December 2025 Waterfowl Census MJ Foti, Volunteer Coordinator
During the first weekend of November of 1983, Blair Nikula and members of the Cape Cod Bird Club initiated a census of the lakes and ponds on Cape Cod. Participants were instructed to identify and count all the waterfowl (loons, grebes, geese, ducks, and coot) present on each pond. Covering 202 ponds, participants tallied 3,957 individuals of 22 species of waterfowl.
The census continued the following year but was moved to the first weekend in December. Many
ducks and geese do not arrive on Cape Cod until in-land bodies of water freeze, and the later date would
more closely coincide with peak water-fowl numbers locally. Covering 225 ponds, 25 species of water-
fowl were counted with 9,097 individuals being recorded. That year, and in those following, detailed accounts of each species on each pond were recorded. These provide the data presented on the waterfowl website.
Now in its 42nd year, the Cape Cod Waterfowl Census is an excellent example of citizen science in which volunteers can gather significant data and make a meaningful contribution to our knowledge of the Massachusetts avifauna. Waterfowl are relatively conspicuous, generally easy to identify, and thus readily censused with a reasonable effort.
This year, during the weekend of December 6 and 7, there were 24 teams with 47 individual volunteers demonstrating their impressive collective birding skills as they scouted primary observation locations, recorded data and entered observation results within days of the survey.
Frozen pond conditions were widely reported on Saturday morning. A total of 29 species of waterfowl and 13,493 individual birds were seen on 343 of our freshwater ponds – a difference of only 20 waterfowl compared to last year. These include 26 species of ducks, in addition to Canada Goose, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Mute Swan, and American Coot. Some of the more notable finds include 4 Northern Shoveler, 21 Northern Pintail and 7 Eurasian Wigeon. Canada Goose numbers continue to increase with an all-time high of 1,929 this year.
I wish to express my appreciation to the dedicated volunteers, both newcomers and seasoned veterans, for their spirit, enthusiasm, and drive. Please visit our website where you will find a link to all waterfowl survey data in spreadsheet format from 1984 through the present. capecodwaterfowl.org
You can also check out the eBird trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/440231
Looking forward to seeing you on the trails in 2026!