BIRDING CAPE COD WEEKEND

Sponsored by the Cape Cod Bird Club

On the Birding Cape Cod Weekend, members of the Cape Cod Bird Club lead walks to top birding areas throughout Cape Cod. Usually, there are walks in each town on both Saturday and Sunday. Adults and children of all ages were welcome.

The 3rd Annual Birding Cape Cod Weekend will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 26th, 27th & 28th.

Download the schedule of events for 2008.

Birding Cape Cod Weekend Special Event
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 - 7:00pm
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary - 508-349-2615
Wayne R. Petersen – "Cape Cod: Its Birds and its Important Bird Areas"

Cape Cod has long enjoyed a reputation as an important destination for both birds and birders. Ornithologists including Oliver L. Austin, Ludlow Griscom, and Wallace Bailey all left their mark on Cape Cod’s ornithological legacy, and today the birdlife of Cape Cod is among the most carefully chronicled of any in region in New England. This tradition underscored the need for bird conservation, and today entities such as the Cape Cod National Seashore, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, and Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary stand as enduring tributes to the importance of preserving undisturbed areas for birds and other wildlife. The most recent bird conservation initiative is the Important Bird Area (IBA) Program. 

In 2001 Mass Audubon initiated the IBA Program in Massachusetts in an effort to identify areas in the state that provide essential habitat to one or more species of breeding, wintering, or migrating birds. Mass Audubon worked with knowledgeable birders, avian scientists, and representatives from state, federal, and non-profit organizations to identify, nominate, and officially designate 79 IBAs throughout the Commonwealth, including several particularly significant sites on Cape Cod.

Petersen's presentation will provide an overview of some of the birding possibilities on Cape Cod, along with giving an overview of the Massachusetts IBA program. His presentation will feature a description of some of the IBAs on Cape Cod, including their habitats and special bird life. In addition, attendees will discover how local birders can help advance the success and effectiveness of the IBA Program.

Wayne R. Petersen is Director of the Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program at the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He was the senior Field Ornithologist at Mass Audubon for 15 years before assuming the position of IBA Director in 2005. As co-author of Birds of Massachusetts (1993) and co-editor of the Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas (2003), his knowledge of the habitats, distribution, and status of the Commonwealth's bird life is both extensive and wide-ranging. A New England Regional Editor for North American Birds magazine and editor of the New England Christmas Bird Count, Wayne's knowledge of the seasonal distribution of New England bird life give him a wide perspective when thinking about Important Bird Areas in Massachusetts and beyond. He was a founding member of the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC) and is currently an associate member of the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee. In 2005 Wayne was the recipient of the American Birding Association’s Ludlow Griscom Award for outstanding contributions in regional ornithology.

Here are the results from previous Birding Cape Cod weekends:

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