Birding in Amesbury Battis Farm & Powow Hill

Battis Farm is a mixture of vegetable gardens, field and woodland adjacent to Lake Gardner. It can be birded at any time of year, and holds most of the common species for the area. If you are looking for a wide variety of species during a pleasant walk this might be the place for you.

 A wide variety of sparrows turn up in the vegetable gardens, on your right as you enter the Farm. Song Sparrows are abundant, but look closely here, especially after the gardens have gone to seed, for other species: Swamp, White-throated, Chipping and Savannah Sparrows, American Goldfinch, Cardinal, House Finch, Robin and White-breasted Nuthatch.

In winter, Lake Gardner hosts Buffleheads, Common Mergansers and Ring-necked Ducks. Walk around the periphery of the fields beyond the parking lots and you will find numerous places to approach the water edge.

• Eastern Bluebird. This beautiful member of the thrush family is a regular at Battis Farm. It is particularly fond of trees with low-hanging branches from which it can fly out and nab insects in an adjacent field. Look for Bluebirds as you walk along the various trails between field and woodland.

• American Woodcock. This peculiar member of the shorebird family can be seen during a short window starting in late March. You should arrive at dusk, just before full darkness, when the woodcock emerges to stake out territory and find a mate. You will hear its repeated "peent" as it flies in circles around the field. Try the lower field if you decide to look for him; you may have trouble seeing him in the darkness, but you will hear the call if he is there.

Otherwise, Battis Farm holds lots of surprises. All the eastern woodpeckers have been seen here; jay, crows and ravens; chickadee, titmouse and nuthatch and many more on a long list. Also try this area during spring migration for warblers and vireos.

The boardwalk connecting Battis Farm and Powow Hill is a gateway to a woodland rich in birdlife, particularly during warbler migrations.
Being a geologic drumlin, Powow Hill itself  is one of a chain of coastal hills that attract hawks and buzzards particularly during their migrations.
They can frequently be seen in numbers taking advantage of the thermals that help them to gain altitude while soaring.