Wildlife of Boston, Massachusetts
Boston mixes hardwood-forest wildlife — wild turkeys, barred owls and fisher — with a working harbour that hosts harbour seals, common eiders and wintering long-tailed ducks. Fall hawk-watching sites like Plum Island push tens of thousands of raptors past each September, and the North Atlantic right whale still summers offshore.
Best timeSeptember – October for the raptor migration and fall shorebirds.
- 1Boston Harbor humpbacks now feed within sight of downtown.
- 2The Charles River hosts nesting osprey after decades of absence.
- 3Wild turkeys strut through Beacon Hill and Cambridge sidewalks.
Signature species
Curated for Boston, Massachusetts, each tagged with its IUCN Red List status.
- CR
North Atlantic right whale
Eubalaena glacialis
~370 remain.
- LC
Humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
- LC
Roseate tern
Sterna dougallii
- NT
Piping plover
Charadrius melodus
- LC
Bobcat
Lynx rufus
IUCN codes — EX extinct · EW extinct in wild · CR critically endangered · EN endangered · VU vulnerable · NT near threatened · LC least concern · DD data deficient
Dos & don'ts
Local etiquette that keeps wildlife wild.
Do
- Report right-whale sightings to 866-755-6622 — vessel strikes are lethal.
- Support beach closures at Crane and Duxbury for plovers.
- Keep distance — use zoom or binoculars, never bait animals closer.
- Stay on marked trails to avoid trampling nests, burrows and plants.
Don't
- Don't fly drones over marine mammals.
- Don't chase wild turkeys — they will chase back.
- Never feed wildlife — human food changes behaviour and shortens lives.
- Don't share exact locations of nests, dens or rare species online.
Spotted here lately
Live from iNaturalist — research-grade observations within 40km, last 30 days.
Loading citizen-science data…