Brush Island, located just offshore from Little Harbor in Cohasset, is a rock island that is the site of one of the state's largest Double-crested Cormorant rookeries. It typically supports nesting cormorants and gulls.

One of the top four coastal nest sites for Double-crested Cormorants (747 pairs, 1994) during the Massachusetts Coastal Colonial Waterbird Inventory, exceeded only by Milk Island (Rockport), Middle Brewster Island (Boston), and Weepecket Island (Gosnold).

There are several different birding boat tours, whale watches, and pelagic trips that leave from Massachuestts ports. For pelagic trips, familiarize yourself with eBird's pelagic protocol and use the appropriate personal locations or eBird hotspots

The eBird pelagic protocol applies to checklists that are made farther than two miles offshore on oceans, seas, or large lakes. Choose the Pelagic Protocol option from the ‘Other’ menu of Observation Types. Please note that we still have much to learn about seabird distribution, so we encourage you to add photos and notes to document your sightings on your checklists! 

If you’re moving: Count for up to 60 minutes on each checklist; stopping at the 1-hour mark. Record the distance traveled (ideally with eBird Mobile Tracks), adjust the distance estimate for backtracking as you would a traveling checklist, and choose a location on the map for where you started that checklist period. Repeat this process throughout the trip until you return to within two miles of shore.

If you’re anchored: Keep a checklist for as long as you’re anchored, and then follow the above instructions once you start to move again.