Readers’ favorite places to watch owls

Published: October 4, 2010

To view our map of readers’ favorite places to watch owls, click here.

Last June and July, we asked readers of Birder’s World Magazine to tell us their favorite places in North America to see owls. Approximately 500 birdwatchers responded, casting more than 2,100 votes. Their favorite places are plotted on the map above and listed below.

An article in the December 2010 issue of Birder’s World (now BirdWatching) describes our readers’ favorite place to watch owls — the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona. Subscribers will have full access to the article, along with the rest of the December issue, online. You can, too! Subscribe to BirdWatching!

Congratulations to our binocular winner!
Each survey participant was entered into a drawing for a Nikon Monarch 8x42 binocular provided by our generous partner, Nikon Sport Optics. Nikon and we were happy to award the binoculars to Burt Stampfl of Bristol, Wisconsin. Read about Burt here.

For more information about Nikon Sport Optics, visit www.NikonBirding.com.

This was our sixth and final Readers’ Favorites Survey of 2009-10. Here are the results of the first five surveys:

See our readers’ favorite places to watch eagles.
See our readers’ favorite places to watch warblers.
See our readers’ favorite places to watch hummingbirds.
See our readers’ favorite places to watch shorebirds.
See our readers’ favorite places to watch hawks.

Our readers’ favorite places to watch owls:

1. Huachuca Mountains (Ramsey, Carr, and Miller Canyons), AZ

This 38-mile-long mountain range south of Sierra Vista is consistently rated one of the best birding destinations in North America. Three east-slope canyons within Coronado National Forest — Ramsey, Carr, and Miller Canyons — are the most productive for birders. Big draws include Elegant Trogon, Red-faced Warbler, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, and White-eared Hummingbird. In addition, at least six species of owl are recorded in the canyons: Western and Whiskered Screech-Owls, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Flammulated, Great Horned, and Spotted Owls.

Our readers also voted Huachuca hotspots Ramsey Canyon Preserve, Beatty’s Miller Canyon Guest Ranch, and Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast among their favorite places to watch hummingbirds.

Readers’ favorite places to watch hummingbirds

Guide to Birding Hot Spots in the Huachuca Mountains (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory)

Ramsey Canyon Preserve (Nature Conservancy)

Scenic Drives: Carr Canyon Road (Coronado National Forest)

Miller Peak Wilderness (Coronado National Forest)

Beatty’s Miller Canyon Guest Ranch

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Calling All Owls: Three Arizona birders set out to break the one-day owling record” by Kenn Kaufman and Kate Stenberg, Birder’s World, April 1988, p. 14

2. Madera Canyon, AZ

This beautiful wooded canyon within the Santa Rita Mountains 25 miles southeast of Tucson provides breeding habitat for more than 130 bird species. Birders visit from all over the world to find Elegant Trogon, Yellow-eyed Junco, Lucy's Warbler, Varied Bunting, Flame-colored Tanager, and many other species. Seven owl species — Great Horned, Elf, Spotted, and Flammulated Owls, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Western and Whiskered Screech-Owls — occur in the canyon and are most often heard after dusk. At the Santa Rita Lodge, look for Elf Owl and Whiskered Screech-Owl in nearby power poles, and head to the upper canyon for Spotted and Flammulated Owls.

Our readers also voted Madera Canyon one of their favorite places to watch hummingbirds.

Readers’ favorite places to watch hummingbirds

Madera Canyon (Coronado National Forest)

Friends of Madera Canyon

Bird Sightings (Friends of Madera Canyon)

Santa Rita Lodge

Read more: “Where to find the 20 birds birdwatchers want to see most” by Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World, December 2006, p. 50

Read more: “Arizona's Hummingbird Hotspots” by Charles W. Melton, Birder’s World, June 2003, p. 28

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Madera Canyon, Arizona” by Kenn Kaufman, Birder’s World, June 1991, p. 42

3. Sax-Zim Bog, MN

A vast conifer bog located about an hour northwest of Duluth. The Important Bird Area provides habitat for birds that are typically found much farther north, including Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, American Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, and Rough-legged Hawk. Snowy and Boreal Owls are also possible at Sax-Zim. Start your visit in the town of Meadowlands, which has kiosks that show maps of the birding areas. Meadowlands is also home base of a birding festival held each February.

The Sax Zim Bog and Birding Festival (Minnesota Ornithologists Union)

Sax Zim Bog Important Bird Area Map (Audubon Minnesota)

Sax-Zim Bog (Watchable Wildlife)

Read more: Minnesota’s Record-Breaking Winter for Owls, “Birding Briefs,” Birder’s World, June 2006

Read more: Canadian Owls, Mexican Songbirds Invade U.S. and Your Photos of the Owl Invasion, “Birding Briefs,” Birder’s World, April 2005

4. Cave Creek Canyon, AZ

This canyon within Coronado National Forest, three miles southwest of the town of Portal (site No. 10), is one of the best places in the Southwest to see the Elegant Trogon. Among the 200+ bird species that have been sighted here are Rose-throated Becard, Olive Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Magnificent Hummingbird, and Blue-throated Hummingbird. Ten owl species have been reported, including Flammulated, Elf, and Mexican Spotted Owls, and Whiskered Screech-Owl.

Our readers also voted Cave Creek Canyon a favorite place to watch warblers and hummingbirds.

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Readers’ favorite places to watch hummingbirds

Scenic drive: Cave Creek Canyon/Portal-to-Paradise Loop (USDA Forest Service)

Guide to Birding Hot Spots in the Chiricahua Mountains & Sulphur Springs Valley (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory)

Southwestern Research Station

Important Bird Area Profile: Chiricahua Mountains, Coronado National Forest (Audubon)

Cave Creek Ranch

Read more: “Where to find the 20 birds birdwatchers want to see most” by Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World, December 2006, p. 50

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Searching for trogons in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona” by Vera Walters, Birder’s World, August 1997, p. 42

Read more: “Calling All Owls: Three Arizona birders set out to break the one-day owling record” by Kenn Kaufman and Kate Stenberg, Birder’s World, April 1988, p. 14

5. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, FL

An Important Bird Area and one of the most significant natural areas in Florida. Migrating songbirds visit in spring and fall. Winter residents include Pine Warbler and Painted Bunting. And egrets, ibises, herons, Limpkin, and Anhinga are seen year-round. Supports the third-largest Swallow-tailed Kite roost and the largest colony of Wood Storks in the United States. Also look for Barred, Great Horned, and Barn Owls and Eastern Screech-Owl. A raised 2.25-mile boardwalk leads through four distinct environments: a pine upland, a wet prairie, a cypress forest, and a marsh.

Our readers also voted Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary a favorite place to watch warblers and hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary’s Boardwalk, Florida’s Greenways and Trails (Florida DEP)

Corkscrew Swamp Watershed, Florida’s Important Bird Area (Audubon)

Read more: “Where to find the 20 birds birdwatchers want to see most” by Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World, December 2006, p. 50

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Corkscrew Swamp, Florida” by Sheryl DeVore, Birder’s World, August 1991, p. 42

6. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, TX

One of the best birding sites in North America. The Rio Grande Valley hosts one of the most spectacular convergences of birds on earth, and it’s the only region of the United States where you can see tropical bird species typical of Mexico. At the park, approximately 325 bird species have been documented. It’s a great spot to listen for Barn, Great Horned, and Elf Owls and Eastern Screech-Owl. And the park’s list of rarities includes a 1983 record for a Mottled Owl.

Our readers also voted the Rio Grande Valley a favorite place to watch warblers. And the park was voted a favorite place to watch hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival
November 10-14, 2010

World Birding Center

Lower Texas Coast, Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail (Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Read more: “Treasures of the Texas Tropics” by Oscar Carmona, Birder’s World, December 2000, p. 58.

Read more: “10 days of birdwatching and photography along the Rio Grande Valley and Texas coast” by Sam Fried, Birder’s World, December 1990, p. 22

Read more: “The Rio Grande of South Texas” by George Oxford Miller, Birder’s World, August 1987, p. 34

7. Everglades National Park, FL

A World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, a Wetland of International Importance, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and the largest national park east of the Mississippi River. Primarily known for its egrets, herons, ibises, spoonbills, Short-tailed Hawks, Snail Kites, and the occasional flamingo, the park is also home to six owl species. Barred, Great Horned, and Barn Owls and Eastern Screech-Owls breed in the park, and Short-eared and Burrowing Owls are rare.

Our readers also voted the Everglades a favorite place to watch eagles, warblers, and hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch eagles

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Everglades National Park (NPS)

Tropical Audubon Society

Read more: “Birdwatching on the Edge of the Everglades at STA 5 in Florida” by Mark Kiser and Selena Kiser, Birder’s World, April 2009, p. 24

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Birdwatching at Big Bend, Everglades, Olympic, Grand Teton, and Acadia National Parks” by Roland Wauer, Birder’s World, April 2000, p. 46

8. Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, MN

Located at the western tip of Lake Superior, on bluffs overlooking East Duluth. The reserve is best known for hawks — 94,000 raptors fly past the hawk watch each fall — but it’s also a great spot to see owls. Banders from the Hawk Ridge Banding Station band an average of 555 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 61 Long-eared Owls each year, as well as smaller numbers of Great Horned, Barred, Boreal, and other owls. The pine grove along Skyline Parkway, accessible from the Pinewoods Trail, is where to look for roosting owls.

Our readers also voted Hawk Ridge and neighboring West Skyline Hawk Count a favorite place to watch hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

Hawk Ridge Banding Research

Driving directions

Read more: “Hawkwatching, Hawkwatches, and the Hawk Migration Association of North America” by Diann MacRae, Birder’s World, October 1987

9. Cape Coral, FL

Burrowing Owls are the main draw for birders to this city of 163,000 residents located between Fort Myers and Sanibel Island. The city’s population of Burrowing Owls — more than 1,000 nesting pairs — may be the largest in the world. The birds nest in front yards, parks, outside the library, and at City Hall. At 120 square miles, Cape Coral is the second largest city in Florida by area, and it has more miles of canals — over 400 — than any other city on earth.

Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife

Burrowing Owl sites map (Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife)

Burrowing Owl Information (City of Cape Coral)

Cape Coral Burrowing Owls Flickr photostream

Photo: Burrowing Owls at Cape Coral, Birder’s World Photo of the Week, March 27, 2006

10. Portal, AZ

This small town is the gateway to Cave Creek Canyon (site No. 4) and home base for birding trips to nearby sites like Willow Tank, Stateline Road, Paradise, and Rustler Park. Elf Owls are often found in Portal, and Whiskered Screech-Owl, Spotted Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and other species occur throughout the local area.

Guide to Birding Hot Spots: The Chiricahua Mountains & Sulphur Springs Valley (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory)

Read more: “Where to find the 20 birds birdwatchers want to see most” by Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World, December 2006, p. 50

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Calling All Owls: Three Arizona birders set out to break the one-day owling record” by Kenn Kaufman and Kate Stenberg, Birder’s World, April 1988, p. 14

11. Amherst Island, ON

This island in the northeast corner of Lake Ontario, where more than 200 species have been seen, is best known for its owls. Short-eared, Long-eared, and Great Horned Owls and Eastern Screech-Owl are resident. In winter, Amherst attracts Snowy, Northern Saw-whet, Boreal, and sometimes Great Gray and Northern Hawk Owls. Good places to watch owls include Owl Woods and the Kingston Field Naturalists’ property at the east end of the island.

Amherst Island (Ontario Field Ornithologists)

Kingston Field Naturalists

Amherst Island Important Bird Area Site Summary (Bird Studies Canada)

Photo: Northern Saw-whet Owl at Owl Woods, Birder’s World Photo of the Week, October 5, 2009

12. Duluth Harbor, MN

In winter, this is the most reliable place in Minnesota to look for Snowy Owls. One or two individuals are present most years from November to March, and more owls may be seen as they pass through the area. Also look for Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and Gyrfalcon. Good spots to bird include Park Point, the Port Terminal (site of our pin), and Erie Pier at 40th Avenue West. And don’t forget neighboring Superior, Wisconsin. Snowies and other winter raptors are often found on its side of the harbor.

Duluth Audubon

Duluth/North Shore Rare Bird Alert (Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union)

Minnesota Birding Festivals, Field Trips & Meetings

Read more: “Where to find the 20 birds birdwatchers want to see most” by Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World, December 2006, p. 50

13. King Ranch, TX

The four units, or divisions, of King Ranch cover 1,289 square miles between Corpus Christi and Brownsville. The private ranch raises cattle and quarter horses and has large farming operations. In addition, it's a fantastic place to bird. More than 350 species are on its bird list, including Audubon’s Oriole, Botteri’s Sparrow, Green Jay, White-tailed Hawk, and Olive Sparrow. Its breeding populations of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Tropical Parula are the largest in the United States. Burrowing, Barn, and Short-eared Owls are also found here. The best unit for birding is the Norias Division, and the only way to see it is on a tour. The ranch offers birding tours from October through June, and you can also take a tour with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours or through the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. Pin is at the King Ranch Visitor Center in Kingsville.

King Ranch Birds

King Ranch Nature Tours

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours upcoming Texas tours

Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival Field Trips
November 10-14, 2010

Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail - King Ranch Norias Unit

Read more: “Birding Bonanza: The King Ranch of Texas welcomes birders” by Judith A. Toups, Birder’s World, August 1990, p. 10.

14. Magee Marsh, Ottawa NWR, OH

The best area in Ohio to witness the migration of warblers and other neotropical migrants is also a favorite place to watch owls. Together, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and 5,000-acre Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge preserve the largest uninterrupted area of coastal wetlands habitats remaining in the state. The entire western basin of Lake Erie, including Magee Marsh, Crane Creek, Ottawa NWR, and environs, has been named an Important Bird Area by Audubon Ohio. The Lake Erie Marsh Region has been designated a Wetland of Regional Importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN).

Our readers also voted Magee Marsh and Ottawa NWR a favorite place to watch eagles, warblers, and shorebirds.

Readers’ favorite places to watch eagles

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Readers’ favorite places to watch shorebirds

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (Ohio DNR)

Kenn Kaufman’s Crane Creek – Magee Birding

Ottawa NWR (USFWS)

Read more: “Heartland Hotspot” by Steve Pollick, Birder’s World, December 2002, p. 40

Read more: “Birder’s World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

15. Mt. Lemmon, AZ

Resident Northern Pygmy-Owls and Spotted Owls are the target birds in this high-elevation mixed conifer forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, but Lemmon Rock Lookout is another attraction: It provides a great vantage point for watching Zone-tailed and Red-tailed Hawks and Peregrine Falcons. USFS national forest pass required.

Mt. Lemmon-Marshall Gulch (Aviatlas)

Tucson Region Birding Locations (Tucson Audubon Society)

Coronado National Forest (USDA Forest Service)

Tucson Audubon Society

Read more: “Birdwatching in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona” by Mary Ann Chapman, Birder's World, October 1987

16. Scheelite Canyon, Fort Huachuca, AZ

Scheelite Canyon on Fort Huachuca is often described as the most beautiful in the Huachuca Mountains. It’s famous for its resident Mexican Spotted Owls, an endangered species, but is also good for Strickland’s Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Bridled Titmouse, Montezuma Quail, and other birds. Fort Huachuca is an active military installation, and it is closed occasionally. Please note: Fort regulations prohibit not only the use of cell phones while driving but also the use of recordings, pishing, tooting, and other methods for attracting birds.

Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) (USF&WS Southwest Region)

The Canyons on Fort Huachuca: Garden, Scheelite, Sawmill, Huachuca (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory)

Read more: “Calling All Owls: Three Arizona birders set out to break the one-day owling record” by Kenn Kaufman and Kate Stenberg, Birder’s World, April 1988, p. 14

17. Yosemite National Park, CA

An 1,189-square-mile park of astonishing natural beauty. It protects essential habitat for the resident “California” Spotted Owl, an endangered species, a genetically distinct subspecies of Great Gray Owl, Flammulated Owls, and about 165 other species of migrating, wintering, and breeding birds and another 91 species recorded as transient or vagrant. Designated an Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy.

Our readers also voted Yosemite NP a favorite place to watch warblers.

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Yosemite National Park (NPS)

Yosemite’s Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa Yosemitensis) (NPS)

Bird guide: California Sierra Nevada area including Yosemite National Park (American Bird Conservancy)

Yosemite Area Audubon

Read more: “Where to find the 20 birds birdwatchers want to see most” by Matt Mendenhall, Birder’s World, December 2006, p. 50

Read more: “Birdwatching in Yosemite National Park, California” by Mike Danzenbaker, Birder’s World, August 1995, p. 52

18. Aitkin Co., MN

Worth birding at all times of the year. Nowhere else in the state are Sharp-tailed Grouse, Yellow Rail, Great Gray Owl, and Le Conte’s and Nelson’s Sparrows seen more often. The county contains large areas of boreal forest and sedge meadow habitat and is the home of Savanna Portage State Park, Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and Hedbom Forest Road. Our marker sits at the intersection of Aitkin County Road 18 and 320th Place, where eBirders reported Northern Hawk Owls in the winter of 2009-10 and Great Gray Owls several times over the last decade.

Sixteen Quality Birding Locations (MOU)

Minnesota in Winter Tour - Owls galore! (Maine Outdoor Journal, Feb. 11, 2010)

Savanna Portage State Park (Minnesota DNR)

Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge (USF&WS)

Hedbom Forest Road

19. Jakes Landing Road, Cape May, NJ

Wintering raptors and Bald Eagles are a huge attraction here, but Short-eared Owls steal the show. The parking lot at Jakes Landing may be the best place in the state to see them. Several are found from November through March every year. 1.3-mile-long Jakes Landing Road leads through Belleplain State Forest onto salt marshes that are part of Dennis Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Skeeter Point (Jakes Landing, Dennis Creek) (New Jersey Audubon)

Jakes Landing - Dennis Creek Wildlife Management Area (NJ Birding and Wildlife Trails)

Winter Birding: One Day Wonder Cape May Guide (Cape May Times)

20. Yellowstone National Park, WY

Notable birding spots in Yellowstone, America’s first national park, located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, are the Lamar Valley, Mount Washburn, the Mammoth Hot Springs area, Hayden Valley, and Yellowstone Lake. Owl surveys conducted along Bunsen Peak Road (five miles south of Mammoth) and Beaver Ponds Trail in 2009 recorded six species of owl: Great Horned, Great Gray, Long-eared, Boreal, Northern Saw-whet, and Northern Pygmy-owl.

Our readers also voted Yellowstone NP a favorite place to watch eagles and hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch eagles

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Yellowstone National Park (NPS)

Map and directions (NPS)

Albright Visitor Center & Museum, Mammoth Hot Springs (NPS)

Read more: “Yellowstone National Park” by Gary Kramer, Birder’s World, August 1994, p. 44

21. Gunflint Trail, MN

A 55-mile-long paved road (County Road 12) running north and west from Grand Marais, on Lake Superior, through the Superior National Forest to Sea Gull Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Northern Hawk Owls nest here, as do Three-toed Woodpeckers, Black-backed Woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied and Alder Flycatchers, Boreal Chickadee, and over a dozen warblers. The first confirmed Boreal Owl nest in the lower 48 states, found in 1978, was between the South Brule River and Poplar Lake. Boreals are still in the area. They're most vocal in March and early April.

Winter Birding (Gunflint Trail)

Wildlife Viewing Areas (Explore Minnesota)

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

22. Plum Island and Salisbury Beach, MA

Salisbury Beach State Reservation and Plum Island are two of the better places in Massachusetts to see Snowy Owls in winter. 11-mile-long Plum Island is the home of 4,662-acre Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The 77-acre Sandy Point State Reservation is located at the island's southern tip.

Plum Island (Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry)

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (USF&WS)

Sandy Point State Reservation (Massachusetts DCR)

Salisbury Beach State Reservation (Massachusetts DCR)

Salisbury Beach Visitor's Guide

23. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, MI

A concentration spot for migrating raptors, waterbirds, and songbirds at the northeastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In spring, hawks, falcons, and eagles fly past in significant numbers. The staff of the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory band owls nightly from March 15 to May 31, from July 1 to August 25, and from September 15 to October 31. Whitefish Point was designated an Important Bird Area in 2007.

Our readers also voted Whitefish Point a favorite place to watch hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Whitefish Point Bird Observatory

WPBO Owls blog

Read more: “Whitefish Point, Michigan” by Gail A. McPeek, Birder’s World, April 1994, p. 48

24. Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, NJ

This 47,000-acre refuge, formerly known as Brigantine NWR or “the Brig,” lies north of Atlantic City near the coast. Its tidal salt meadows, marshes, bays, and other habitats have attracted 290 bird species. Barn Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, and Great Horned Owl are known to nest on or near the refuge. Snowy, Barred, Short-eared, and Northern Saw-whet Owls are rare.

Our readers also voted Edwin B. Forsythe NWR a favorite place to watch shorebirds.

Readers’ favorite places to watch shorebirds

Edwin B. Forsythe NWR (USFWS)

Cape May Bird Observatory

Friends of Forsythe NWR

Read more: “Birdwatching in the fall at Cape May, New Jersey” by Pete Dunne, Birder’s World, October 2005, p. 22

Read more: “Seven Shorebird Favorites” by Richard Crossley, Birder’s World, October 2005, p. 28

Read more: “Birding Hotspots: Brigantine NWR” by Jack Connor, Birder’s World, December 1987, p. 40

25. Point Pelee National Park, ON

One of the best locations in inland North America to observe migrating birds, including warblers and birds of prey, both in the spring and fall. More than 370 species of birds have been recorded in the park and surrounding area, including Barn (provincial rarity), Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned, Long-eared, Northern Saw-whet, Short-eared, and Snowy Owls.

Our readers also voted Point Pelee NP a favorite place to watch warblers and hawks.

Readers’ favorite places to watch warblers

Readers’ favorite places to watch hawks

Point Pelee National Park of Canada (Parks Canada)

Friends of Point Pelee

Read more: “Birder's World readers’ 15 favorite birding destinations in the U.S.” Birder’s World, October 2002, p. 39

Read more: “Sanctuary” by Peter B. Logan, Birder’s World, June 1997, p. 70

Read more: “Point Pelee, Ontario” by Eldon D. Greij, Birder’s World, June 1987, p. 34

Readers’ favorite places to watch owls

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