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

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Upcoming Field Trips

  • Condon Shell parking lot, Mystic Valley Parkway. 

    Sponsored by the Medford Piblic Library. Join local birder Leslie Kramer for a family-friendly bird watching walk along the river! Our group will meet at the Condon Shell parking lot and follow the path along the river, which is ADA-accessible and stroller friendly. Note: Attendance is free but registration is required https://medfordlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/family-bird-walk/

  • Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity

    Led 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

  • Crooked Pond

    An early spring walk at Crooked Pond--Bald Hill Reservation. Targets: Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, and Louisiana Waterthrush. The trail is generally flat, muddy, and possibly icy. Dress for the weather and wet trails due to beaver activity.

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