Birding spots

Best Birding Spots in Connecticut

By species reported, the top birding spots in Connecticut are Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve, Sherwood Island State Park, and Beard Cove (historical). Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve has the longest list (290 species), and its best season is fall.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	County	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve	New Haven County	290	10,098	144	237	170	238
Sherwood Island State Park	Fairfield County	263	6,315	140	219	142	220
Beard Cove (historical)	New Haven County	262	8,925	110	213	156	224
Lighthouse Point	New Haven County	231	2,239	86	148	108	209
Harkness Memorial State Park	New London County	228	2,880	113	152	131	168
Mohawk Swamp	New Haven County	225	3,247	122	151	113	188
Greenwich Point Park	Fairfield County	222	2,871	126	182	121	177
Morse Park	New Haven County	220	3,681	82	155	146	171
Barn Island Wildlife Area	New London County	220	1,920	106	173	140	153
Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve (Hammonasset Point)	New Haven County	218	1,736	102	165	105	145
Stratford Point	Fairfield County	217	3,352	101	149	107	168
Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve (southeast)	New Haven County	216	1,896	97	165	110	150
Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve (Willard Island)	New Haven County	200	1,363	78	168	98	143
Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge	Fairfield County	193	3,086	67	163	112	139
Glastonbury Meadows	Hartford County	193	683	69	147	97	143
Cove Island	Fairfield County	190	808	81	130	73	130
Bluff Point State Park	New London County	189	767	90	134	108	138
Trout Brook Valley	Fairfield County	187	1,588	72	161	126	163
Great Meadows	Fairfield County	184	3,190	98	128	68	146
Bluff Point	New London County	183	770	43	98	121	163
Rocky Neck State Park	New London County	182	1,526	93	139	95	117
White Memorial Foundation, Inc.	Litchfield County	180	3,047	57	172	130	140
Veterans Park	Fairfield County	178	589	69	135	91	130
Fisher Meadow (2 Parcels)	Hartford County	177	2,181	79	148	94	137
East Rock State Park	New Haven County	176	4,264	78	161	92	113
Mansfield Hollow Lake	Windham County	174	1,313	43	111	127	126
Cove Harbor	Fairfield County	174	818	77	113	66	129
Point Folly Campground	Litchfield County	173	1,650	71	151	81	132
Short Beach	Fairfield County	172	1,711	95	97	93	111
Bantam Lake	Litchfield County	171	2,470	86	156	73	123

By county