Birds of Belle Isle Marsh

This summer we visited Belle Isle Marsh Reservation in East Boston. We saw birds hard to see elsewhere so close to the city.

A salt marsh within sight of Logan Airport

The 300-acre Belle Isle Marsh Reservation in East Boston, Winthrop, and Revere, contains the largest remaining substantial salt marsh in Boston. Salt marshes provide crucial habitat for many species, and are a central part of nature-based climate resiliency for cities. For more on upcoming collaborative projects at Belle Isle Marsh, see  this story . 262 species of birds  have been observed  at Belle Isle. All photos here were taken between end of June and August 2020.

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Belle Isle Marsh Reservation

Saltmarsh Sparrow

Saltmarsh Sparrow. IUCN Red List Vulnerable species. Some scientists predict extinction by 2050. Rising sea levels, and inability of salt marsh to migrate fast enough, mean high rates of nest failure. According to Sean Riley, of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), 7 nests at Belle Isle Marsh all failed in an unusually high July tide this year. For more on the species see:  https://www.audubon.org/news/the-saltmarsh-sparrow-creeping-dangerously-close-extinction 

This bird used to be called (with Nelson's Sparrow) "Sharp-tailed Sparrow." You can see why in the bird on the left. That old species was split. Saltmarsh Sparrow is extreme habitat specialist; Nelson's has a wider range.

Ibis and Egrets

Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and the dark Glossy Ibis--maybe the coolest looking bird in the Mystic River watershed. All heron relatives, more or less close. Great Egret is in the same genus as Great Blue Heron. A Yellowlegs (a shorebird), bottom left, looks on.

Group of Glossy Ibis, flying north toward Revere.

More egrets, making a beautiful design.

Osprey

Adult Osprey.

At least one pair of Osprey hatched young this summer. Here they pose for a family portrait.

Here they are, more grown up, end of August. White-fringed back feathers indicate juveniles.

Shorebirds

Least Sandpiper (2nd and 3rd from left) with Semi-palmated Sandpipers. As a group shorebirds have  declined  by at least 50% in the last 50 years. Many breed in the Arctic and winter in South America, and wetlands like Belle Isle Marsh are key stopover points in their epic migrations. Loss of stopover habitat is a driver of population declines.

Killdeer.

Slideshow: 7 views of Lesser Yellowlegs

(click arrow on right)

Greater Yellowlegs.

Willet. The only shorebird to nest in the salt marsh.

Red Knot, left (with Black-bellied Plover, front, and Semi-palmated Plover). Now rarely seen around here, Red Knot is a prime example of the plight of shorebirds. The population that uses the East Coast flyway has declined by more than 80% over the past few decades. It was last reported on eBird at Belle Isle in 2017. It is now listed as  Threatened under the Endangered Species Act . The bird make an 8000-mile (!) migration from South America to the Arctic to breed. Key to their success are stopover locations like Belle Isle's mudflats. Famously, in the spring, they stop at Delaware Bay for horseshoe crab eggs, which in recent decades have become much scarcer. Poor stopover feeding affects reproductive success when they finally arrive at the Arctic. For more on conservation, see resources at  US Fish and Wildlife  and at  eBird .

Raven, Kestrel, and more

Least Tern--a species of special concern in Massachusetts--fishing.

American Kestrel, North America's smallest falcon. In August. Two pairs that nested at Belle Isle this summer.

Pair of Common Ravens. One checked out if there was a meal to be had in the nesting box. No luck for them. Uncommon close to the city. Sean Riley of DCR says they prowl the marsh, walking, looking for nests to raid. Famously intelligent, resourceful birds.


Saltmarsh Sparrow. IUCN Red List Vulnerable species. Some scientists predict extinction by 2050. Rising sea levels, and inability of salt marsh to migrate fast enough, mean high rates of nest failure. According to Sean Riley, of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), 7 nests at Belle Isle Marsh all failed in an unusually high July tide this year. For more on the species see:  https://www.audubon.org/news/the-saltmarsh-sparrow-creeping-dangerously-close-extinction 

This bird used to be called (with Nelson's Sparrow) "Sharp-tailed Sparrow." You can see why in the bird on the left. That old species was split. Saltmarsh Sparrow is extreme habitat specialist; Nelson's has a wider range.

Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and the dark Glossy Ibis--maybe the coolest looking bird in the Mystic River watershed. All heron relatives, more or less close. Great Egret is in the same genus as Great Blue Heron. A Yellowlegs (a shorebird), bottom left, looks on.

Group of Glossy Ibis, flying north toward Revere.

More egrets, making a beautiful design.

Adult Osprey.

At least one pair of Osprey hatched young this summer. Here they pose for a family portrait.

Here they are, more grown up, end of August. White-fringed back feathers indicate juveniles.

Least Sandpiper (2nd and 3rd from left) with Semi-palmated Sandpipers. As a group shorebirds have  declined  by at least 50% in the last 50 years. Many breed in the Arctic and winter in South America, and wetlands like Belle Isle Marsh are key stopover points in their epic migrations. Loss of stopover habitat is a driver of population declines.

Killdeer.

Greater Yellowlegs.

Willet. The only shorebird to nest in the salt marsh.

Red Knot, left (with Black-bellied Plover, front, and Semi-palmated Plover). Now rarely seen around here, Red Knot is a prime example of the plight of shorebirds. The population that uses the East Coast flyway has declined by more than 80% over the past few decades. It was last reported on eBird at Belle Isle in 2017. It is now listed as  Threatened under the Endangered Species Act . The bird make an 8000-mile (!) migration from South America to the Arctic to breed. Key to their success are stopover locations like Belle Isle's mudflats. Famously, in the spring, they stop at Delaware Bay for horseshoe crab eggs, which in recent decades have become much scarcer. Poor stopover feeding affects reproductive success when they finally arrive at the Arctic. For more on conservation, see resources at  US Fish and Wildlife  and at  eBird .

Least Tern--a species of special concern in Massachusetts--fishing.

American Kestrel, North America's smallest falcon. In August. Two pairs that nested at Belle Isle this summer.

Pair of Common Ravens. One checked out if there was a meal to be had in the nesting box. No luck for them. Uncommon close to the city. Sean Riley of DCR says they prowl the marsh, walking, looking for nests to raid. Famously intelligent, resourceful birds.