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​Birding Tour Cancellation Policy

Birding tours are at the discretion and mercy of Mother Nature. Tours will begin and continue in conditions of misting, drizzle, and light rain ... more than light rain will cancel or truncate an event. Tours may also be cancelled or truncated under conditions where winds are of sufficient strength to move tree branches and sway trunks. Under these windy conditions, birding by ear can be significantly impaired and reduce the birding experience. Events cancelled due to weather or unforeseen circumstances by OWE will be fully refunded, including any deposits collected. Events truncated due to weather or unforeseen circumstances by OWE will be prorated to the next lowest half-hour from the time of tour termination. (Example: A tour begins at 9:20am and is terminated early at 10:50am. The next lowest half-hour is 10:20am, so the client is prorated at 1 hour for the tour. Determinations of cancellations, truncations, and charges are made by OWE and final.)

Tour Reviews

10% discount

Looking for lodging in Boston?

Open World Explorers recommends ...

 Freepoint Hotel

​ (in Cambridge, MA)

Ask me how to get 10% lodging discount with a booked tour​

Group Birdwalk ($550 - $600)

​Non-profits ($450 - $500)

Guided and customized for your group, bird walks are great for libraries, birding clubs, historic societies, hotels and resorts, and corporate events. Private groups with over five individuals can get a group rate of $500 (June-April) or $600 (May) for 2-hrs guided birdwalk. A travel add-on may be applied for distances greater than 30 miles. I can provide up to 8 sets of binoculars, 2 spotting scopes, and field guides, so guests can get the best experience.

[Non-profit organizations can deduct $100 from Group Birdwalk price.]

• ​Cost shown is per person;
  
• Youth 10-15yo are 50% discount
  
• Add $30 per ticket to make your tour private
  
• Hotspot descriptions - scroll down
  

Maine

Eastern Promenade (Portland, ME) – Best visited October – April
eBird species = 228
Walking and driving

Description – This birding is tour filled with stunning views along the margins of Portland and the stunning Casco Bay. This tour scans for migrant and wintering waterbirds over the bay and for landbirds in the adjacent scrub/shrub and tree habitats. Walking is over paved footpaths with some occasional grades. There is an option to drive over to explore the Back Cove area too.

Biddeford Pool (Biddeford, ME) – Best visited September – May
eBird species = 321
Walking and driving

Description - Biddeford Pool is a stunningly beautiful coastal spot in southern Maine. It’s notable for its excellence in viewing migrant and winter coastal birds. Habitats include sandy beach, extensive rocky shoreline and near-shore islands, freshwater impoundments, spartina marsh, and woody-scrub (great migrant trap). This tour is a combination of short walking and driving to nearby hotspots. Specialties - Snowy Owl, Great Cormorant, winter waterbirds - alcids, loons, ducks, Piping Plover, migrant songbirds.

Kennebunk Plains (Kennebunk, ME) – Best visited April – October
eBird species = 209
Walking and driving

Description – This is an example of the rare and disappearing New England grassland habitat and pine barrens community. It is characterized by xeric vegetation atop well-drained soils.  It is stewarded by the Nature Conservancy. This is primarily a walking tour, but driving can visit similar hot spots. Specialties – Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Upland Sandpiper, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Brown Thrasher, Prairie Warbler, Indigo Bunting. Note: Hunting is permitted.

Marginal Way (Ogunquit, ME) – Best visited November – March
eBird species = 150
Walking

Description - A perched walk along a classic New England rocky coastline. This full-walking tour with periodic benches if needed follows the paved tourist path called The Marginal Way. The tour is about 2.0mi total walking. This is a reliable hotspot for Harlequin Duck and a great place to find and practice near-shore waterbirds, including ducks, loons, grebes, alcids, and gulls. Specialties - Harlequin and other sea ducks, Purple Sandpiper, and Razorbill.

New Hampshire

Jefferson Notch (Jefferson, NH) – Best visited June-July
eBird species = 122
Hiking

Description – This tour begins at 3,000 ft elevation in boreal forest, characterized by stands dominated by fir and spruce trees, and climbs to an elevation of 3,800 ft. This is a moderate to difficult 2.2 mile round-trip hike, depending on your hiking experience and condition. This is the best access for boreal forest birding without using the Mount Washington Auto Road, and the tour duration increases the likelihood of scoring some great boreal species. All boreal specialties have been recorded on this trail, and Bicknell’s Thrush is reliable in June-July. Specialties - Bicknell's Thrush, Canada Jay, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Blackpoll Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Boreal Chickadee, and more. Notes: 1) The access road – closed during winter - sometimes does not open until late June; 2) guests likely to hike slowly should  book this as a private tour.

Glen House (Gorham, NH) – Best visited February-November
eBird species = 149
Walking

Description – The Glen House provide accommodations situated for fantastic targeted birding of northern finches (in winter) and boreal species from April to November. There is a superb well-graded trail system through Northern Hardwoods forest which offers a bonanza of migrant and breeding wood warblers. Adjacent to the hotel is the gate for the Mount Washington Auto Road, which ascends to the 6,288 ft summit with the most extensive alpine tundra east of the Mississippi River. There are American Pipits breeding in the scree fields and Bicknell’s Thrush can be observed at some of the road’s turnouts. Ask me about custom stay and bird packages to get the most out of your White Mountains birding experience. 149 species recorded on eBird.

Mount Washington Valley (North Conway, NH) – Best visited April-November
eBird species = 173
Walking

Description – Two great locations provide separate accessible walking tours of Northern Hardwoods Forest and River Floodplain Forest in the Mount Washington Valley– both within 5 minutes drive from North Conway Village. These spots provide great warbler breeding community birding and migrant trap birding, respectively.  Note: these make great accessible winter birding excursions too for northern irruptive migrants.

Pickering Ponds (Rochester, NH) – Best visited March-November
eBird species = 240
Walking

 Description – This is an unassuming gem for a birding location, associated with the Rochester Wastewater Treatment Facility. There are two large, but separate shallow water-holding lagoons that attract great diversity of waterbirds, shorebirds and gulls.  Framing the lagoons is a grassy footpath that provides access to bottomland forest and fields. The adjacent landfill provides an additional magnet for gulls, eagles, and ravens at any time of year. This is a walking tour that can be set to just about any pace.

Coastal New Hampshire (Rye, NH and Hampton Beach, NH) – Best visited Year-round
eBird species=315
Walking and driving

Description - A gem among New England birding hotspots. Options for this tour are Odiorne Point State Park (north) and Hampton Beach State Park (south). Odiorne Point is great year-round and hosts coastal forest bordering classic rocky-intertidal shoreline, and spartina back-marsh. Hampton Beach is better as a winter spot as it regularly hosts Snowy Owl, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark, and rock-pipers on the jetty. Great sea-watching at both locations.

Massachusetts

Plum Island (Newburyport, MA) – Best visited Year-round
eBird species = 350
Walking and driving

Description – One of the best birding locations on east coast of North America. It is home to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge which supports barrier island dune habitats and vegetation that protect the back-dunes spartina marsh, salt pannes, and extensive man-made freshwater impoundments. The estuaries formed by the exiting Merrimack and Parker Rivers contribute to year-round fantastic birding that you do not want to miss. This is a driving tour that stops at various refuge hot spots (or off refuge sites too). Snowy Owl, winter water birds, migratory shorebirds, and spring migratory landbirds are all top-notch at this site. 365 species recorded on ebird.

Halibut Point (Rockport, MA) – Best visited September – May
eBird species = 288
Walking

Description – This site, held by Halibut Point State Park has special characteristics that make it perfect for seawatching – 1) it is situated atop a bluff that provides elevated viewpoints so birders can see down between the rolling waves making ‘staying on’ birds easier and 2) it is a rocky prominence of Cape Ann that juts out into the ocean offering viewing opportunities for passing pelagic seabirds. Also present here is accessible rocky intertidal zone with high energy wave action. The coastal scrub vegetation provides cover for migrant and wintering landbirds. Species – Harlequin Duck, scoters, eiders, gannets, alcids (in winter).

Great Meadow (Concord, MA) – Best visited March - November
eBird species = 275
Walking

Description – Situated in the floodplain of the Concord River, this site supports diverse birds using the flooded water management ponds that support diverse waterbirds and the river corridor framed by silver maple floodplain forest. Agriculture fields nearby further attract waterfowl and raptors. This is a great spot with observation decks and infrastructure for birders all within a minute’s drive of Boston.

Middlesex Fells (Stoneham, MA) – Best visited March – October
eBird species = 228
Walking

Description – This is a water supply reserve for Boston boasting over 2,500 acres of conserved green space served by hiking trails and non-motorized carriage roads. Large reservoirs support a variety of water birds and eagles and osprey are common here. It forms a nice migrant trap in spring and fall but breeding landbirds are also good here with Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Wood-pewee and towhees in abundance. This is a great spot only minutes from Boston.

Mount Auburn Cemetery (Cambridge, MA) – Best visited March – November
eBird species = 238
Walking

Description – Even if you are not birding you should walk through this halcyon treasure. The diverse landscaping and vegetation structure combine to make the cemetery a fantastic urban migrant trap. The busiest time for birding here is May (warblers, vireos, thrushes, and more), but other months are also very productive. In 2026, Great Horned Owls successfully bred here and the adults and young were frequently observed. This is a great spot only minutes from Boston.

​15% discount

Looking for lodging in Newburyport?

Open World Explorers recommends ...

 Essex St. Inn

​ (historic downtown Newburyport)

Ask me how to get 15% lodging discount with a booked tour​

Open World Explorer Birding Hotspots

Birding

20% discount

Looking for lodging in the White Mountains?

Open World Explorers recommends ...

 The Glen House

​ (at the Mt. Washington Auto Rd.)

Ask me how to get 20% lodging discount with a booked tour​