Whales and Shorebirds

19 – 27 August 2026

 

    A Least Sandpiper nonbreeding adult forages in the shallows of Provincetown harbor flats

I did my first Provincetown whale watch in September 2016. This August I made my 8^th visit to Provincetown to look at whales and hunt for migrant shorebirds. This trip I combined with a quick visit to Long Island, where I gave a Godwit book talk in Setauket/Stony Brook and also did a shorebird walk on the South Shore.

    A winter-plumage Bonaparte's Gull walks the mud of the flats.

I had a hunch getting to Stony Brook might be a driving challenge. So I decided to drive to Princeton and spend the night with David Wilcove. This was made memorable by dinner at Eno Terra in Kingston and then breakfast at PJ’s on Nassau Street. Princeton is always a worthwhile spot to visit! And being in Princeton considerably shortened my drive to LI.

    Great Black-backed Gull stretching

The drive to Long Island, as expected, was a challenge. My GPS took me across Staten Island, across the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, then through the heart of Brooklyn on Interstate 287 (taking me right under the Brooklyn Bridge!) where highway speeds varied from 5-25 MPH for more than an hour. The hypothetically more pleasant route via the Belt Parkway was nixed by my GPS because of ongoing road construction.

    A nonbreeding dowitcher working the mud

I stayed two nights with Luci and Stephen Nash in Stony Brook. Luci is a gung-ho birder and Stephen is a colleague who I worked with for a decade at Conservation International. Both Luci and Stephen are accomplished scientific illustrators. Luci focused on the osteology of fossil vertebrates. Stephen, an expert on primates, worked with me to illustrate a tree kangaroo poster as well as a small and beautifully-illustrated nature guide to the YUS Conservation Area in Papua New Guinea. It was nice to catch up with Stephen and to get to know Luci. They maintain a lovely home with lots of hummingbirds and native plants. The house is filled with science books.

For my book talk, I was hosted by John Turner and the Four Harbors Audubon Society and Enrico Nardone of the Seatuck Environmental Association. The meeting gave me an opportunity to meet and chat with environmentalist Carl Safina (author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Alfie and Me), as well as Professor Doug Futuyma (author of How Birds Evolve).

Friday morning Luci and I drove south with another birding friend and we met John Turner and Enrico Nardone at the boat ramp on Moriches Bay—a beautiful estuary hemmed in by the long barrier island on the south shore of Long Island that includes Cupsogue Beach County Park (this is east of Fire Island). We boated out to an uninhabited  sand island in the middle of the Bay and walked for two hours among the terns, gulls, and shorebirds. Highlights were Red Knots and Black Terns. Our hunt for godwits and whimbrels fell short, but the group of birders included an assortment of local experts, making the walk a delight. There are some very smart and accomplished birders on Long Island! 

    Semipalmated Sandpiper at work

On Saturday morning I drove eastward to Orient Point to catch the ferry to New London, Connecticut. The 90-minute ferry ride was made enjoyable by a sighting of a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel and a chat with a young fisherman who knew the local commerical and game fishes cold. That very week he had pulled in 200+ pound Bluefin Tuna that went to NYC for the restaurant trade. He was headed north and east like me to do some fishing with aa buddy off Cape Cod.

From New London to Provincetown was a pleasant drive, punctuated by a stop at the Orleans Stop-n-Shop to fill my cooler with food and ice.

I set up camp in the late afternoon at site 9 on the highest hill of Dune’s Edge Campground, a property owned by the Trustees. This is the nicest campground on Cape Cod—wooded with Pitch Pine and Black Oak. I bedded down early and was serenaded by two counter-calling Great Horned Owls.

    Double-crested Cormorants atop the breakwater of Provincetown Harbor

Sunday morning I headed by bicycle to McMillan Wharf to meet Dennis Minsky, who serves as a naturalist on the Dolphin Fleet whalewatch.

The bike ride to the boat from the campground take 5 minutes. I was able to shadow Dennis for two whale-watches on Sunday and another two on Tuesday.

These four whalewatches were, no doubt, the highlight of my visit to the Cape.

Sunday I photographed a basking Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola). Always a treat to see this, the largest of the bony fishes. I think I saw a total of 8 of these big creatures over the two days on the boat.

    Ocean Sunfish on sea surface

We had nine Humpback Whales on Sunday. The captain also glimped a single Minke Whale. Lastly, we encountered a bunch of Gray Seals hauled out on the beach at Long Point.

There were quite a few Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, including a single individual foraging next to our boat that was parked in the inner harbor. Strange! It may have been there because of the thick fog that greeted us this AM.

    Wilson's Storm-Petrel close up

The big surprise was the lack of shearwaters. We normally get to see four species from the boat, but today we saw only 3 Great Shearwaters. Where were all the others? The whale highlight was a close up whale that spy-hopped by the boat (its head coming up so it could peer at us with its big eye).

    Wilson's Storm-Petrel in harbor interior--why?

Other whales spent time raising their long flippers and slapping them against the water. The all-white flippers really stand out against the blue sea.

    This and the next seven images feature Humpback Whales.

Monday’s two boat trips produced more Sunfish and 19 Humpback Whales. The PM boat produced whales that breached many times. That’s special… This was perhaps my best whale watch ever.

    Small fishing boats would shadow us in order to get close to a whale.

It was great to hear the crowd on the boat gasp and cheer when a whale came out of the water.

    Humpback coming out of the water like a rocket! 

We were able to watch one whale work out right next to another whalewatch boat—sending their passengers into paroxysms of joy.

My last two days in P’town included a walk out through Hatch’s Harbor to Race Point, with Dennis. This was beautiful and pleasant but relatively bird-free. Very few shorebirds…

    Clouds over the Provincetown harbor

Two afternoons were devoted to walking the Provincetown harbor flats, west of the rock wall, at low tide. This is the best walk for birders in Provincetown. Scores of Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, lots of yellowlegs, and flocks of roosting Roseate Terns.

    Adult Roseate Tern attended by a yearling wanting some food.

    a yearling Piping Plover

A single juvenile Hudsonian Godwit

    Hudsonian Godwit in flight

Lots of peeps and yellowlegs.

    Greater Yellowlegs

My last two nights at Dune’s Edge was made more interesting by an Eastern Screech-Owl singing (both songs) over my tent, and a pre-dawn visit by a confiding Red Fox that I conversed with as I packed the car to depart for home.

    A juvenile Hudsonian Godwit eyes me suspiciously

I recommend Provincetown in early September (or late August)—after the town Carnival. For those who camp, Dune’s Edge is superlative.