and some hunters showed us their trophies for close-up identification.
I have been told these sea ducks are fishy tasting and barely palatable. The hunters were getting target practice and not hunting for table meat such as a mallard or wood duck could provide. Some were not even retrieved but left floating in the bay.
Nevertheless, we saw all three species of scoters, red-breasted mergansers, and long-tailed ducks in flight and close-up. If these names are unfamiliar, the All About Birds website from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology provides excellent illustrations.
We also observed common loons, red-throated loons, and brants (sea geese) afloat on the bay. Lines of gulls watched from the shore while crows and a lone kingfisher looked on from a telephone line.
A ruddy turnstone, the first I had ever seen, stood on a nearby rock. The turnstone is a species of sandpiper. This one had the bright pattern characteristic of the male bird. His back was chestnut and black, with a white belly and black and white face.
Male birds in colorful plumage are more common in springtime. They molt in fall and take on a drab appearance, but in springtime, they are all show, hoping to attract the attention of passing females. They are like teenage boys revving their cars’ engines in public parking lots, but the birds are generally more successful.
The coastal beach is the turnstone’s habitat during migration. Ruddy turnstones are worldwide in distribution and among the furthest migrating bird species. The North American population nests in the Arctic islands of Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, migrating down North America’s east and west coasts and the Mississippi River to winter in the Caribbean, Central, and South America. Some Siberian turnstones cross the Bering Sea and migrate down our west coast.
Other Asian populations of ruddy turnstones migrate down their Pacific coastline and spend the winter as far away as Australia. European turnstones migrate down their Atlantic coast.
Those on the Atlantic coast encounter Cape Cod, shaped like an arm, bent upward at the elbow and back at the wrist. It blocks the migrating ducks because they won’t fly over land. They fly eastward along the northern edge of the cape, which bends to the north and eventually back to the west. The ducks circle and fly back toward Boston. When they fly high enough to see water on the other side, they cross the cape and continue their migration.
As the birds circle Cape Cod Bay, they have regular stopping places where they rest for the night. These stopping places are easily predicted, especially at high tide, but they sometimes stop at unexpected places. Regular stops are near estuaries with a ready supply of small fish and other creatures to eat while foraging.
Once I learned of the magnificent sea duck migration, I had a list of places where the ducks regularly stop. What started as an exciting day trip would occupy my days off in a winter-long search for unusual ducks like the hooded merganser and the harlequin duck.
If you don’t know what these two beauties look like, get a bird book, and view their photos. Peterson’s Guide to Eastern Birds is well known. Sibley’s Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America recently replaced Peterson’s as the birders’ most popular field guide, but any bird guide will do.
The All About Birds website from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is also a great source of visual information, including photos, range maps, and videos of most species native to North America. They also offer an extensive library of recorded bird calls. Here is an example: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Turnstone/.