NEWPORT — With the arrival of longer days and warmer temperatures, Vermont’s bird lovers are looking to the fields and woods for a flit of color in the bushes or listening for an overhead chirp, whistle, squawk or honk as birds engage in their annual spring migration.
Some of Vermont’s best bird-watching opportunities are at the state’s 99 wildlife management areas, or WMAs.
Eagle Point in Derby was recently recognized by Vermont Fish & Wildlife as of the top 10 birding hotspots in the State.
Eagle Point WMA is a 420-acre parcel located along the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog on the United States-Canada border.
The WMA is located approximately five miles north of Newport City on the Eagle Point Road.
The property consists of nearly a mile of lakeshore habitat, numerous wetlands, large meadows, hemlock, and mixed forest.
It supports a great diversity of wildlife including aquatic mammals, waterfowl, grassland birds, and many other wetland and terrestrial species.
Eagle Point WMA is an important waterfowl production and migration
area, particularly for black ducks, mallards, and wood ducks.
It’s also an important grassland bird production area.
Short hay crop rotations and habitat loss to development throughout Vermont elevate the importance of the 200+ acres of grassland habitat on the WMA.
Grassland species include bobolink, savannah sparrow, field sparrow, and possibly vesper sparrow.
Also present are a variety of raptors including the northern harrier, osprey, bald eagle, kestrel, red-tailed hawk, barred and great horned owls.
Eagle Point also provides excellent opportunities to see a variety of wetland and marsh species.
Herons, bitterns, snipe, pied-billed grebes, rails, common moorhens, and marsh wrens make up a large portion of the species you will most likely encounter in the marshes of the WMA.
Visit https://www.nekwildlifephoto.com for more photos like the one above from Eagle Point taken by photographer Doug Gimler.
