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

BBC daily field trips to Mount Auburn are back!

It’s that time of year again! The Brookline Bird Club will be leading daily birding trips through Mount Auburn Cemetery, an oasis for migrating birds, this spring from Wednesday April 17th through Sunday May 26th [...]

BBC daily field trips to Mount Auburn are back!

It’s that time of year again! The Brookline Bird Club will be leading daily birding trips through Mount Auburn Cemetery, an oasis for migrating birds, this spring from Wednesday April 17th through Sunday May 26th [...]

BBC daily field trips to Mount Auburn are back!

It’s that time of year again! The Brookline Bird Club will be leading daily birding trips through Mount Auburn Cemetery, an oasis for migrating birds, this spring from Wednesday April 17th through Sunday May 26th [...]

News Categories

Upcoming Field Trips

  • Cold Spring Park, Newton

    Newton - Cold Spring Park 1200 Beacon St, Newton, MA, United States

    This large multi-use city park offers an easy 1.4-mile loop through mixed forest, open green areas, and red maple swamplands, attracting a surprising array of resident and migratory birds. Porta Potties available.

  • Plum Island

    Parker River NWR - Lot #1 Refuge Rd., Newbury, MA, MA, United States

    We will be walking the North Pool dike as well as visiting other spots. Note that an entrance fee or pass is required. Restrooms available.

  • Barretts Mill Farmland

    Concord - Barretts Mill Farmland Barrett's Mill Road, Concord, MA, United States

    This is often a great place for fall sparrows including Savannah, Field, and White-crowned, as well as Pipit and occasional Dickcissel. Loaner binoculars available; please email trip leader to reserve a pair! If the weather doens't look good, contact the leader to check status.

  • Hellcat at Parker River NWR

    Parker River NWR - Lot #4 Newbury, MA, United States

    During the past few years the refuge has opened the dike to hiking during National Wildlife Refuge Week. We will plan to do that hike if the dike is again open this year. Otherwise we hike the boardwalk and normal dike area.

Go to Top