An Island Shared
From migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway to seals hauling out on winter beaches, Nantucket is both a year-round community and an active wildlife corridor — where volunteers often step in when animals and human activity intersect.
Credit: PVRM Shutterstock
Seasonal Migration Calendar
Spring (Mar–June)
Shorebirds (American Oystercatchers, Piping Plovers) return to breed. Fish like striped bass and young eels arrive in local waters.
Summer (July–Aug)
Humpback whales peak in abundance. Ocean fish like bluefin tuna chase prey up the coast.
Autumn (Sept–Nov)
Mass departure of terns and plovers. North Atlantic right whales begin moving south toward calving grounds.
Winter (Dec–Feb)
Snowy owls arrive from the Arctic. Gray seals establish large pupping colonies on Muskeget.
For wildlife, Nantucket is not simply a place where people live. It is also a stopover, nursery, and seasonal refuge.
But the island is also threaded with roads, construction projects, landscaping equipment, pets, and heavy seasonal traffic. That overlap between human activity and wildlife habitat is where most rescues begin.
A bird collides with a window.
A rabbit is struck by a car.
A baby squirrel falls from a tree after a storm.
A seal pup appears alone on a crowded beach.
Each situation requires quick judgment — whether to intervene, whom to call, and how to safely move an animal that may already be injured or stressed.
The Rhythm of Rescue
Wildlife rescue on Nantucket follows a seasonal cycle. Rain Harbison, the founder of Nantucket Animal Rescue, describes the rhythm not as a steady flow, but as a pattern tied closely to the natural calendar. She often quotes a line from Tom Waits’ song Red Barn that captures it simply:
“Roadkill has its seasons, just like anything.”
On Nantucket, those seasons arrive predictably. Autumn brings possums crossing roads in search of food before winter. Winter and early spring mark seal pupping season, when young seals appear along remote stretches of beach. Spring brings migratory birds, many exhausted after long flights across the Atlantic.
Soon after comes what rescuers often call “baby season.”
Rabbits appear in shallow nests hidden in lawns and gardens.
Young squirrels begin venturing out of trees.
Bird nests fill hedges and rooflines across the island.
This period can be the busiest time of year for rescuers, as storms, predators, pets, and human activity all increase the chances of young animals being injured or displaced.
Photos courtesy: Rain Harbison Nantucket Animal Rescue
Photos, from top: Rain Harbison of Nantucket Animal Rescue assists with the rescue of a seabird along the island’s shoreline; A rescued barn owl rests on a handler’s glove during a recovery check. Birds of prey are among the species most commonly assisted by the volunteer wildlife network; Volunteers with Nantucket Animal Rescue gather on the beach during a wildlife response. The organization relies on a small network of residents who help locate, stabilize, and transport injured animals across the island.
Avian Migration
Nantucket is a vital "rest stop" where millions of birds refuel during their journeys.
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Spring Arrivals: American oystercatchers are among the first to return in early March, followed by Piping plovers in late March and Osprey by the end of the month.
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Peak Periods: The main spring migration for songbirds typically runs from April through June, while fall migration occurs from September through November.
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Nocturnal Travel: Millions of birds travel at night during peak seasons, using the island's dark skies and conservation land for protection.
Migratory Mammal Movements
The waters around Nantucket host significant populations of whales and seals at specific times of the year.
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Right Whales: These endangered whales are frequently spotted in "slow zones" southeast and southwest of Nantucket during late winter and spring (January through April) as they feed and mate before heading further north.
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Gray Seals: Muskeget Island, west of Nantucket, is the largest gray seal pupping colony in the United States. Pupping season peaks from early December through early February.
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Winter Visitors: While harbor and gray seals are present year-round, harp and hooded seals typically visit only during the winter and spring months.
When Good Intentions Cause Harm
One of the most difficult challenges in wildlife rescue is not always the animals themselves — it is human behavior.
Harbison says many people act with good intentions but unintentionally make situations worse.
“Believe it or not,” she explains, "one of the biggest challenges is well-intentioned citizens kidnapping wildlife, habituating it, or feeding it unnatural foods."
People sometimes assume a young animal is abandoned when it is not. Others attempt to care for wildlife themselves, removing animals from their natural environments or giving them foods that can be harmful.
Wild animals that become accustomed to human feeding can lose their natural survival instincts. In other cases, animals are separated from parents who may still be nearby.
In many situations, the correct response is simply observation rather than intervention — but determining that can be difficult in the moment.
That is often where Nantucket Animal Rescue steps in, helping residents understand what the animal actually needs.
The Challenge of Distance
Rescue work on Nantucket carries an additional complication that mainland communities do not face: There is no wildlife rehabilitation center on the island.
Because there is no rehab center on the island, when animals are seriously injured or orphaned, they often must be transported to licensed wildlife rehabilitators on Cape Cod or elsewhere on the mainland. That process can be complicated.
Available space at rehabilitation centers varies. Ferry schedules, weather conditions, and volunteer availability all play a role. In some cases, rehabilitators must also determine whether the animal can realistically be treated.
“It’s very time consuming,” noting that each case requires coordination between multiple people and organizations. Sometimes the process involves stabilizing an animal locally before arranging transport. In other cases, volunteers must physically accompany the animal on ferries to reach mainland care facilities.
Every rescue involves its own logistical puzzle.
A Community Network
Because of these constraints, wildlife rescue on Nantucket often relies on a network of volunteers and residents who help in small but critical ways.
A landscaper may spot a nest disturbed during yard work, a driver may stop traffic to move a turtle crossing the road or a fisherman may report an injured bird along the harbor.
Sometimes residents help transport animals to ferry terminals or coordinate with rehabilitators off-island.
Most of these moments never become public stories. They resolve quietly, animal by animal, through cooperation between people who simply care about the island’s wildlife.
A Fragile Balance
Nantucket’s wildlife faces pressures common to many coastal communities, but intensified by the island’s geography.
Limited land area concentrates both wildlife and human activity. Seasonal population surges increase traffic and disturbance. Landscaping and construction can disrupt nesting sites and habitats.
At the same time, large areas of conservation land continue to support diverse animal populations.
The result is a landscape where nature remains present and visible — but frequently intersects with the edges of human life. That is where most rescues begin.
Quiet Work, Often Unseen
Wildlife rescue is rarely visible unless something goes wrong.
It happens on back roads at night, in backyard gardens, and along ferry routes carrying animals to rehabilitation centers off the island. For the people who do the work, it is patient, unpredictable, and sometimes heartbreaking.
But it is also one of the quieter ways a community expresses care for the place it lives.
And on Nantucket — where nature and neighborhood often exist side by side — that work may be more important than most people realize.
- Kayley Jensen
Creative & Content Contributor
3/6/26