Thacher Island

National Wildlife 

Refuge

Trail Guide

MARCH 3, 1849

U S. . DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge is managed

under Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

6 Plum Island Turnpike

Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950

978/465 5753

978/465 2807 Fax

e-mail: FW5RW_PRNWR@FWS.GOV

http://parkerriver.fws.gov

Federal Relay Service 

for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

1 800/877 8339

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

http://www.fws.gov

1 800/344 WILD

May 2004

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
This goose, designed by

J.N. “Ding” Darling, has

become the symbol of the

National Refuge System.

Welcome Thacher Island National Wildlife

Refuge, administered by Parker

River National Wildlife Refuge, sits

1.5 miles off the coast of Rockport,

Massachusetts. The refuge

encompasses the northern 22 acres

of the 52-acre island and is only

accessible by boat. The U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service manages the refuge

to protect migratory birds,

endangered species and other

wildlife and their habitats.

During the 19th century, common,

roseate, arctic, and least terns nested

on islands along the entire New

England coast. At the turn of the

century, hats adorned with tern

feathers became the height of fashion

and a drastic reduction of the tern

population followed. During this

decline, gulls, which compete for 

the same habitat as terns, started to

encroach on feeding and nesting sites

traditionally used by terns. In the

1970s, the closing of open landfills

displaced hundreds and thousands of

gulls, who moved to offshore nesting

habitat used by the declining tern

population. Again the large,

aggressive gulls kept the terns from

their traditional offshore habitats.

When they nest inland, terns not

only have to compete with gulls but

also have to deal with mainland

predators, thus limiting their

reproductive success.

In 1956 Thacher Island

was the breeding ground

for 1125 pairs of arctic, common and

roseate terns. There are currently no

nesting terns on the island. However,

Thacher Island has the potential to

regain its status as a prime area for

tern breeding. The refuge initiated a

tern restoration program in 2001. If

successful, we can look forward to

the return of terns to Thacher Island

in the next decade.

Tern History

Welcome to the Thacher

Island National

Wildlife Refuge, where

coastal habitat is

actively protected and

managed for migratory

birds. Its location

within the Atlantic

Flyway, means the

refuge provides an

important resting,

feeding, and nesting

habitat for many

species of songbirds

and shorebirds.

Thacher Island

Kevin J. Leach/USFWS All other photos Kathy Whittemore/USFWS

Common Tern

© Julien Beauregard
Tread Lightly

Climb the Tower

You are about to embark on a national

wildlife refuge. This and all refuges

are places for wildlife first. Please

respect the wildlife and its habitat.

This includes minimizing disturbance

to wildlife, staying on designated

trails, obeying refuge rules and

regulations, and packing out any

trash you may have. On this refuge,

plants and animals are protected.

Please leave them undisturbed. Take

only pictures; leave only footprints.

As you start toward the North Tower

you can enjoy the view of Rockport

Harbor on your left. Once an open

field, this heavily shrubbed area now

surrounds you. Along this trail you’ll

find 2 non-native, invasive species —

honeysuckle and bittersweet. Non-native

species such as these typically arrived

on the island through intentional

introduction or their seeds could have

been carried by birds. Watch out for

the poison ivy on your right; the shiny

green leaves of three turn red in the

fall. While its berries provide food for

birds, poison ivy will likely trigger an

allergic reaction in you. Notice the

bull thistles in fall attracting

butterflies, moths and bees. Take

some time to view the birds. You are

likely to see herring and great blackbacked gulls nesting from April

through August. You may also see

cormorants, black ducks, mallards

and Canada geese. Sea ducks, such as

eider and scaup, feed in the waters

near the protective shore of the island.

Rounding the corner, notice the

Virginia creeper climbing the rocks and

the mint attracting butterflies. Closer

Off to the North

Tower

to the North Tower, you’ll see staghorn

sumac, named for its velvety branches

that resemble a deer’s new antlers.

Bear left on the trail to get to the

North Tower; it gets a bit rocky here,

so keep a sure and steady step. The

North Tower uses a 15-watt

fluorescent bulb that replicates the

amber light of its original kerosene oil

light and can be seen for almost 8

miles. Climb the tower’s 156 steps for a

magnificent view of the island and the

Atlantic Ocean surrounding it.

Cormorant nests can be seen on the

rocks below and, if you’re lucky, harbor

seals can be spotted frolicking in the

sea or basking on the rocks. If you are

not interested in climbing the tower,

simply look around the island from the

base; it, too, affords a lovely view.

Here you come to a fork in the road.

The trail on the right takes you

through a damp woodland of

arrowwood, black cherry trees and

wrinkled rose whose berries, called

rosehips remain intact through the

winter and are a valuable food source

to wildlife.

The trail to the left is Wedmore Walk.

If you choose it, you will pass through

more staghorn sumac to get to an

oceanside path. Walk slowly over the

rocks and keep an eye out for garter

snakes, a species introduced to the

island by people. Notice the crab

carcasses strewn about, the remains

of some gulls’ meal.

Wedmore Walk

In January 2001

the Cape Ann

Light Station was

designated a

National Historic

Landmark by the

National Park

Service.

Gull eggs

North Tower

Birds on rocks
Benne tt's Trace Trail

Annes Way

Thacher Island

National

Wildlife Refuge

Legend

Refuge Boundary

Trails

Lighthouse

Boat Ramp

Restroom

Rockport Harbor

Atlantic Ocean

North Tower

South Tower

Keeper's Houses

Oil House

Whistle House Cistern

Helicopter Pad

Grave

Wedmore Walk

Boat House

N

0 75 37.5 150 225 300

Meters

0 125 250 500 750 1,000 Feet
View the South

Tower

on the season, black raspberries

may be ripe.

Explore the south side of the island.

Start at the “bus stop” to begin the

Bennett’s Trace trail. As it winds its

way to the ocean, this trail passes

under staghorn sumac, arrowwood

and black cherry trees. The black

cherry tree thrives in coastal areas

because of its ability to adapt to high

winds. Wild cherries are an important

wildlife food during the summer.

Birds make repeated trips to harvest

fruit off the branches.

Take some time to stop and enjoy the

view of the Atlantic ocean. Turn to

see a splendid view of the South

Tower with the solar panel that

provides power for it and the current

foghorn. The South Tower is still

operated as an official aid to

navigation by the U.S. Coast Guard

and its blinking red light can be seen

for miles.

Follow this oceanside trail as it winds

around the southern tip. Listen for

birds singing. Look for goldenthread,

pokeweed and goldenrod. Goldenrod

is mistakenly thought to be an

allergen, mainly because its

emergence coincides with that of

other allergens, like ragweed, which

is also abundant along this trail.

Here is a large stand of multi-flora

rose, a non-native, invasive species.

As with the wrinkled rose, the fruits

are valuable for wildlife because they

endure the winter. Poison ivy climbs

the rocks, surrounded by marsh

ferns, bull thistle and common

nightshade. Look closely at the stock

of the pokeweed plant. In late

summer the stem turns bright pink

and the berries turn black. Milk

Island can be viewed from here; it

was once a home to cows. Buoys can

be seen washed up on the rocks. Look

for gulls hunting crabs at low tide.

South side 

Around the bend you’ll

come to large rocks on the

right, behind which grows

purple loosestrife -

another non-native,

invasive plant known to

invade wetlands. Each

plant can produce up to 2

million seeds. As

loosestrife grows, it shades out other

plants like the native smartweed, also

seen here. Waterfowl feed on the seeds

of smartweed. In late summer you will

come upon goldenthread, a parasitic

plant that strangles the plant it lives on.

Here grow cattails, probably the

most familiar of all wetland plants.

This small wetland has not yet been

completely invaded by purple

loosestrife. As you continue on this

trail, which will take you to the

keeper’s houses and the South

Tower, listen for the songs of

warblers, finches and other songbirds.

Here you’ll come across shadbush

and arrowwood. Shadbush was so

named because their numerous white

flowers appear at about the same

time that American shad start their

migration inland. It is believed that

Native Americans used the wood of

arrowwood to make arrow shafts.

With their fatty content, arrowwood

berries are a source of sustained

energy, making this site an important

stopover for migratory birds.

The Virginia creeper, seen here,

produces lots of berries that are a

valuable food source for wildlife. As

you leave this trail and head toward

the boat house, you’ll pass more

arrowwood on the right and, on the

left, multi-flora rose, crabapple trees,

red chokeberry and bayberry.

This path will take you through the

center of the refuge. Explore the

plant life; see where birds like to

hide. Watch for snakes. Depending

Center of refuge

Purple

loosestrife

South Tower
native trees. Many of our native

wildflowers that have adapted to

flowering before trees leaf out are

unable to survive with honeysuckles

competing for sunlight. The

honeysuckle’s berries contain mostly

sugar. The bright red berries may be

inviting to migratory birds but offer

no sustained nutrition. The birds fill

up but quickly lose energy during

their long migration.

Many different birds can be seen and

heard along this trail throughout the

summer: goldfinch, warblers,

hummingbirds, catbirds and crows to

name a few. And watch for snake holes;

striped adders may be seen here.

This grassy area, scattered with

pokeweed, is currently used by gulls.

It would be ideal tern nesting habitat,

as terns like open areas with little

vegetation.

This short path leads you to a stonemarked grave, believed to be that of

the ten-year-old niece of Anthony

Thacher, for whom this island is

named. Thacher and family were

aboard a small boat out of Ipswich,

bound for Marblehead. It was caught

in the Great Storm of 1635 and was

dashed to pieces on the rocks of the

island. Of the 23 passengers and crew,

only Thacher and his wife survived. In

1636-37, the General Court voted to

grant Thacher the island “at the head

of Cape Ann, as his inheritance.”

We hope that you have enjoyed

walking the trails of Thacher Island

National Wildlife Refuge. To learn

more about the National Wildlife

Refuge System, stop by the visitor

center at Parker River National

Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport,

Massachusetts.

To arrange boat transportation to the

island, contact the Thacher Island

Association at 978/546 7697.

Path to Grave

Look for grasshoppers and

butterflies like the swallowtail and

monarch. You may also see red

raspberries, yarrow, ragweed and

greenbrier. The small berries of

greenbrier are eaten by several

species of songbirds.

This is another nice viewing spot.

Cormorants can be seen basking in

the sun, and ducks, geese, gulls and

shorebirds may also be observed. For

a longer tour, follow the path straight

ahead along the coast and resume the

guided tour at the boat house. For a

shorter tour, turn right onto Anne’s

way and follow the guided stops in

reverse from stops 20 to 15.

At the boat house, take the cart path,

which was originally used to shuttle

food and supplies from the boat to the

keeper’s houses. This path leads you

by the campground, cistern, outhouse

and helicopter pad.

This trail, arched with crabapple

trees, offers a peaceful opportunity to

observe the habitat of many

songbirds. Here is the invasive asian

bittersweet; its green to yellow fruits

split open at maturity to reveal redorange arils that surround the seed.

A crabapple tree arches over the trail

here. Notice the woodpecker holes in

the trunk, common in older trees as

the woodpeckers hunted for worms.

The bark of this black cherry is

typical of older cherry trees. It is

called “burnt potato chips” because of

the way it peels back from the tree.

Black raspberries can be found all

along this trail, as well as staghorn

sumac and honeysuckle. Honeysuckle

is another non-native, invasive plant

that is especially problematic in

coastal areas. Honeysuckle leafs out

in April, a good month before our

Annes Way

Burnt Potato

Chips

Nesting Area

Bird viewing

Cart Path

Woodpecker

holes

Nesting area

Grave