Full-day or half-day trip. Note: this trip is limited to current HBC members only. Participants must purchase their own whale watch ticket as well as register online. Please read full details.
Join Brian Zylich, Aaron Hulsey, and Scott Surner for a full-day field trip (with half-day option) on August 17 to search for seabirds and shorebirds. We will go on a 3–4 hour whale watch through 7 Seas Whale Watch in Gloucester, MA to search for storm-petrels, shearwaters, gannets, and more. Then, in the afternoon, participants can choose to head home or continue on to Plum Island (Parker River National Wildlife Refuge) for a few hours in search of migrating shorebirds.
We will meet at the Belchertown Stop & Shop parking lot at 5:30 am (furthest spot from the store). From there, we will carpool to Gloucester Harbor for the 8:30 am whale watch. You can also meet us in Gloucester – we just need to know that ahead of time. The whale watch will run until about 12 pm. At this point we will eat lunch before carpooling over to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Here, we will bird until around 5 pm before heading home, arriving back in Belchertown a little after 7 pm.
REGISTRATION AND TICKET PURCHASE
This trip is only available to Hampshire Bird Club members (click to join). The trip has no limit on the number of participants. HOWEVER, to go on this trip, you must book your own ticket for $65 through 7 Seas Whale Watch (www.7seaswhalewatch.com) for the 8:30 am trip on August 17, so please buy your ticket as soon as possible since tickets may sell out as we approach the date of the trip. After your ticket purchase, you MUST also REGISTER for this field trip through the HBC website so we can collect contact details and arrange carpooling. We will also need volunteers to drive between Belchertown and Gloucester/Plum Island. There is a $5 fee per vehicle to get into Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (this is payable by cash or check only) unless you have a federal duck stamp or a national park pass.
PLANNING AND ITEMS TO BRING
Consider bringing seasickness medication (if desired, should be taken at least an hour before we board the boat), water, snacks, lunch (we may also stop somewhere to pick up lunch, but bringing your own is easiest), extra layers in case it is cold/windy out on the boat, sunscreen, insect repellent, sunglasses, binoculars, scope (optional, only useful on land), and camera (optional).
This trip is different from a traditional pelagic birding outing because we will remain relatively close to shore. Typical pelagic birding outings venture out beyond the continental shelf to the deep water where it is more likely to see pelagic birds. In Massachusetts, these trips tend to be overnight since the shelf is very far offshore. For this trip, 7 Seas Whale Watch says that they typically spend ~45 minutes traveling out to deeper waters, ~1.5 hours looking for whales and other wildlife, and another ~45 minutes returning to port. As we will not be very far offshore, sightings of pelagic birds are not guaranteed. However, mid to late August is arguably the best time to look for pelagic species off Massachusetts. We will be on the Privateer IV, which is a 108-foot whale watch boat that seats 149 people and has two decks available for viewing wildlife. If the waters are too rough to safely go out, the whale watch company will cancel the trip. However, it is possible that the water is choppy, and we do go out. If you are prone to motion sickness, please take the proper precautions, such as staying hydrated, sleeping enough the night before, not drinking alcohol the night before, and taking motion sickness medication (if desired).
For the Plum Island (Parker River National Wildlife Refuge) portion of this trip, we will meet at Lot 1 just after entering the refuge. Here, we can use the restrooms and see the Purple Martin colony. We can also check the boat ramp across the road for any saltmarsh species. Then, we will continue down the road until we get to the Salt Pannes. There, we will stop and look for any shorebirds that might be around. Time permitting, we will make a couple more stops at Hellcat Dike and Stage Island Pool to look for shorebirds, saltmarsh birds, and anything else we can find.
There will be restrooms available once we get to Gloucester, both before we get on the boat as well as on the boat itself, and once we get to Plum Island. When not on the boat, we will be birding along flat roads and maintained trails.
In the event the whale watch is canceled due to weather or rough seas, we will contact participants. If the weather onshore is not bad, we may still go to Plum Island.
For those who would like to learn more about the pelagic birds we may see on this trip, Brian will hold an educational workshop in the weeks leading up to this trip.
REMINDER, you MUST PURCHASE your own whale watch ticket AND REGISTER through the HBC website. It is recommended you purchase your ticket first to ensure space is available. You will be contacted with further details as the trip is finalized. This trip is limited to current HBC members only. Questions? Contact brian.zylich@gmail.com. (E)
Field Trip designations:
(E) – Easy conditions, fairly accessible for most, usually flat terrain on improved trails or roads.
(M) – Moderately difficult, more challenging trail conditions, short steep sections, longer hikes.
(S) – Strenuous conditions, muddy or rocky trails, steep sections, difficult footing in part.
