Birding
Vermont hosts some 350 bird species that either breed here, migrate through, or turn up as accidentals.
Vermont’s diverse habitats—from high mountain spruce-fir forests and treeless balds, to mixed hardwood forests, to the Champlain and Connecticut River Valleys with diverse agricultural, wetland, and forested habitats—afford the birder a variety of species to discover. Brandon is fortunate in that some of these habitats exist within the town-wide area, while others are a short distance away. From the Hermit Thrush—our state bird—to a variety of other species, Brandon can give the keen birder some 60 species on a spring morning. Further afield, one of the rarest North American birds—the Bicknell’s Thrush—calls Vermont their summer home. They are found on several high peaks in the Green Mountains. From hawks to hummingbirds, bluebirds to buntings, the nine suggested locations herein should offer beginning to expert birders a morning of pure avian delight!
When not on public lands, please be sure to respect private property. Also, always park in safe locations, well off the road.