There are birds to look at here all year long, but there is also a lot of turnover in the species composition within the year. For sea ducks and alcids the best time is late November through early March and winter gulls like Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed will linger into early May. There are usually a few Snowy Owls that spend the winter from December to April along the beaches though they can remain hidden in the extensive dunes. Summer residents include Least, Common, and Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers, and are joined by shearwaters May through November and storm-petrels from June through September. The best times for migrant landbirds are May, and September to October.
Race Point access: For access, walk the beach from the Race Point Beach parking lot (see map for details) west to the Tip (just under 2 miles one way). An alternate route is to walk out the Hatches Harbor fire Rd (see map) and cut through a dune trail to the Point itself, but this floods from ~1 hour before high tide to ~2-3ish hours after high tide and is not well marked. The best birding for shearwaters and alcids is often at the tip of Race Point, though the Cove area and anywhere along the beach can also be good (see map for waypoints).
Race Point timing: There doesn't seem to be a strong influence from the wind or tide, but a rising tide and a north or east wind tend to be a bit better on average. The gulls seem to prefer a mid to low tide to roost on the beach (the lower the better for the birds at the Tip, often less important at the Cove). The bigger influence is timing, the most activity is (typically) a NE flight out of Cape Cod bay at dawn. There is often a westbound flight a bit later in the mid morning, but the dawn flight is almost always better.
Beech Forest: A nice ~one mile loop walk around a pond and can hold migrant warblers in spring and fall. Wide trail easy to follow, there are side trails that go farther into the woods but the best birding is just along the pond.
There are birds to look at here all year long, but there is also a lot of turnover in the species composition within the year. For sea ducks and alcids the best time is late November through early March and winter gulls like Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed will linger into early May. There are usually a few Snowy Owls that spend the winter from December to April along the beaches though they can remain hidden in the extensive dunes. Summer residents include Least, Common, and Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers, and are joined by shearwaters May through November and storm-petrels from June through September. The best times for migrant landbirds are May, and September to October.
Race Point access: For access, walk the beach from the Race Point Beach parking lot (see map for details) west to the Tip (just under 2 miles one way). An alternate route is to walk out the Hatches Harbor fire Rd (see map) and cut through a dune trail to the Point itself, but this floods from ~1 hour before high tide to ~2-3ish hours after high tide and is not well marked. The best birding for shearwaters and alcids is often at the tip of Race Point, though the Cove area and anywhere along the beach can also be good (see map for waypoints).
Race Point timing: There doesn't seem to be a strong influence from the wind or tide, but a rising tide and a north or east wind tend to be a bit better on average. The gulls seem to prefer a mid to low tide to roost on the beach (the lower the better for the birds at the Tip, often less important at the Cove). The bigger influence is timing, the most activity is (typically) a NE flight out of Cape Cod bay at dawn. There is often a westbound flight a bit later in the mid morning, but the dawn flight is almost always better.better.
Beech Forest: A nice ~one mile loop walk around a pond and can hold migrant warblers in spring and fall. Wide trail easy to follow, there are side trails that go farther into the woods but the best birding is just along the pond.
There are birds to look at here all year long, but there is also a lot of turnover in the species composition within the year. For sea ducks and alcids the best time is late November through early March and winter gulls like Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed will linger into early May. There are usually a few Snowy Owls that spend the winter from December to April along the beaches though they can remain hidden in the extensive dunes. Summer residents include Least, Common, and Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers, and are joined by shearwaters May through November and storm-petrels from June through September. The best times for migrant landbirds are May, and September to October.
Race Point access: For access, walk the beach from the Race Point Beach parking lot (see map for details) west to the Tip (just under 2 miles one way). An alternate route is to walk out the Hatches Harbor fire Rd (see map) and cut through a dune trail to the Point itself, but this floods from ~1 hour before high tide to ~2-3ish hours after high tide and is not well marked. The best birding for shearwaters and alcids is often at the tip of Race Point, though the Cove area and anywhere along the beach can also be good (see map for waypoints).
Race Point timing: There doesn't seem to be a strong influence from the wind or tide, but a rising tide and a north or east wind tend to be a bit better on average. The gulls seem to prefer a mid to low tide to roost on the beach (the lower the better for the birds at the Tip, often less important at the Cove). The bigger influence is timing, the most activity is (typically) a NE flight out of Cape Cod bay at dawn. There is often a westbound flight a bit later in the mid morning, but the dawn flight is almost always better.
There are birds to look at here all year long, but there is also a lot of turnover in the species composition within the year. For sea ducks and alcids the best time is late November through early March and winter gulls like Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed will linger into early May. There are usually a few Snowy Owls that spend the winter from December to April along the beaches though they can remain hidden in the extensive dunes. Summer residents include Least, Common, and Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers, and are joined by shearwaters May through November and storm-petrels from June through September. The best times for migrant landbirds are May, and September to October.October.
Race Point timing: There doesn't seem to be a strong influence from the wind or tide, but a rising tide and a north or east wind tend to be a bit better on average. The gulls seem to prefer a mid to low tide to roost on the beach (the lower the better for the birds at the Tip, often less important at the Cove). The bigger influence is timing, the most activity is (typically) a NE flight out of Cape Cod bay at dawn. There is often a westbound flight a bit later in the mid morning, but the dawn flight is almost always better.
There are birds to look at here all year long, but there is also a lot of turnover in the species composition within the year. For sea ducks and alcids the best time is late November through early March and winter gulls like Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed will linger into early May. There are usually a few Snowy Owls that spend the winter from December to April along the beaches though they can remain hidden in the extensive dunes. Summer residents include Least, Common, and Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers, and are joined by shearwaters May through November and storm-petrels from June through September. The best times for migrant landbirds are May, and September to October.
