Date: 5/19/26 2:07 pm From: <sohzendeh...> Subject: [Arlington Birds] Shorebirds moving through: Belle Isle Marsh, East Boston, and Fisherman's Bend, Winthrop
Folks,
On Monday, May 18, my friend Tim Brown and I spent a half day covering Belle Isle Marsh in East Boston and Fisherman's Bend in Winthrop. The second half of May and (sometimes) the first week of June are peak shorebird migration months in eastern Massachusetts. Although we observed nothing out of the ordinary among the migrants, nevertheless, the numbers and variety were good to see.
About an hour of observation from the Sireen Reinstein Boardwalk at Belle Isle yielded mostly distant views of shorebirds on the salt pans to the southeast. The largest number of birds were peep, most likely Least Sandpipers based on some flight images I got. Full list is below.
We then enjoyed Kelly's Roast beef hot dogs for lunch while overlooking Revere beach. A flock of 29 Brant cruised up and down the beach in front of us and a Manx Shearwater flew by. Undoubtedly you've noticed pretty much all our water birds disappeared by late April -- except the few species that breed locally. But Brant are an exception every year. Flocks are often seen in May, even in late May. The reason is that uniquely among waterfowl and water birds, Brant (and Oldsquaw aka "Long-tailed Duck") nest in far northern arctic regions. We're talking Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland. These places are covered with ice and snow and will be for another month -- no point in heading north too early.
A company of Manx Shearwaters spends every summer off Revere Beach, often ranging as far south as Winthrop. Hanging around at Kelly's or the Pink Apartments and scanning the ocean, one is often rewarded by seeing these small shearwater flying up and down, parallel to the beach -- this is pretty much the only place in North America to see these birds easily and close to shore.
In the afternoon, after lunch we arrived at Fishermans Bend, Winthrop, where a stretched-out string of Dunlin were roosting on the rocks of the old narrow-gauge railway trestle. They were in full spring finery with black bellies and red backs -- Red-backed Sandpiper is their old name. The long line of the trestle also had at least 78 roosting Black-bellied Plovers in every conceivable plumage stage, from full black-bellied and silver-backed to mottled, spotted, speckled or brownish. Interspersed were beautiful fresh-plumaged Ruddy Turnstones, a number of dowitchers, presumably Short-billed, and some Semipalmated Plovers. Only 2 American Oystercatchers were there initially but later on three or more of them put on their noisy and spectacular territorial / mating display. A lone Greater Yellowlegs and a single Eastern Willet completed the shorebird show. At a time when shorebird numbers have been plunging rapidly (down 50%+ over thirty years) this was a lovely and fun reminder of the glory days of shorebird migration.
As I mentioned earlier, this is the beginning of peak spring shorebird migration and decent numbers should continue for at least another 2 weeks. Happy shorebird watching!
Belle Isle Marsh, Suffolk, Massachusetts, US
May 18, 2026 10:04 AM - 12:01 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.565 mile(s)
23 bird species (+1 other taxa)
Mallard 4
American Black Duck 1
Mourning Dove 1
Black-bellied Plover 4
Semipalmated Plover 4
Short-billed Dowitcher 4
Willet 4
Greater Yellowlegs 6
peep sp. 125 Distant flock scattered over salt pans. Difficult to be sure of species but in photos, during flight, most appeared to be Least Sandpipers.
