March 22, 2021
Hamptons Happenings: Bird Watching at Accabonac Harbor
Did you know that Accabonac Harbor- a place that even locals haven’t heard of- has some of the best bird watching on the East Coast? The 200-acre preserve in East Hampton was donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1968 by Frederic E. Lake, who was one of the founders of the South Fork-Shelter Island Chapter. It’s a vast undeveloped coastal wetland with a 29-acre preserve called the Merrill Lake Sanctuary.
Accabonac, which is surrounded by thick forests, has walking paths galore and is a myriad of salt marshes, sand spits and small wooded islands. We at The Roundtree love it in the spring when it’s a dream for birdwatchers with its abundance of red fox, resting ospreys, black ducks, sharp-tailed sparrows, short-eared owls and piping plovers- and that’s not an exhaustive list by any means.
The colors and sounds of these photogenic animals is captivating, even for kids. A visit is well worth it for the photo opportunities alone.