Cape Cod Birds - Birding Cape Cod

Birding Cape Cod

No birder should visit Cape Cod without a copy of "Birding Cape Cod." Published by the Cape Cod Bird Club and MassAudubon, this 184-page guide covers prime birding sites throughout the penninsula and sells for $15.95. It is available at most local book stores as well as The Birdwatcher's General Store in Orleans, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Checklist of the
Birds of Cape Cod

This checklist contains 322 species that have been recorded on Cape Cod at least 10 times over the last 20 years. The taxonomic sequence follows the 7th edition of the American Ornithologist’s Union Checklist of the Birds of North America (1998) and subsequent supplements. Each species’ status through the seasons is shown by means of a bar graph.

Published by the Cape Cod Bird Club, it is available from various outlets and sells for about $1.00.

Download a free pdf file here

Additions & Corrections to Birding Cape Cod

Since publication of of the most recent edition in 2005, there have been changes to a number of the sites described in Birding Cape Cod and new birding sites have been discovered. Here I'll attempt to make up-to-date information available to birders.

South Beach, Chatham

South Beach in Chatham is one of the premiere birding destinations on Cape Cod, particularly during the summer and fall when thousands of shorebirds, terns, and gulls feed and roost in the area. Although the beach is covered in the "Birding Cape Cod" guide, the geomorphology of the area is extremely dynamic, with dramatic changes occurring so frequently that published information can be obsolete before it reaches print. The web, however, provides an equally dynamic means of keeping visiting birders informed of up-to-date conditions, access, and birding potential. Click here for the latest on South Beach.

Foss Woods, Provincetown

Foss Woods is a fairly new (and newly discovered) mosaic of conservation lands and private property at the east end of Provincetown that has proven to be very productive for spring migrants. A description of the area can be found here.

- This site sponsored by the Birdwatcher's General Store -

odenews@odenews.org