Bird & Wildlife Watching

The natural beauty of Pennsylvania surrounds us — in our varied landscapes and welcoming communities. Traveling by interstates you can easily miss areas of scenic beauty and rich natural diversity. To find these spots, leave the highways behind and venture along Pennsylvania's smaller roads into villages and hamlets, through forest and farmland, and across miles of rivers and streams.

The Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art is a bird and wildlife watchers' dream. The Center offers more than 500 acres of rustic beauty just outside Ned Smith’s hometown of Millersburg. With twelve miles of trails and stunning views of the Susquehanna River from the mountaintop, the land also provides habitat for the wildlife Ned Smith immortalized – deer, bear, wild turkey, grouse, fox and many species of smaller animals.

Another local jewel is Montour Preserve. The preserve, which is managed by the Montour Area Recreation Commission, offers a variety of educational and recreational opportunities including hiking, nature observation and photography, birding, boating, and fishing.

Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties are three of the 39 counties that make up the Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail. To learn more about places to go and watch birds and wildlife in the Susquehanna River Valley, refer to the Audubon Pennsylvania's website.