Interested in taking action to protect horseshoe crabs in Massachusetts? Migrating shorebirds depend on their eggs for critical migration fuel and there are multiple ways you can get involved as a concerned citizen:
Take action today!
– Share comments on a current proposal to list the Horseshoe Crab as a Species of Special Concern
Comments are due by April 23rd at 5pm and may be sent via email to susan.sacco@mass.gov to the attention of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board
– Participate in the proposal to close Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury Bays to the Horseshoe Crab Take
Contact the Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (contact: Sharl Heller)
Ways to get involved:
– Massachusetts Horseshoe Crab Collaborative
Visit their website to learn more and join over 2,000 Massachusetts residents who have gone on record as wanting an end to taking horseshoe crabs for bait, even as they come ashore to spawn. Also visit their facebook page or contact Sharl Heller at the Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance.
– Manomet
See their website and examples of their critical work with horseshoe crabs. Volunteer, make a donation, and more.
– Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition
Visit their website to learn more and take action.
Resources to learn more: (curated by the MA Horseshoe Crab Collaborative)
– When the Horseshoe Crabs are Gone, We’ll Be in Trouble. Deborah Cramer, The New York Times.
– Horseshoe crabs have roamed the planet for 450 million years, but they could be running out of time, Renée Loth, Boston Globe.
– The Horseshoe Crab Saved Us. Can We Save the Horseshoe Crab? I am BIO Podcast.
– Connecticut’s 2023 elimination of horseshoe crab commercial harvests and Governor Lamont’s call for neighboring states “to join this growing coalition and enact similar laws to protect the population in their waters.”
– Fishermen capturing spawning horseshoe crabs—Horseshoe Crab Capture: Video by Raymond MacDonald.
April 24 Annual Members Meeting & Lecture – All Welcome
April 24 Annual Members Meeting & Lecture - All Welcome Please join us on April 24 for our Annual Members Meeting. The evening begins with a social hour at 6:30. The program starts at 7:30
4/19 Tawny-Throated Dotterel Webinar & Donation
4/19 Tawny-Throated Dotterel Webinar & Donation Upcoming Webinar Please join the BBC on April 19 at 7PM for a webinar open to all with Manomet Conservation Sciences staff and collaborators - Actions to Promote the
April 28 Webinar – Wood-Warblers of New England
April 28 Webinar with Bill Gette - Wood-Warblers of New England Please join the BBC on the evening of April 28 from 7PM to 8:30PM for a members-only webinar with Bill Gette entitled Wood-Warblers of
May 5 Webinar – Rescue Wildlife from Rodenticides
May 5 Webinar Open to All with Heather Packard, Mass Audubon - Rescue Wildlife from Rodenticides Please join the BBC on the evening of Tuesday, May 5 from 7PM to 8:30PM for a webinar with
Donation to Preserve Cliff Swallow Colony in Rowe
Donation to Preserve Cliff Swallow Colony in Rowe The BBC is pleased to announce our donation of $500 to Swallow Conservation, led by Mara Silver, to help fund the installation of a free-standing Cliff Swallow
2026 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards
2026 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards The Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Lily Rogers of Brimfield and Gwyn Robertson-DuBois of Northfield. These scholarships
April 24 Annual Members Meeting & Lecture – All Welcome
April 24 Annual Members Meeting & Lecture - All Welcome Please join us on April 24 for our Annual Members Meeting. The evening begins with a social hour at 6:30. The program starts at 7:30
4/19 Tawny-Throated Dotterel Webinar & Donation
4/19 Tawny-Throated Dotterel Webinar & Donation Upcoming Webinar Please join the BBC on April 19 at 7PM for a webinar open to all with Manomet Conservation Sciences staff and collaborators - Actions to Promote the
April 28 Webinar – Wood-Warblers of New England
April 28 Webinar with Bill Gette - Wood-Warblers of New England Please join the BBC on the evening of April 28 from 7PM to 8:30PM for a members-only webinar with Bill Gette entitled Wood-Warblers of
May 5 Webinar – Rescue Wildlife from Rodenticides
May 5 Webinar Open to All with Heather Packard, Mass Audubon - Rescue Wildlife from Rodenticides Please join the BBC on the evening of Tuesday, May 5 from 7PM to 8:30PM for a webinar with
Donation to Preserve Cliff Swallow Colony in Rowe
Donation to Preserve Cliff Swallow Colony in Rowe The BBC is pleased to announce our donation of $500 to Swallow Conservation, led by Mara Silver, to help fund the installation of a free-standing Cliff Swallow
2026 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards
2026 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards The Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Lily Rogers of Brimfield and Gwyn Robertson-DuBois of Northfield. These scholarships
April 24 Annual Members Meeting & Lecture – All Welcome
April 24 Annual Members Meeting & Lecture - All Welcome Please join us on April 24 for our Annual Members Meeting. The evening begins with a social hour at 6:30. The program starts at 7:30
4/19 Tawny-Throated Dotterel Webinar & Donation
4/19 Tawny-Throated Dotterel Webinar & Donation Upcoming Webinar Please join the BBC on April 19 at 7PM for a webinar open to all with Manomet Conservation Sciences staff and collaborators - Actions to Promote the
April 28 Webinar – Wood-Warblers of New England
April 28 Webinar with Bill Gette - Wood-Warblers of New England Please join the BBC on the evening of April 28 from 7PM to 8:30PM for a members-only webinar with Bill Gette entitled Wood-Warblers of
May 5 Webinar – Rescue Wildlife from Rodenticides
May 5 Webinar Open to All with Heather Packard, Mass Audubon - Rescue Wildlife from Rodenticides Please join the BBC on the evening of Tuesday, May 5 from 7PM to 8:30PM for a webinar with
Donation to Preserve Cliff Swallow Colony in Rowe
Donation to Preserve Cliff Swallow Colony in Rowe The BBC is pleased to announce our donation of $500 to Swallow Conservation, led by Mara Silver, to help fund the installation of a free-standing Cliff Swallow
2026 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards
2026 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards The Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Lily Rogers of Brimfield and Gwyn Robertson-DuBois of Northfield. These scholarships
News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Field Trips / Events
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Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord
Concord - Great Meadows Concord Unit, Entrance Rd, Concord, MA, United StatesWe will look for early migrants, waterfowl, and waders. Conditions may be wet; boots advised. Note that an entrance fee or pass is required.
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Fruitlands Museum, Harvard
Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United StatesCosponsored with Boxborough Birders. We will look for local avian non-migratory species and early migrant arrivals. Expect to walk about two miles on trails through meadows and woods, with some steep sections. Prepare for ticks. We will bird at the meeting location for about 30 minutes so any latecomers can catch up.
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Westborough WMA in Two Parts
Northborough - Watson Park, Bartlett Pond 35A Lyman St, Northborough, MA, United StatesPart 1: 7 AM -10 AM / Part 2: 10:30 AM -1:00 PM. We will hike at a slow pace through mild moderate trails in search of sparrows and other migrants. For the first part we will hike the Eastern trails between Lake Chauncy and Little Chauncy(about 3 miles). Then we will again meet at
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Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity
East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United StatesLed by DCR staff. We will search on foot up to one mile on flat, easy terrain, for migrating or resident songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and marsh birds at this birding hotspot and state park. This is a traveling program by car or bike. Prepare for ticks and mosquitoes. Ages: Adults and kids 8 years+ with
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Millennium Park
Boston - Millennium Park Canoe Launch 300 Gardner Street, Boston, MA, United StatesJoin us to observe resident birds and spring migrants in a unique urban habitat that is a favorite for many bird species, including uncommon and rare flycatchers, swallows & warblers. Birders of all levels welcome. The trails are generally flat and easy to walk, with some rough patches. A water bottle, sunblock, insect repellent, waterproof