Field surveys have identified more than 100 bird species including gulls, terns, herons, ducks, geese, hawks, plovers, sandpipers, doves, owls, woodpeckers, and perching birds. During migration, large numbers of shorebirds utilize the mudflats and salt marshes around the harbor, while transient hawks and songbirds regularly make use of the more remote islands, or those with suitable habitat. In late fall and winter, great flocks of waterfowl gather in harbor waters.

Bird Monitoring and Inventory
eBird is an interactive database that helps you keep track of the birds you see, anywhere, anytime. The Boston Harbor Islands Partnership is cooperating with Mass Audubon to record bird sightings in the park, which is an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Massachusetts. Perhaps the most exciting thing about eBird is that your records, combined with those of other observers, become a powerful tool for bird conservation by supplying scientifically useful data on species distribution and movement patterns in Massachusetts and across the continent. A one-page guide is available below.

» eBird One Page Guide (PDF - 64kb)

Researchers tested a protocol during 2007 to obtain information on the relative abundance of coastal breeding species at Boston Harbor Islands. With the assistance of volunteers, they estimated or directly counted all nests, incubating adults, or territorial nesting pairs on all islands where waterbirds have been known to nest in the past. The final long-term monitoring protocol adopted by the park will incorporate periodic surveillance for new nesting locations. Field result summaries are listed below:

» Boston Harbor Islands Coastal Breeding Birds Monitoring: 2008 Field Survey Summary (Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NETN/NRTR--2009/209)

» Boston Harbor Islands Coastal Breeding Bird Monitoring: 2007 Field Survey Summary (Natural Resources Report NPS/NER/NRR--2007/16)