Wet Meadows Viewing Platform

A birding and wildlife observation paradise from its viewing platform tucked within the larger Common Pasture notable for its unique combination of wildlife habitat, historic agricultural use and important scenic qualities.

This wetland of the Little River watershed contains the kinds of natural resources that Indigenous people known as Algonquians relied on for a millennium or more, including the diverse grasses, waterfowl, reptiles, and amphibians. Where the colonists grazed their cattle, Indigenous peoples had hunted cervids such as the white-tailed deer.

Rare species such as the American Bittern, barn owl and blue-spotted salamander have been documented on the 1,000 acres used by colonists to pasture livestock in the 17th century.

Conserved in partnership with the City of Newburyport, the Trust for Public Land and the Parker River Clean Water Association.

Centuries of grazing have maintained a flat, wet grassland habitat. Standing water contributes to a rich diversity of sedges, rushes and other wetland grasses.

See common snipe in April and May. Killdeer nest in the area, and when the water table is high, look for dabbling ducks and various waterfowl.