WhenToBird

Birding spot · Barnstable County, Massachusetts

Birding at Cape Cod National Seashore: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Cape Cod National Seashore are Northern Gannet (94%), Great Black-backed Gull (92%), and White-winged Scoter (92%). It is busiest in summer, when 53 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in mid July (56 species). 192 species have been reported here across 3,402 complete checklists from 1,480 birders.

Species by week

0204060Jan 1-7: 35 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsJan 8-14: 37 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsJan 15-21: 30 species on 5%+ of 44 checklistsJan 22-31: 29 species on 5%+ of 67 checklistsFeb 1-7: 30 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsFeb 8-14: 36 species on 5%+ of 38 checklistsFeb 15-21: 32 species on 5%+ of 54 checklistsFeb 22-28: 36 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsMar 1-7: 34 species on 5%+ of 51 checklistsMar 8-14: 41 species on 5%+ of 58 checklistsMar 15-21: 34 species on 5%+ of 55 checklistsMar 22-31: 40 species on 5%+ of 58 checklistsApr 1-7: 38 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsApr 8-14: 33 species on 5%+ of 41 checklistsApr 15-21: 51 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsApr 22-30: 42 species on 5%+ of 73 checklistsMay 1-7: 43 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsMay 8-14: 49 species on 5%+ of 77 checklistsMay 15-21: 52 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsMay 22-31: 48 species on 5%+ of 88 checklistsJun 1-7: 49 species on 5%+ of 45 checklistsJun 8-14: 48 species on 5%+ of 75 checklistsJun 15-21: 50 species on 5%+ of 79 checklistsJun 22-30: 44 species on 5%+ of 87 checklistsJul 1-7: 50 species on 5%+ of 89 checklistsJul 8-14: 52 species on 5%+ of 67 checklistsJul 15-21: 56 species on 5%+ of 63 checklistsJul 22-31: 51 species on 5%+ of 107 checklistsAug 1-7: 46 species on 5%+ of 84 checklistsAug 8-14: 52 species on 5%+ of 88 checklistsAug 15-21: 52 species on 5%+ of 94 checklistsAug 22-31: 54 species on 5%+ of 120 checklistsSep 1-7: 48 species on 5%+ of 104 checklistsSep 8-14: 50 species on 5%+ of 79 checklistsSep 15-21: 49 species on 5%+ of 76 checklistsSep 22-30: 48 species on 5%+ of 112 checklistsOct 1-7: 50 species on 5%+ of 111 checklistsOct 8-14: 46 species on 5%+ of 99 checklistsOct 15-21: 50 species on 5%+ of 78 checklistsOct 22-31: 48 species on 5%+ of 88 checklistsNov 1-7: 56 species on 5%+ of 64 checklistsNov 8-14: 47 species on 5%+ of 85 checklistsNov 15-21: 37 species on 5%+ of 62 checklistsNov 22-30: 43 species on 5%+ of 113 checklistsDec 1-7: 36 species on 5%+ of 57 checklistsDec 8-14: 39 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsDec 15-21: 47 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsDec 22-31: 30 species on 5%+ of 108 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1Northern Gannet94%
  2. 2Great Black-backed Gull92%
  3. 3White-winged Scoter92%
  4. 4American Herring Gull89%
  5. 5Common Eider88%
  6. 6Red-breasted Merganser85%
  7. 7Ring-billed Gull81%
  8. 8Double-crested Cormorant76%
  9. 9Black Scoter73%
  10. 10Sanderling73%
  11. 11Red-throated Loon70%
  12. 12Razorbill67%
  13. 13Black-legged Kittiwake66%
  14. 14Bonaparte's Gull66%
  15. 15Common Loon62%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 31 species

  1. Great Black-backed Gull91%
  2. American Herring Gull91%
  3. White-winged Scoter83%
  4. Red-breasted Merganser80%
  5. Common Eider78%

Spring 43 species

  1. American Herring Gull83%
  2. Great Black-backed Gull82%
  3. Red-breasted Merganser79%
  4. Northern Gannet76%
  5. Common Loon61%

Summer 53 species

  1. Least Tern93%
  2. Great Black-backed Gull93%
  3. Common Tern91%
  4. Double-crested Cormorant90%
  5. American Herring Gull88%

Fall 50 species

  1. Great Black-backed Gull92%
  2. American Herring Gull88%
  3. Northern Gannet77%
  4. Sanderling76%
  5. Double-crested Cormorant75%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Massachusetts.

  • Parasitic Jaeger22% of checklists here vs 0.2% statewide: 118.5×
  • Sooty Shearwater16% of checklists here vs 0.1% statewide: 105.4×
  • Great Shearwater27% of checklists here vs 0.3% statewide: 98.5×
  • Manx Shearwater23% of checklists here vs 0.3% statewide: 89.3×
  • Black-legged Kittiwake25% of checklists here vs 0.3% statewide: 88.8×
  • Common Murre7.9% of checklists here vs 0.1% statewide: 81.6×
  • Cory's Shearwater7.8% of checklists here vs 0.1% statewide: 81.1×
  • Wilson's Storm-Petrel9.6% of checklists here vs 0.1% statewide: 73.3×

Nearby spots

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.