Friends of Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge

05/22/2026

Looking forward to seeing shore birds returning to the refuge for nesting season? Join Fi Lowry for a bird walk on Morris Island and discover the birds of Monomoy! The walk begins at 8:00am on Saturday, May 30th, at Fred's Shed on Wikis Way in Chatham. GPS has had trouble finding our parking lot, so make sure you take Morris Island Road from the intersection of Main and Bridge Streets all the way to the island where it becomes Tisquantum Road. Go up the hill and Wikis Way will be on your left. Space on Fi's walk is limited, so sign up today! https://www.friendsofmonomoy.org/events

05/05/2026

It's that time of year, finally! Spring is in the air, days are getting longer, temperatures are warming up- and thousands of migratory shorebirds including common terns (pictured here with a tasty snack), American oystercatchers, and piping plovers are returning to Monomoy NWR. These birds rely on Monomoy's beaches and coastal habitats as a safe place to feed, nest, and raise their chicks.

🚩Important reminders🚩
- From May 1 to September 15, dogs are NOT PERMITTED on the Morris Island (mainland unit) of Monomoy NWR. This is the area accessed from the parking lot at 30 Wikis Way.
- Dogs are NEVER PERMITTED on Monomoy NWR's offshore islands (North Monomoy, South Monomoy, and Minimoy).

Curious for more information on how to have a bird-friendly visit to the beach this summer? Looking for a helpful map of local dog-friendly alternative sites to bring your pup? Look no further! Check out Monomoy's Share Our Shores webpage: https://sos.atlanticflywayshorebirds.org/monomoy-national-wildlife-refuge/

Photo credit: Savannah Gibbs / USFWS

04/26/2026

Join FOM board member Frank Kahr for a bird walk on Morris Island, Saturday May 9th. Meet at the parking lot at the end of Wikis Way at 7:30 am. Space is limited, so sign up today on our website at https://www.friendsofmonomoy.org/events

04/22/2026

In celebration of Earth Week, the Friends of Monomoy will be presenting a short documentary called "No Refuge: Cape Cod's Coastal Crisis" followed by a question and answer session with Tim Wood, editor of the Cape Cod Chronicle and Eddie Horowitz, FOM president, on Saturday, April 25th at 10:00 am. This film, created by Jan Croker, a local film maker and Tim Wood, explores the acceleration of coastal erosion and climate change. The tickets are only $10 and may be purchased at the theater or online at https://chathamorpheum.org/

04/19/2026

Chatham’s 2026 Earth Week was kicked off with a guided bird walk cosponsored by Friends of Monomoy and Chatham Conservation Foundation yesterday morning. Fi Lowry led the walk with Brandi Sikorski from Chatham Conservation Foundation. Eleven enthusiasts braved the cold temperatures and strong winds in an attempt to catch sight of some early migrants as well as some lingering over wintering sea birds. Check out the complete list! https://ebird.org/tripreport/502224

04/17/2026

04/15/2026

As part of our Earth Week celebration, Madelyn Kaplin of the Eastern Massachusetts Complex will be introducing us to the night sky on April 22nd from 4:00-5:00pm at our new visitor's center in Chatham. This presentation will provide an overview of light pollution, it's impacts on both humans and wildlife, and what we can do about it. It's free, but registration is required. Sign up on our website at: https://www.friendsofmonomoy.org/events

04/15/2026

Kick off Earth Week with a bird walk on Morris Island! Join Fi Lowry this Saturday as she looks for shorebirds returning from their South American wintering grounds (especially piping plovers, greater yellowlegs and least sandpipers), herons and egrets in the marshes and hungry predators like Northern Harrier and Peregrine falcon. Space is limited so sign up today on our website! https://www.friendsofmonomoy.org/events

04/11/2026

Chatham Earth Week schedule at a glance. Please visit our website ccfinc.org/earthweek for full information about events. We hope to see you at some of our events!

04/01/2026

💥BREAKING NEWS!💥 Alligators are quickly becoming a nuisance in Florida, so the Friends of Monomoy have generously decided to offer refuge to these endangered animals. Since their diet consists mainly of piping plovers, seals, eagles and the occasional unsuspecting tourist, Monomoy is perfectly suited to offering these magnificent creatures a new home. Everyone agrees that Monomoy’s tern colony is getting too large for the island to support, so we hope that introducing alligators will cull their numbers. Ultimately we would like to see these migratory alligators establish a breeding colony here, spending the summer on Monomoy keeping not just plover numbers in check, but seals and tourists as well, and returning to Florida for the winter. The first shipment arrives later this afternoon and will be brought directly to our salt marsh on Morris Island, so stop by and say “Hello” but don’t get too close!