New England in winter may be cold and icy, but it’s nothing a plate of maple syrup-covered pancakes and great birding can’t fix. The thrill of birding this winter wonderland is never knowing what may show up. Each winter brings the possibility of Varied Thrush, Hoary Redpoll, Pink-footed Goose, Gyrfalcon, or even something totally new. The coastal coves hold rafts of eiders and scoters and we’ll scan from all the best vantage points for alcids. In the tidal marshes and beach dunes we will search for the immaculate Snowy Owl. In the open fields Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs congregate. Many species of gulls frequent local piers and we’ll be sure to check for scarcer ones among these.

Day 1: Arrival in Boston. The tour begins at 3:00 p.m. at Logan airport and we’ll drive to Newburyport, our base for the next two nights.

Day 2: Portsmouth and Rye. Just north of Newburyport lie the rocky shores, inlets, and harbors of Portsmouth, where we’ll have our first taste of seaducks, loons, gulls, and alcids. Razorbill, Black Guillemot, and white-winged gulls are high on our target list.

With a bit of luck, the superb Snowy Owl will be in the area. After exploring Portsmouth, we’ll head to Plum Island and Parker River NWR where we’ll hit the beach for shorebirds, and scan for Northern Gannet and Red-necked Grebe offshore. We’ll make an evening stop for Short-eared Owl before returning to Newburyport.

Day 3: Cape Cod. We’ll wake early so we can make the long drive to Chatham, where we´ll spend the next two nights. Here we’ll find vast stretches of barrier beaches, and overlooks where we’ll seek out flocks of Purple Sandpipers on the jetties, and Snow Buntings, “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, and Lapland Longspurs in the dunes. A stop at the Chatham Fishing Pier could turn up Black-legged Kittiwake.

Day 4: Provincetown and Cape Cod. The tip of the peninsula’s curling arm is a spectacular vantage point. Here we’ll scan for Common and Thick-billed Murres, and perhaps a passing Humpback or Right Whale will spike our adrenaline. If Cape Cod’s beach dunes, saltmarshes, and tidal rivers and ponds are snow-covered, they could offer up Snowy Owl and seaducks. Among the mix of Common Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, and Common Goldeneye, we’ll set our sights on picking out the odd Barrow’s Goldeneye.

Day 5: Sachuest Point and Brenton Point. After another early start, we dash west to the Rhode Island harbors. Sachuest Point NWR holds the largest congregation of Harlequin Ducks on the

East Coast, and we’ll spend time observing this dazzling duck. Bufflehead should be out, along with Black, Surf, and White-winged Scoters. Onshore, we could find a good mix of raptors including Rough-legged Hawk and Merlin. An evening stop for Short-eared Owl will complete our New England experience. After dinner we return to Boston for the night.

Day 6: Boston. The tour ends with a post-breakfast morning shuttle to the airport.