Parker River NWR, Essex, Massachusetts, US
May 17, 2021 6:50 AM – 10:40 AM
Protocol: Traveling
6.5 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:    Beautiful, sunny day, 58 degrees to start.  Low tide at 10:24.  Stops at the Pannes, a couple of roadside stops, the Wardens, and Hellcat.
71 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose  4
Gadwall  2
Mallard  5
American Black Duck  4
Wild Turkey  1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  1
Mourning Dove  4
Killdeer  7
Least Sandpiper  14
Semipalmated Sandpiper  3
Short-billed Dowitcher  4
Greater Yellowlegs  8
Willet  12
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Ring-billed Gull  8
Herring Gull  13
Great Black-backed Gull  2
Least Tern  8
Common Tern  4
Double-crested Cormorant  16
Great Egret  8
Snowy Egret  1
Osprey  2
Willow Flycatcher  1    Heard
Least Flycatcher  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  4
Eastern Kingbird  8
Blue-headed Vireo  1
Warbling Vireo  1
Blue Jay  27    Two groups, migrating.
American Crow  2
Black-capped Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  3    This is a very uncommon bird for me here and to see three is amazing.
Purple Martin  14
Tree Swallow  9
Barn Swallow  4
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2
Gray Catbird  14
Brown Thrasher  2
Northern Mockingbird  2
Swainson’s Thrush  1    Roadside just north of the Wardens.
American Robin  4
Cedar Waxwing  4
House Sparrow  3
House Finch  2
Purple Finch  2
American Goldfinch  4
Chipping Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  1    Heard.
Song Sparrow  6
Eastern Towhee  12
Bobolink  8
Orchard Oriole  2
Baltimore Oriole  7
Red-winged Blackbird  16
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Common Grackle  6
Common Grackle (Bronzed)  4
Northern Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  2
Tennessee Warbler  1    Heard distinctive, three part “tip tip tip tip teepit teepit teepit teepit ti ti ti ti ti ti ti” song twice, high up in the big Oaks along Hellcat boardwalk right near the parking lot where the trail goes left to the dike.
Nashville Warbler  3
Common Yellowthroat  7
American Redstart  5
Northern Parula  7
Blackburnian Warbler  3
Yellow Warbler  11
Black-throated Blue Warbler  1
Black-throated Green Warbler  3
Wilson’s Warbler  1    In the thicket behind the Hellcat bathrooms.
Northern Cardinal  2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S88404722

Bring Back Bobolinks!

Bring Back Bobolinks! This year the BBC is introducing new Endangered Species Program. Each year we plan to focus on a single bird species facing serious threats in Massachusetts and elsewhere. With this effort we

Bring Back Bobolinks!

Bring Back Bobolinks! This year the BBC is introducing new Endangered Species Program. Each year we plan to focus on a single bird species facing serious threats in Massachusetts and elsewhere. With this effort we

Bring Back Bobolinks!

Bring Back Bobolinks! This year the BBC is introducing new Endangered Species Program. Each year we plan to focus on a single bird species facing serious threats in Massachusetts and elsewhere. With this effort we

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Upcoming Field Trips

  • Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic (Trip #1)

    Hyannis - Pelagic - Helen H 137 Pleasant St, Hyannis, MA, United States

    Join the BBC on the Helen H out of Hyannis, MA to search for pelagic birds on an overnight trip to the Hydrographer Canyon area. For more information, fee, and registration info see: https://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/bbc-news/hydrographer-canyon-overnight-pelagics-registration/

  • Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic (Trip #2)

    Hyannis - Pelagic - Helen H 137 Pleasant St, Hyannis, MA, United States

    Join the BBC on the Helen H out of Hyannis, MA to search for pelagic birds on an overnight trip to the Hydrographer Canyon area. For more information, fee, and registration info see: https://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/bbc-news/hydrographer-canyon-overnight-pelagics-registration/

  • Parker River Marsh Cruise

    Newburyport - Yankee Clipper Tours Waterfront Promenade Park, 36 Merrimac Street, Newburyport, MA, United States

    Explore Parker River National Wildlife Refuge from a new perspective on a cruise through the Parker River marshes! Join us on the Yankee Clipper docked in Newburyport Harbor for a leisurely cruise through the Refuge. Enjoy close views of shorebirds, gulls, terns, and Saltmarsh Sparrows on this tour. Group discount tickets are available by registering

  • Half-Day Seabirding and Whale Watching

    Plymouth - Captain John's Whale Watching Tour Company 10 Town Wharf, Plymouth, MA, United States

    The BBC has reserved a limited block of discounted group tickets on these public tours. These tours are open to all. Register online at https://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=330  Registration opens June 19. Co-sponsored with the South Shore Bird club. The parking for multiple hours that you need is not near the town wharf. Allow extra time to find

  • Nighthawk Watch at Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge

    Harvard - Oxbow NWR Tank Rd, Harvard, MA, United States

    Join us for a pleasant evening of watching nighthawk migration along the Nashua River valley. Bring a lawn chair or a camp stool. Rain date: Sunday August 30.

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