Berks County Birding

Geographically, Berks County is a pretty cool place. It sits on the eastern flyway about halfway between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. Much of the county is covered by the Great Valley physiographic province. The northern tip of the county is the Blue Mountain province, which is the gateway escarpment to the Appalachian Mountains and the Poconos. The southern part of the county is the Gettysburg-Newark Lowland sections. The eastern part of the county is the New England province.

Each of these physiographic provinces offers slightly different birding.

In the Great Valley section, we have broad valleys with farmlands and grasslands, some older growth forests, and the county’s two large lakes, Blue Marsh and Ontelaunee.

The Blue Mountain section is most known for Hawk Mountain and raptor migration, but it’s great for all kinds of owls, whip-poor-wills, sometimes grouse, and decent warblering in the spring and fall.

The Gettysburg-Newark Lowland in the south is dominated by French Creek State Park with its lake, creeks, and forests. One of the few spots the Kentucky Warbler appears in the county and a research site for Veery banding.

The New England province is known for rounded hills and ridges. Habitat varies from farmland to forest. This is the least birded province.

We’ve broken the county down by compass directions with the City of Reading being the central point and have added links to the hotspots and some notes of areas we’ve found to be quality birding areas.

North
East
South 
West 

If you’re visiting Berks County and need more info, want to find a specific species, or just want some people to bird with, shoot us a message.