Parker River NWR, Essex, Massachusetts, US

Oct 18, 2025 7:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Protocol: Traveling

6.0 mile(s)

Checklist Comments:    Brookline Bird Club Walk- Hellcat at Parker River NWR. Leader Nick Paulson. Cold start but low wind. Warming as the day went. Dike was closed and duck hunting along dike. So we scanned from the dike and hiked all of the Hellcat trails. After we checked the Pines, Lot 5 and the Main Pannes.

63 species (+2 other taxa)

Canada Goose  25

Gadwall  7

American Wigeon  3

Mallard  4

American Black Duck  50

Northern Pintail  20

Green-winged Teal (American)  125

Greater Scaup  1

Surf Scoter  2

White-winged Scoter  100

Black Scoter  100

scoter sp.  250

Mourning Dove  1

Black-bellied Plover  17

Semipalmated Plover  30

Long-billed Dowitcher  2    Across main pannes

American Woodcock  1    Flushed out from under boardwalk.

Greater Yellowlegs  28

Sanderling  40

Dunlin  100

White-rumped Sandpiper  5

Semipalmated Sandpiper  10

Razorbill  1    Lot 5

Ring-billed Gull  50

American Herring Gull  200

Great Black-backed Gull  5

gull sp.  500

Red-throated Loon  5

Common Loon  2

Northern Gannet  18

Double-crested Cormorant  180

Snowy Egret  2

Great Egret  6

Great Blue Heron (Great Blue)  4

Northern Harrier  1

Downy Woodpecker (Eastern)  4

Hairy Woodpecker (Eastern)  1

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1

Eastern Phoebe  1

Blue-headed Vireo  1    Hellcat

Blue Jay  20

American Crow  2

Common Raven  1

Black-capped Chickadee  10

Tree Swallow  8

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1

Golden-crowned Kinglet  5

Red-breasted Nuthatch  16

Northern Mockingbird  1

Hermit Thrush  1

American Robin  75

Cedar Waxwing  4

American Pipit  2

House Finch  10

American Goldfinch  5

White-throated Sparrow  25

Savannah Sparrow (Savannah)  1

Song Sparrow  24

Eastern Towhee  1

Eastern Meadowlark  1    Heard from hellcat dike.

Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged)  4

Nashville Warbler  1    Flew over at hellcat parking lot.

Palm Warbler (Western)  1    Hellcat by tower.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  40

Northern Cardinal  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S280339477

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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

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

    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

    Boxford - Crooked Pond 209 Middleton Road, Boxford, MA, United States

    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.

  • Milton Landing & Neponset River Greenway

    Boston - Milton Landing and Neponset River Greenway 88 Wharf Street, Milton, MA, United States

    Enjoy an approximately 2-mile walk along the Neponset River Greenway bike path from Milton to Dorchester. We will start birding at Milton's Landing and stay for at least 20 minutes to see waterfowl and gulls. Then we will walk along the Neponset River Greenway--let's see if we can find any black-crowned night herons, early migrants,

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