Oyster Pond Associates, LLC
Total Rewards and Performance Consulting for Dynamic Organizations
There are many "Oyster Ponds" throughout coastal New England.  Our Oyster Pond is in the village of West Falmouth, Massachusetts.  Oyster Pond is a kettle pond - a remnant of the glaciers that created Cape Cod.

The birds that inhabit the pond and the immediate area change by season - herons, egrets and ospreys in the summer and diving ducks in the winter.  Below are some of our thoughts on the birds featured on our website.
Osprey
This striking fisherman is the symbol of Oyster Pond Associates.  There are an increasing number of nests around the pond, in the Great Sippiwisset Marsh and around Chapoquoit Island.  Each of these nests typically fledges two chicks.  In the summer you can hear the contact whistles of the beautiful birds as the young learn to fish and fly
Belted Kingfisher
A pair of Belted Kingfishers "own" Oyster Pond.  Their call is quite distinctive - almost a rattling sound.  Scanning the edge of the pond  you can often pick out the flash of their white chests on an exposed perch.  The Belted Kingfisher is unusual in the avian world - the female is the more colorful with chestnut markings on her chest.
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron fishes on the shores of Oyster Pond and in the gullies of the surrounding marshes.  They are tall birds.  In spite of that, when they are in a gully, sometimes all you see is a head moving among the grasses.  Flying overhead they look pre-historic with their deep, slow wing-beats and their legs trailing behind.
Bufflehead
You know the cold weather is upon us when the Buffleheads return to Oyster Pond.  Oyster Pond is connected to West Falmouth Harbor by an outlet pipe under the Shining Sea Bikepath.  The addition of the salt water means that the pond is slow to freeze, so the ducks stay throughout most of the winter.  Buffleheads are diving ducks - visible one moment and gone the next!
Sanderling
Sanderlings are the "wind up toys" of the shore, dashing back and forth along the edge of the waves.  They arrive in West Falmouth in the early part of August and stay into the fall.
Herons and Egrets
There are a number of different herons and egrets that summer near Oyster Pond.  The Green Heron is a small heron that sometimes is seen watching the water from the railings of the various docks around West Falmouth Harbor
The Snowy Egret is the smaller of the white "herons" on the pond.  The Snow can also be identified by its "slipper feet" - black legs that end in distinctive yellow feet.  The Great Egret is closer to the size of the Great Blue Heron.  Herons and egrets roost in trees.  When they gather just before migration, they can make the cedars around the marsh look like they are decorated for Christmas!