Parker River NWR, Essex, Massachusetts, US
Aug 28, 2017 4:50 PM – 7:35 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Comments: Sunny and 67 degrees. We stayed until dusk. My sister Margaret and I joined the Brookline Bird Club walk at 5:30 PM led by Dave Williams. Stops at main salt pans, North Pool Overlook and Hellcat dike.
40 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose 7
Gadwall 7
Mallard 4
American Black Duck 16
Green-winged Teal 1
Double-crested Cormorant 101
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 180 Mostly at Hellcat staging for the evening. Probably many more than this.
Snowy Egret 200 Staging at Hellcat- still coming in for the evening. Conservative count. Probably many more than this.
Glossy Ibis 16 North Pool Overlook and small groups flying into Bill Forward Pool at dusk. Distinctive long curved bill.
Osprey 3 Seen from Hellcat looking toward Pines platform.
Black-bellied Plover 19
Semipalmated Plover 36
Least Sandpiper 38
White-rumped Sandpiper 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper 120
peep sp. 200 Seen from lot one flying over the dunes but too far to ID
Short-billed Dowitcher 11
Spotted Sandpiper 1 Hellcat- on edge of Bill Forward Pool
Greater Yellowlegs 52
Lesser Yellowlegs 16
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Mourning Dove 4
Belted Kingfisher 1 Sitting in tree at North Pool Overlook
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 2 One flew over Bill Forward Pool and chased many of the shorebirds away.
Eastern Kingbird 2
American Crow 1
Tree Swallow 1000000 Amazing spectacle at dusk at Hellcat dike. Tree Swallows as thick as I have ever seen over North Pool. As far wide, deep and high as the eye could see. Photos cannot capture the full effect of the staging swarm.
Marsh Wren 1 Hellcat
American Robin 3
Gray Catbird 5
European Starling 40
Northern Waterthrush 1 Seen by a few of the group from Hellcat dike on the mudflats of North Pool.
Common Yellowthroat 1
Saltmarsh Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 3
American Goldfinch 3
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38927696
Migration Madness Membership Drive
Win a Free Pair of Binoculars - Migration Madness Membership Drive To celebrate the excitement of spring migration, the Brookline Bird Club has a special offer for any new member joining the club from April [...]
Changes Coming to Mt Auburn Cemetery This Spring
Changes Coming to Mt Auburn Cemetery This Spring Mt. Auburn Cemetery has announced changes to birder access starting this spring. In short, the gates will open every day starting at 6:00 AM but the key [...]
Threats to Federal Bird Science Funding
Threats to Federal Bird Science Funding According to the journal Science, the administration has targeted the Ecosystems Mission Area at the U.S. Geological Survey for elimination in its upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. The [...]
BBC Global Big Day Count – May 10
BBC Global Big Day Count On May 18, 1974 Bob Stymiest led the BBC trip with the all time largest species count for the club - 162 birds seen during 20 hours across Essex County. [...]
Camp Edwards Grassland Bird Tours
The Massachusetts Army National Guard’s Natural Resource Program is hosting grassland bird tours in May on Camp Edwards. This is an unusual opportunity for avid birders, naturalists and photographers to walk through the Camp Edwards [...]
2025 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards
2025 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards The BBC Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Sydney Beard of Cambridge and Jonas Johnson of Canaan, CT. [...]
Migration Madness Membership Drive
Win a Free Pair of Binoculars - Migration Madness Membership Drive To celebrate the excitement of spring migration, the Brookline Bird Club has a special offer for any new member joining the club from April [...]
Changes Coming to Mt Auburn Cemetery This Spring
Changes Coming to Mt Auburn Cemetery This Spring Mt. Auburn Cemetery has announced changes to birder access starting this spring. In short, the gates will open every day starting at 6:00 AM but the key [...]
Threats to Federal Bird Science Funding
Threats to Federal Bird Science Funding According to the journal Science, the administration has targeted the Ecosystems Mission Area at the U.S. Geological Survey for elimination in its upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. The [...]
BBC Global Big Day Count – May 10
BBC Global Big Day Count On May 18, 1974 Bob Stymiest led the BBC trip with the all time largest species count for the club - 162 birds seen during 20 hours across Essex County. [...]
Camp Edwards Grassland Bird Tours
The Massachusetts Army National Guard’s Natural Resource Program is hosting grassland bird tours in May on Camp Edwards. This is an unusual opportunity for avid birders, naturalists and photographers to walk through the Camp Edwards [...]
2025 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards
2025 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards The BBC Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Sydney Beard of Cambridge and Jonas Johnson of Canaan, CT. [...]
Migration Madness Membership Drive
Win a Free Pair of Binoculars - Migration Madness Membership Drive To celebrate the excitement of spring migration, the Brookline Bird Club has a special offer for any new member joining the club from April [...]
Changes Coming to Mt Auburn Cemetery This Spring
Changes Coming to Mt Auburn Cemetery This Spring Mt. Auburn Cemetery has announced changes to birder access starting this spring. In short, the gates will open every day starting at 6:00 AM but the key [...]
Threats to Federal Bird Science Funding
Threats to Federal Bird Science Funding According to the journal Science, the administration has targeted the Ecosystems Mission Area at the U.S. Geological Survey for elimination in its upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. The [...]
BBC Global Big Day Count – May 10
BBC Global Big Day Count On May 18, 1974 Bob Stymiest led the BBC trip with the all time largest species count for the club - 162 birds seen during 20 hours across Essex County. [...]
Camp Edwards Grassland Bird Tours
The Massachusetts Army National Guard’s Natural Resource Program is hosting grassland bird tours in May on Camp Edwards. This is an unusual opportunity for avid birders, naturalists and photographers to walk through the Camp Edwards [...]
2025 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards
2025 BBC Teen Birder Scholarship Awards The BBC Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Sydney Beard of Cambridge and Jonas Johnson of Canaan, CT. [...]
News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Woburn Horn Pond Conservation Area
Woburn - Horn Pond - Sturgis St 98 Sturgis St, Woburn, MA, United StatesCo-sponsored with the and led by the Menotomy Bird club (Arlington Birds). Join us we take a walk exploring the varied habitats of the Horn Pond Conservation Area. The walk will focus on the main pond, accompanying lagoons, marsh areas and Community Gardens in search of migrating fall warblers and sparrows.
An Oasis for Birds at Belle Isle Marsh
East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United StatesJoin DCR park staff for a relaxed, one-mile bird walk through flat, easy terrain at this Massachusetts State Reservation and birding hot spot. At Belle Isle and at additional nearby locations— We’ll search for shorebirds during their peak in migration and passerines that are beginning their southerly migration. Participants are responsible for their own transportation [...]
Millennium Park
Boston - Millennium Park Canoe Launch 300 Gardner Street, Boston, MA, United StatesJoin us to look for birds in a unique urban habitat that often draws numerous uncommon and rare birds.Target birds include bluebirds, bobolinks, egrets, flycatchers & kingbirds, grosbeaks, hawks, herons, kingfishers, owls, rails, ravens & crows, sandpipers, swallows & swifts, vultures, warblers, and woodpeckers. Birders of all levels will enjoy this trip. The trails are [...]
The Quiet Beauty of Birding at Winthrop Beach
Winthrop - DCR Winthrop Beach Reservation - Sturgis St 59 Winthrop Shore Drive, Winthrop, MA, United StatesJoin DCR park staff for a leisurely walk across sandy stretches and areas of loose rocks at this Massachusetts State Reservation, a well-known hot spot for birdwatching. We'll be on the lookout for shorebirds, waterbirds, and gulls. Binoculars are recommended. Suitable for adults and children ages 8 and up (with an accompanying adult). Sponsored by [...]
Fruitlands Museum, Harvard
Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United StatesWe will look for warblers, thrushes, sparrows, and raptors, among many other birds. Expect to walk about 2 miles on trails through meadow and woods, with some steep sections. Heavy rain cancels the trip.