Despite its location near the major metropolis of Boston, MA still has some great places for birdwatching near Norwood. There are more than three hundred different species that come to the area every year, so grab your binoculars and head out for a day’s birding at one of the spots on this list.
Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Comprising several slightly disjointed units located just a few miles to the north of Norwood, Great Meadows National Wildlife includes over 3,800 acres of mostly wetland habitat. The best place to start birding here is from the Concord Unit, near the town of the same name.
There are about 2.7 miles of trails here that’ll take you further into the refuge, and there’s also a wildlife observation tower here. More than 250 species are found here, mostly wading and shorebirds. These are especially noticeable in the summer when the marshes are drained. During the winter, expect to see large numbers of ducks.
Mount Auburn Cemetery
While a cemetery wouldn’t necessarily be the first place you’d think of when looking for birding spots. However, Mount Auburn, in which notable people such as Buckminster Fuller and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are interred, was designed from the start to be a combination arboretum and cemetery, making it a hugely successful bird sanctuary almost by accident.
Migrant birds will often stop to rest and feed here during the spring and fall, but it’s May that’s the peak season, and you can expect to see many fellow birders wandering the trails at dawn and sharing their sightings on the visitor’s board. You can expect to see cuckoos, flycatchers, vireos, and warblers here, to name but a few.
Belle Isle Marsh Reservation
Belle Island Marsh is situated a little further afield, on the other side of Boston to Noman, and almost, about 40 minutes drive away. Nevertheless, it’s well worth making the trip. After 30 years of restoration work, it’s now one of the largest marshes in the area, and unsurprisingly it’s also a birding hotspot.
Accessing Belle Island is fairly easy, as boardwalks run amongst the scattered trees to thoughtfully-placed observation decks with great views of the marshes and shoreline. More than 30 species of shorebird have been sighted here alone, especially in August, which is generally considered peak season. Look out for Brant, Green-winged Teal, and Bufflehead in the spring.
Neponset River Reservation
One of the few natural estuaries remaining, Neponset still features extensive marshlands, and birdlife to match. While it doesn’t quite live up to the other spots on this list, it still pulls in great amounts of waterfowl. It can be explored from the Quincy Riverwalk Trail, or even by canoe.
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