Parker River NWR Marsh Cruise

This August the BBC sponsored three cruises around the marshes of Parker River NWR aboard the Yankee Clipper departing from downtown Newburyport.

On the evening of Sunday the 17th we had a beautiful cruise and even made it back just before the rain! We started the trip by heading upstream on the Merrimack to the Rt 1 bridge. Once there Captain Fred directed us to great views of a pair of Peregrine Falcons known to hang out under the harbor bridge!

After cruising downstream through the harbor we turned south to the channel passing under the Plum Island Turnpike bridge. Just before the bridge we began to see groups (!) of Seaside Sparrows flying around the spartina grasses lining the edges of the channel. For this writer the sparrow show was one of the most impressive parts of the trip. We easily saw over a combined 50 Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows during the cruise.

Our overall list included 36 species. In addition to the falcons and sparrows, worthy mentions go to Bobolinks scattered around the marsh, a Harrier just north of the Wardens, a Black-Crowned Night Heron that put in a brief appearance, and an immature Lesser Black-Backed Gull on the north jetty at Salisbury.

Many thanks to Captain Fred and First Mate Charity for a pleasant and relaxing trip!

Check out the eBird list for the trip and see our photos.