The Great Bay Estuary is home to several types of birds. Some are common backyard birds while others are wading birds like the the seasonal Great Blue Heron. If you’re lucky, you might even see some larger predatory birds including the Bald Eagle or Osprey. Each year, several pair of osprey return to Great Bay to lay their eggs and start the next generation.
Visiting the Great Bay Discovery Center in the fall is a special experience. The cool crisp breeze and colorful leaves make sights along the bay more stunning than usual. Not only are the sights at Great Bay welcoming, the grounds hold cultural and historical significance as well. The “msquamskek” or Squamscot Indian tribe were among the first Native Americans to inhabit the coastal shores of Great Bay.
The Great Bay Discovery Center has been enjoying a pair of ospreys on the edge of the property for close to a decade now. This year’s pair of ospreys is incubating 3 eggs and now occupy the new nest and yesterday, under ideal conditions, Reserve staff Beth Heckman and Kelle Loughlin joined Ornithologist Robert S. Kennedy, Ph.D (Bob) in the marsh to band the adult pair.
