Friday, February 19, 2016

Cape Ann - from Gloucester to Rockport

Jodrey Pier, Gloucester
A favorite birding destination in the winter is Cape Ann, from Gloucester to Rockport, Massachusetts. I found this link to a map of birding spots along the way, most of which we hit. Thanks to Bryan Pfeiffer for posting this!

common eiders
We started at Gloucester Harbor, it was a brilliantly sunny day.

American herring gull

The most numerous birds were common eiders and herring and great black-backed gulls.

common loon

red-breasted merganser

surf scoter

great black-backed gull

purple sandpipers
The birds are plentiful but if the wind is blowing - it's brutal! If you go, dress warmly, bring lots of layers, even if the temperatures are above freezing as they were this day. 

purple sandpipers

harlequin ducks and a common eider

The harlequin ducks are fun to watch, they love to ride the waves and stay really close to the rocky shore.

harlequin ducks, a common eider and red-breasted merganser

redheads and mallards
We spent all day driving around the shoreline, finding lots of great birds. The worst part was getting there, we hit rush hour traffic coming and going! Still, it was a fabulous day of birding!

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing such a nice and beautiful journey of Cape Ann. I love birds and these birds are so special and cute. :) I liked all, especially the American herring gull and red-breasted merganser.

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