Birding spots

Best Birding Spots in Vermont

By species reported, the top birding spots in Vermont are La Platte River, Herricks Cove, and Colchester Pond. La Platte River has the longest list (204 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
La Platte River	Chittenden County	204	4,615	76	144	119	150
Herricks Cove	Windham County	194	2,108	53	183	102	125
Colchester Pond	Chittenden County	193	3,341	53	169	134	140
Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (west)	Addison County	189	1,505	39	155	111	113
Shelburne Farms	Chittenden County	186	1,288	65	164	109	101
Lake Runnenede	Windsor County	182	2,137	69	163	101	121
Berlin Pond	Washington County	172	1,957	34	157	98	105
Waits River	Orange County	169	903	39	157	102	96
Holmes Creek	Chittenden County	167	2,478	68	113	89	106
McCuen Slang Wildlife Management Area	Addison County	167	1,076	37	111	82	125
LaPlatte River Marsh Natural Area	Chittenden County	163	1,613	42	146	116	79
Lower Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area	Addison County	160	1,322	66	135	89	62
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge	Franklin County	160	1,121	31	148	101	85
Whitney/Hospital Creek Wildlife Management Area	Addison County	159	667	19	103	74	147
Kilowatt Park	Windsor County	157	2,625	54	129	77	112
Little Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area	Addison County	156	640	35	138	90	82
Deweys Pond	Windsor County	153	920	6	124	92	89
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge (Hog Island)	Franklin County	152	966	30	135	88	51
Shelburne Pond	Chittenden County	151	819	16	135	71	71
Helen W. Buckner Memorial Preserve at Bald Mountain	Rutland County	150	714	37	133	103	69
Danby Pond	Rutland County	150	551	23	132	101	110
Sandbar State Park	Chittenden County	149	981	37	97	64	107
Little Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area (Goose Creek)	Addison County	148	598	20	117	96	58
Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (northwest 2)	Addison County	148	530	13	68	103	105
Wenlock Wildlife Management Area	Essex County	147	3,032	31	128	125	100
Pompanoosuc	Windsor County	146	1,853	22	110	100	82
Winooski Valley Park District	Chittenden County	146	1,524	36	142	79	80
South Hero Marsh Wildlife Management Area	Grand Isle County	146	720	20	128	89	77
Lake Paran	Bennington County	145	820	44	108	74	93
Putney Central School Forest	Windham County	143	980	35	133	77	63

By county