Special Birds of Massachusetts

Massachusetts is a great place to look for birds, with historical significance for birders as well: the Nuttall Ornithological Club (precursor to the American Ornithologists' Union) was founded in Cambridge in 1873, while the Massachusetts Audubon Society (the oldest in the country) was formed in 1896 to protest the use of bird feathers in the millinery trade. As for the birds themselves, they are many and varied here. Numerous sites along the coast like Plum Island and Cape Ann are famous for attracting a plethora of migrating songbirds and wintering waterbirds. Cape Cod has colonies of rare nesting seabirds like Piping Plover and Roseate Tern, while frequent whale-watching trips enable one to see pelagic birds that can't be easily seen from shore. The mountains to the west in Berkshire County have songbirds like Olive-sided Flycatcher that don't nest elsewhere in the state. At all times of year, Massachusetts is a birder's delight.