Bird Island is a tiny island in Buzzards Bay

Buzzards Bay

Buzzards Bay is a bay along the southern edge of Massachusetts in the United States. The name may also refer to:*Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, a village in Bourne, Massachusetts*Buzzards Bay , the name of the horse that won the 2005 Santa Anita Derby...

 at the mouth of Sippican Harbor, less than a mile off the mainland coast of the town of Marion

Marion, Massachusetts

Marion is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,123 at the 2000 census.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Marion Center, please see the article Marion Center, Massachusetts.-History:...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 (USA).

Landmarks

The only landmarks on Bird Island are a flagpole and an historic 36 feet (11 m)-high lighthouse. Bird Island Light

Bird Island Light

Bird Island Light is an historic lighthouse at the entrance to Sippican Harbor, Marion, Massachusetts.The current 31 ft tower was built when the light was first established in 1819. Three months after it was first lit, with William Moore as the keeper, it was badly damaged by a storm. It was...

 was formerly manned but now runs automatically.
The hurricane of September 21, 1938, caused widespread destruction all along the south coast of New England. High tide in the evening of the hurricane was 14 feet (4.3 m) above normal. The great storm swept away every building on Bird Island except the lighthouse tower.

Flora and fauna

Bird Island is notable as a sanctuary and major breeding ground of the Roseate Tern

Roseate Tern

The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

, a bird from which the island gained its name.

Sources

• The Standard Times newspaper of New Bedford
  New Bedford, Massachusetts
  New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
  
  Massachusetts.
• Rhode Island, Massachusetts & New Hampshire Maptech Embassy Guide, ISBN 0-7436-0617-5