Nadine Wright

13/06/2026

Black-and-white Warbler, anting in the leaf litter alongside the Hellcat boardwalk at Parker River. Wings spread flat, bill angled up, feathers fanned out — the whole posture is one you don’t expect from a bird this small. Anting is thought to help with feather maintenance, the formic acid from the ants acting as a natural preening agent. The bird held this position long enough to get a good look.

📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm
📍 Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island

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12/06/2026

Another favorite spring migration, though this one may end up being a summer resident. That bold black mask is unmistakable: male Common Yellowthroat in full breeding plumage, working the shrubby edge at Parker River during May migration.

These guys are usually skulkers, but can sometimes be curious little things willing to allow you a close-up… this one ended up highly rated on eBird, which was a nice surprise.

📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm
📍 Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

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11/06/2026

One of the rarest birds I've ever found — a Loggerhead Shrike at Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary.

Shrikes are songbirds that hunt like raptors. No talons, so they've evolved a different method: impaling prey on thorns or barbed wire to hold it while they feed. That hooked bill isn't just for show. It's built to sever a spine.

There are only an estimated 100,000 Loggerhead Shrikes left in North America, and that number is still declining. In Massachusetts, they're exceptional — a Massachusetts Avian Records Committee review species.

This one was working the parking lot at the Eastern Point lighthouse, perching on wires and bare branches, scanning the ground. Completely indifferent to the fact that it had no business being here.

📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm
📍 Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary, Gloucester, MA Mass Audubon

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08/06/2026

American Redstart, Male
📍 Parker River NWR
📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm

Going to try and catch up on posting some of my favorite photos from spring migration now that I have a little more time to breathe. 🙃

08/06/2026

Excited to share my video from my trip to Maine and the Acadia Birding Festival! Shoutout to Acadia Puffin Cruise for the highlight of my trip as well!

Wayfaring Downeast Maine: My First Atlantic Puffins + Acadia Birding Festival

The Wayfaring Warbler heads Downeast — this time to Maine for the A...

08/06/2026

Piping Plover chick season is here. Already on the move within hours of hatching — precocial from day one, foraging on their own while the adults keep watch nearby. Federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Piping Plovers are also protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and their nesting habitat on Plum Island is actively managed — roped-off corridors, seasonal beach closures, predator management, the works. Every chick that makes it to fledging is a win that took a lot of people working hard to make happen. Still in full down, legs comically oversized for the body, beak just starting to show that dark tip. They change fast.

📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm + 1.4TC
📍 Plum Island, Essex County, MA
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex + Mass Audubon

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08/06/2026

Piping Plover chick season is here!

05/06/2026

Male Indigo Bunting foraging on the ground at Parker River NWR — feathers still damp, beak already working through the seed scatter. That blue is structural color, not pigment; angle the light wrong and it goes almost black, but here it’s doing everything it’s supposed to do.

📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm
📍 Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

05/06/2026

Male Indigo Bunting foraging on the ground at Parker River NWR — feathers still damp, beak already working through the seed scatter. That blue is structural color, not pigment; angle the light wrong and it goes almost black, but here it’s doing everything it’s supposed to do.

📷 Nikon Z6III + 180–600mm
📍 Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
Find this content and more on the Wayfaring Warbler YT channel — search to find us!

04/06/2026

New video!!

Wayfaring in New Hampshire: Searching for Bicknell's Thrush in the White Mountains

This week the Wayfaring Warbler lives up to her name — trading Esse...