📍 Birding Spots
Below is a list of local spots we like to go birding! We also recommend you check out this list curated by the Washington Crossing Audubon Society, the local bird-watching group with which we often partner.
Charles Rogers Wildlife Refuge / Institute Woods
589 acres of property owned by the Institute for Advanced Study surround the 39-acre core Charles Rogers Wildlife Refuge. This site boasts a wide variety of habitats, including marshland, riparian habitat, and deciduous forests that are great for songbirds during spring and fall migration. We often lead local bird walks here, as it is only a 15-minute walk from the western edge of campus.
eBird links: Charles Rogers Wildlife Refuge, Institute Woods
Lake Carnegie
Princeton’s famed lake on the south edge of campus attracts a nice spread of waterfowl in winter and breeding herons/waterbirds during the summer. We will often bird here along the “towpath” which runs adjacent to the lake.
eBird link: Lake Carnegie
Baldpate Mountain
This Audubon Important Bird Area has a variety of breeding warblers in summer and is also great during migration.
eBird link: Ted Stiles Preserve @ Baldpate Mountain
Pole Farm / Mercer Meadows
Another Audubon IBA, featuring great habitat for breeding and migratory sparrows and a variety of owls in winter.
eBird link: Pole Farm (Mercer Meadows)