Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), located in Prince George’s County near College Park, is not open to the public, and that includes birders. We are including BARC in this Birder’s Guide only because many birders see eBird reports from BARC and want to know how to get access. BARC is a research facility of the US Department of Agriculture and does not grant access to the public. The former Visitor Center (Log Lodge) has been permanently closed.

The eBird reports from BARC come mostly from employees at the facility, or from people engaged in authorized research studies there. There is one public eBird hotspot that covers the property, and some of the reports at that hotspot come from people passing through BARC on public roadways. There are six principal public roads that pass through BARC, offering limited opportunities for viewing birds in BARC’s fields. These are Edmonston Road, Soil Conservation Road, Springfield Road, Powder Mill Road, Beaver Dam Road, and Research Road.

There are several hazards to be aware of if trying to bird from the public roads. Parts of BARC are open to the public and to employees for deer and waterfowl hunting; be aware of hunting seasons and plan accordingly. Another issue, at all times, is that BARC is located in an area just outside Washington DC that is prone to heavy commuter traffic, and traffic typically travels faster than the posted speed limit. This makes pulling into and out of traffic a risky venture. When traveling roads through BARC and pulling in and out of traffic, be on particular lookout for bicycles, as this is a popular area for cycling. In fact, a bicycle may be a good way to bird BARC, as it offers more opportunity to see and hear birds.

Edmonston, Soil Conservation, and Springfield Roads all run roughly north-south through BARC. On all three roads, there is heavy commuter traffic that travels extremely fast, and there are very limited opportunities to pull over to observe birds.

Powder Mill Road, which runs roughly east-west, has one or two places just east of Edmonston Road where the shoulder is wide enough that a car can pull over to allow scanning of nearby fields. However, traffic moves at a very high speed along Powder Mill Road, so pulling over and then getting back into the travel lane is extremely risky and must be done with extreme caution and awareness of the curves in the road. There are also local buses that make stops along Powder Mill Road, and so be aware of buses pulling in and out of traffic and do not block a bus stop (they are marked with small rectangular red-and-white Metrobus signs).

Beaver Dam Road, which lies just south of Powder Mill Road and parallel to it, has an even worse situation for birding. It is a two-lane road that has no shoulders and very few good lines of sight. The best you can hope for is hearing some woodland birds in a section of Beaver Dam Road just east of Research Road.

Research Road is a fairly short road that runs north-south from Powder Mill Road to the community of Greenbelt. There is a gate that closes off Research Road at Beaver Dam Road and another at the Greenbelt community. The gate on Research Road at Beaver Dam Road is usually open during business hours on weekdays and may or may not be open on the weekends. Despite the gate,  Research Road is open to foot and bicycle traffic 24 hours a day. Since there is no public parking outside the gate, this access applies mostly to people from the Greenbelt community. When the gate is open, it is acceptable to drive along Research Road; there are spots near the bridge over Beaverdam Creek where it is possible to park a car on the shoulder and then walk along the roadside. When parking, do not block any side roads or dirt lanes – these are used by BARC farming equipment.

Please note that it is absolutely forbidden to enter any of BARC’s fields or woods on foot, or to drive a car or bicycle or walk on any of the internal BARC roads and lanes that are signed as off-limits. The property is patrolled by security guards and has a video surveillance system. If you are caught trespassing, you will be escorted off the property and you may be fined.

There are two or three annual opportunities when special permission is given to bird in the restricted areas at BARC: these are the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and the Maryland Ornithological Society’s Spring Count and Fall Count.