Birding At The Great Marsh

The privately-owned Great Marsh covers almost 700 acres of wetlands, shrub swamp, fields, and floodplain forests which in turn host a large and diverse array of avian life. To date, 200 species of birds have been identified on the property including several rare and uncommon species such as rusty blackbirds and fox sparrows which are regular winter residents; Virginia rails that breed here and remain in the marsh year-round; the sandhill crane that stopped by in October; and the red-headed woodpeckers that have been observed regularly this fall/early winter.

Avian researcher Mike Coulter has been surveying and studying the birds of the Great Marsh for the past 13+ years. Join Mike for a birding field trip around this amazing property, which is only open to the public for special events such as this one. Last February Mike presented a webinar for VFAS on his ongoing research at Great Marsh, a recording of which you can find here: https://youtu.be/nKKm2ijP5K0

Our field trip will cover 2-3 miles over mostly flat terrain, but the paths we will be travelling are earthen and, since this is a marsh, are guaranteed to be wet and possibly muddy. Waterproof shoes are very strongly recommended. Please bring binoculars if you have them. There is a heated restroom available on site in the nature center.

Parking: after turning onto Moores Rd and crossing the bridge, please keep to the right at the fork. Follow the driveway around to the top and park on the grass where you see other vehicles.

NOTE: This program is free, but donations (via cash, Paypal, or Venmo) are gratefully accepted to support the work of the Great Marsh Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific studies and educational opportunities (such as this one) centered at the Great Marsh.

Photo credit: Red-headed Woodpecker, taken at the Great Marsh by Kayann Cassidy