Up-close and Personal! Experience the Birds of the Connecticut River Byway

Experience an up-close interaction with local bird populations and add a few species to your life list by traveling through Massachusetts and along the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. The Connecticut River Byway covers the vibrant habitat along the Connecticut River watershed where several protected areas attract an abundance of bird species to the region's varied ecosystems.

Sunset on the Connecticut River (VT) [1]

Watch for birds throughout both the upper and lower sections of the Connecticut River on the Connecticut River Birding Trail, which encompasses most of the byway. Find a primitive campsite along the river and and escape into the heart of nature. A complex melody of birdcalls will interweave with the gentle sounds of flowing water as you pilot your canoe along the Connecticut River Paddlers’ Trail. Keep your eyes peeled for rare sightings of birds away from the noise and confusion of civilization.

The Silvio O. Conte National Forest and Wildlife Refuge, which covers much of the Connecticut River watershed from Connecticut to the U.S./Canada border, offers a multitude of birding-related activities. Visit the refuge's education center at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont, for hands-on exhibits about local birds and their ecology. The museum's surroundings include a two-acre, park-like setting with a network of walking trails for all ages and fitness levels.

Lace up your hiking boots and grab your binoculars before hitting the trails in Vermont's Windmill Hill Nature Reserve. Within the reserve's thousands of acres, you'll find 14.5 miles of trails that extend from Rockingham to Dummerston. The hardwood forest and seasonal pools here teem with exciting birds. Keep an eye out for pretty little birds like Indigo Buntings, Baltimore Orioles and Scarlet Tanagers. You'll also have the chance to see some larger birds like Broad-winged Hawks and Barred Owls.

Watch for the American Bittern and hear the evocative yodel of the Common Loon as it fishes from the surface of Lake Umbagog. See Northern Harriers skim the ground and lake and Ospreys hover over placid lake waters before they plunge into the water, then emerge triumphantly with a twitching fish in their grasp. Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge in New Hampshire provides a wealth of stirring bird activity.  Nearby Leonard Pond features nesting Bald Eagle pairs, a testament to the success of an early 1980s’ transplant effort.

Moore Reservoir (NH) [2]

Boasting an enigmatic name, the "Mystery Trail" at the Union Village Dam in Thetford, Vermont, takes you through habitats such as old fields, rivers, beaver ponds, and open tree thickets. The ponds are home to Green Herons on the shore, and Green-winged Teals and Mergansers on the water's surface. Songbirds fill the forests and provide aural accompaniment to the sun-dappled forest's visuals. Take the family on the easy trail and log some of the 135 species known to live within the area.

For more birding adventures, head to the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls, Massachusetts. This educational center is the Massachusetts hub of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. At the center, learn about more than 50 varieties of local birds including Ospreys, Three-Toed Woodpeckers, Boreal Chickadees, and many more! After investigating some of their displays showing typical habitats in the Connecticut River Valley, step outside and explore the four-acre park. Take a leisurely stroll along the river on a walking tour to Barton’s Cove and keep your binoculars handy – you never know what kinds of birds you may encounter.

Summit House on Mount Holyoke (MA) [3]

The J.A. Skinner State Park in Hadley, Massachusetts, is a first-class bird watching spot. As you drive on the park road, watch for rare species like the Cerulean and Worm-eating Warbler. The park's Summit House is a hawk watcher’s paradise. Keep an eye to the skies and you may catch a glimpse of a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Coopers Hawk, Northern Goshawk, or a Northern Harrier. If you’re lucky, you may spot a Peregrine Falcon coming out of a spectacular dive. In the fall, watch for migrating Broad-winged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, and Red-shouldered Hawks catching some thermals and soaring in the cool autumn air.

These locations only represent a fraction of the world-class birding locales along the three states of the Connecticut River Byway. With nature preserves located all throughout the Connecticut River Watershed, the area provides birders with a variety of species against a lovely New England backdrop.