Discover island adventures on the untamed shores of the Weepecket Islands! The Naushon Island Trust permits public access to the beach on the largest of these three islands, where you can enjoy unrivaled coastal solitude on the clear waters of outer Buzzards Bay. 

The Weepecket Islands are a string of three small, rocky islands less than a quarter mile off the northern edge of Naushon Island, part of the Elizabeth Island chain. The southeastern shore of the largest Weepecket features a beautiful sandy beach, where shallow-draft vessels can pull directly onto the sand. Larger boats can easily anchor close enough to the beach to take a dinghy, paddle, or swim ashore. There, you’ll find an untamed shoreline that seems straight out of a pirate adventure story, with clear waters perfect for swimming and snorkeling. The island’s sandy beach provides great beachcombing for sea glass and interesting shells like scallops and whelks. 

The remainder of the large island, and its two smaller neighbors, is composed of rocks and scrubby vegetation that serves as a home for many nesting birds. Visitors to the Weepeckets are asked to remain on the beach, both for your safety and to protect endangered roseate and common terns, who visit this island in the summer. Paddlers exploring the area will find the two smaller islands interesting features to circumnavigate, keeping an eye out for seals and birds.

Gulls and cormorants rule the Weepecket Islands, settling in large flocks on these rocky shores. These rocks also host harbor seals and gray seals, especially in the winter. 

Marine life of all sorts flocks to the waters around the Elizabeth Islands thanks to its large, healthy beds of eelgrass. This eelgrass provides fabulous habitat for shellfish and fish, including famously large striped bass that attract fishermen from around New England. 

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.