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

News Categories

Upcoming Field Trips

Members Only Webinar: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification

Shorebirds are among the most fascinating and diverse groups of birds, but identifying them can sometimes feel overwhelming. This session will provide practical tips and techniques to sharpen your shorebirding skills. We will also be scheduling a limited participation field trip focused on Shorebirds where you will practice the skills you learned during the webinar. [...]

Forest Beach Conservation Area

Chatham - Forest Beach 375-331 Forest Beach Rd, South Chatham, MA, United States

Co-sponored with Cape Cod Bird Club. We’ll walk the marsh trail to where it meets Mill Creek and return via the beach, less than a mile round trip. We’ll then head towards the overlook where we’ll likely view herons, egrets, shorebirds, passerines, gulls, osprey and Northern Harrier. This is another area with mixed habitat, a [...]

Whale and Seabird watching trip out of Plymouth

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

The BBC is partnering with the Captain John's Whale Watching Tour Company to travel to Stellwagen Bank - primary feeding grounds for the Humpback Whale, the endangered Right Whale, and other marine wildlife, including seabirds. With the help of onboard naturalists, we will search for seabirds - storm petrals, shearwaters, gulls and terns, gannets, and [...]

Field Trip: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley – Plymouth area

Shorebirds are among the most fascinating and diverse groups of birds, but identifying them can sometimes feel overwhelming. What key field marks, behaviors, habitat, range, and timing can help? How can shorebird migration patterns and seasonal plumage help? With shorebird migration now underway, the BBC is hosting both a webinar and a limited participation field trip to [...]

An Oasis for Birds at Belle Isle Marsh

East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United States

Join 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 large groups of herons and egrets, and shorebird rarities. Participants are responsible for their own transportation between locations (by car or [...]

Go to Top