Northern Gannet and Evening Grosbeak in Provincetown, MA. 11/18/2024.

Early November is a great time to see migrating seabirds in great numbers, and there is no better place to witness this migration than Race Point Beach in Provincetown, MA. It is a two hour drive for me as the beach is at the very tip of Cape Cod, but I knew it would be worth it as there were reports of a few lifers (for me) around. My main bird of focus, however, was the Northern Gannet with its wingspan of six feet. I had seen these birds before on Machias Island in Maine and also two in the distance at Winthrop Beach, but I had never witnessed their feeding and diving behavior. I arrived at Race Point and immediately walked out to the beach. The number of seabirds flying by from east to west was astonishing, and I witnessed huge numbers of Dunlin, Red-breasted Merganser, Razorbills, Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Seagulls, Greater Shearwater, and Cory's Shearwater. There were also at least 100 or so Northern Gannet of all ages flying by and diving. I was thrilled as this is what I came to see, and I was certainly not disappointed. Northern Gannet are pelagic birds which means that they spend their entire lives at sea except when they are nesting. Very different than shorebirds. Bait fish are spotted when the Gannet are flying high up, and then they tuck their wings and fly straight down at over 60 miles per hour. They can actually swim around underwater after the fish.

There had been a few other birds on Race Point that had been reported nearby, a Spotted Towhee, a Pine Grosbeak, and an Evening Grosbeak, that I decided to check out. I was able to clearly hear the Spotted Towhee at Provincetown Airport (this bird belongs in the far west of the US!) but I was unable to locate the Pine Grosbeak. As I drove out of Race Point, I stopped by a feeder that had reportedly had two female Evening Grosbeaks visiting. These latter birds used to be more common, but now are quite rare to see. I ended the day on a high note as both females were present at the feeder as well as in a nearby pine tree. Not a bad day with a few lifers and diving Northern Gannet. I drove the two hours home a happy birder!