Parker River NWR–Hellcat Dike, Essex, Massachusetts, US
07-Oct-2023 06:57 – 16:57
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:    Brookline Bird Club- Big Sit Hellcat Tower, Plum Island. Leader Nick Paulson. Windy and overcast with occasional showers. Generally dryer than forecast as the post tropical storm and the front to the west kept each other away from this slice of area.
84 species (+5 other taxa)
Canada Goose  15
Blue-winged Teal  4
Northern Shoveler  1
Gadwall  30
American Wigeon  8
Mallard  40
American Black Duck  120
Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid)  1
Northern Pintail  75
Green-winged Teal (American)  150
Red-breasted Merganser  4
duck sp.  100
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Mourning Dove  1
Virginia Rail (Virginia)  2
Sora  1
Common Gallinule  1    Continuing, present and in view from tower most of the day.
Black-bellied Plover  18
American Golden-Plover  1
Semipalmated Plover  80
Hudsonian Godwit  1
Sanderling  8
Dunlin  140
White-rumped Sandpiper  8
Pectoral Sandpiper  3
Semipalmated Sandpiper  6
Short-billed Dowitcher  3
Long-billed Dowitcher  1
Greater Yellowlegs  150
Willet (Western)  1    Continuing. Was initially close with a group of yellowlegs, but quickly flew off.
Lesser Yellowlegs  40
Bonaparte’s Gull  1
Ring-billed Gull  25
Herring Gull (American)  75
Lesser Black-backed Gull  1
Great Black-backed Gull  3
Red-throated Loon  1
Common Loon  3
Double-crested Cormorant  250
American Bittern  1
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue)  5
Great Egret  30
Snowy Egret  3
Black-crowned Night-Heron  2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1    Juvenile flew from other side of dike into North Pool. Dark gray outer wings, less bulky than BCNH.
Turkey Vulture  11
Osprey (carolinensis)  1
Northern Harrier  3
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Northern)  1
Red-tailed Hawk  7
Belted Kingfisher  2
Downy Woodpecker (Eastern)  1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  3
Peregrine Falcon (North American)  2
Peregrine Falcon (Tundra)  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Blue Jay  16
American Crow  1
Common Raven  3
Tree Swallow  11
Barn Swallow (American)  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
House Wren  1
Marsh Wren  2
Gray Catbird  2
Eastern Bluebird  1
Hermit Thrush (faxoni/crymophilus)  1
American Robin  12
American Pipit  5
House Finch  2
Purple Finch (Eastern)  3
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)  1
White-throated Sparrow  2
Nelson’s/Saltmarsh Sparrow (Sharp-tailed Sparrow)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah)  16
Song Sparrow (melodia/atlantica)  24
Swamp Sparrow  4
Eastern Towhee  3
Bobolink  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged)  3
Common Grackle (Bronzed)  1
Tennessee Warbler  1
Nashville Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  6
Cape May Warbler  1
Palm Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  35
new world warbler sp.  20
Dickcissel  1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S151847096

Looking for new Membership Secretary!

The Brookline Bird Club is looking for a new Membership Secretary for April 2020 to replace our current secretary, Judy Hepburn, who is standing down at the end of her term. Judy has done

Looking for new Membership Secretary!

The Brookline Bird Club is looking for a new Membership Secretary for April 2020 to replace our current secretary, Judy Hepburn, who is standing down at the end of her term. Judy has done

Looking for new Membership Secretary!

The Brookline Bird Club is looking for a new Membership Secretary for April 2020 to replace our current secretary, Judy Hepburn, who is standing down at the end of her term. Judy has done

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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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