Cape Cod - Part 3 (Craigville and Hyannis, June 18-20, 2017)

Herring River in Craigville

Craigville Beach

Laughing Gull in situ, Hyannis

Laughing Gull Leucocephalus atricilla

Herring Gull Larus argentatus

Willet Tringa semipalmata

Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

juvenile American Robin Turdus migratorius

juvenile Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolour

Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina

Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus

  While staying in the Cape, I was based in the sleepy cottage country of Craigville, on the south coast. There were loads of fledglings about – Common Grackles being fed next to a creek, young American Robins harassing adult birds, Red-winged Blackbirds (including one freshly fledged bird that appeared to have some kind of grotesque avian conjunctivitis), and a family of Tufted Titmouse (Titmice?).
  I was jarred from slumber on two mornings by a rousing dawn chorus – first in was the song of an American Robin (at 4:15 on the nose), followed closely by the sounds of Mourning Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, several brief White-throated Sparrow phrases, House Finch, and American Goldfinch. A lovely racket, I wasn’t complaining.
  I checked in on the swampy (and tick-infested) area where the Herring River empties into Craigville Beach several times. An Eastern Box Turtle was a pleasant surprise there, as was a flyby by a pair of Mute Swans. Gray Catbirds were thick on the ground, and four local Ospreys patrolled over the swampy bits, regularly putting up several jumpy Willets. Other Craigville observations included a Green Heron, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Northern Mockingbird.
  Hyannis was passed through a few times, and it was there that I got my first looks at Laughing Gulls, Fish Crows, and Horseshoe Crabs. While driving through Hyannis, we passed a reedy pond where I saw/heard several fluttery Black Terns. Is that an odd record this time of year on the Cape? Who knows.