Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary

Audubon Pond

The  Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is a small open space surrounded by grandeur neighborhoods on a peninsula extending into Massachusetts Bay. Locals call this peninsula simply the “Neck.” It is connected to mainland Marblehead by a sandbar, on which a road and walkway has been built.

Audubon Trail

The sanctuary at the center of the southern half of the Neck is visited by various species of migratory songbirds—and humans eager to watch the avian visitors. The sanctuary's network of walking paths include Audubon Trail, Warbler Trail, Middle Trail, Boardwalk Trail, Thrasher Trail and the Vireo Loop. Although the trails barely add up to a total length of a mile, the diverse set of dense woods, small hills, rocks, swamps and the highlight—Audubon Pond—combines to the impression of being in a wildlife area larger than it actually is. Like in the wetlands alongside the Marblehead Rail Trail, unfurled Eastern Skunk Cabbage with its fresh, green, veined leaves are found in the sanctuary swamps in spring. 

Eastern Skunk Cabbage

At the main entrance, a kiosk introduces the sanctuary as follows:

This 16-acre wildlife sanctuary may be small in size, but its location provides important feeding and resting habitats for migratory songbirds. Jutting out from the mainland, Marblehead Neck may be the first land encountered by tired and hungry birds crossing open ocean. When the winds are favorable, migrating birds pass through, finding insects to eat in the woodlands, utilizing the wetlands or pond for drinking and bathing, and finding safe resting places in the brushy tangles. More than 250 bird species have been recorded here over the years, including many colorful wood warblers. Most of the birds that visit here spend their winter in the tropics of Central and South America. They pass the “Neck” on their way to and from areas further north.

Bird-watching trails around Audubon Pond

Getting There

From Devereux Beach, follow Ocean Ave over the sandbar-turned-causeway. On the Neck, continue on Ocean Ave for about half a mile. Turn left on Risley Road. Find parking after 500 ft at the end of Risley Road.

Entrance of the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary at the end of Risley Road

“Hodgkinson Fund” plaque at a rock near Audubon Pond

 

Further reading and more to explore

[1]  Mass Audobon: Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Marblehead Conservancy Inc.Website: https://marbleheadconservancy.org/explore/massachusetts-audubon-sanctuary/.

[2] Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Essex National Heritage Area. Website: https://essexheritage.org/attractions/marblehead-neck-wildlife-sanctuary.

[3] Recent Bird Sightings at Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. WaxwingEco Tourism. Website: https://waxwingeco.com/birding-hotspot.php?id=L594125.