Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce is running a Winter Birding Boat Trip a great winter excursion Cape Ann Winter Birding Boat Trip onboard the 7 Seas Privateer IV on March 11, 2017. Many of the area’s top ornithologists will be onboard!
For a great perspective on the trip, please read the following article that Captain Jay wrote:
Cape Ann is known worldwide for its exciting concentrations of winter seabirds. Each year thousands of birders visit the rugged coast of Cape Ann and scan the adjacent waters hoping to spot some of the unusual and highly sought-after seabirds that spend the Winter months just offshore. While some of these species do occasionally venture close enough to land to be seen from shore through a telescope, undoubtedly the best way to get to see these birds and experience them up-close is to visit them where they live… on the ocean!
On this trip we will be visiting one of New England’s most productive marine habitats: Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Stellwagen Bank is probably best known for its large concentrations of whales (Humpback and Finback especially) which attract tens-of-thousands of eager whale watchers each Spring through Fall. But the activity continues all year long! Even in Winter many species of marine wildlife can be seen, and while this trip will focus primarily on the birds of Stellwagen Bank, the possibility certainly exists that we may sight non-avian marine wildlife as well… including whales just returning from the Caribbean!
This a special opportunity for bird lovers of all skill levels to join expert guides on a tour of one of New England’s most productive marine habitats at a time when most other passenger vessels have closed down for the year. The possibilities of what we might see on this winter boat trip are endless, but in the five years we have been running this trip we have seen:
Black-legged Kittiwakes, Iceland Gulls, Glaucous Gulls, Razorbills, Dovekies, Common Murres, Thick-billed Murres, Atlantic Puffins, Common Eiders, King Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, all three scoter species, Greater Scaup, Northern Gannets, Buffleheads, Common Loons, Red-throated Loons, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, and even a Snowy Owl just to name a few! (I’m still hoping for that Great Skua!)
You may register at: http://web.capeannvacations.