The fences along the trailhead, the sparsely wooded area just past the trailhead, and the powerline cut are the most birdy areas.

Forest birds. Louisiana waterthrush, owls, accipiters, woodpeckers, migrant songbirds. Winter: pine grosbeak, other winter finches

The Amherst College Wildlife Sanctuary includes approximately 500 acres in a diverse collection of open fields (both actively maintained and unmanaged), wetlands, floodplain woods, river, upland woods, plantation pines, and ponds, and is an important place for both recreation and research.

The variety of open fields located south and southeast of the main campus is an important and scenic part of the landscape and of the ecological diversity of the Sanctuary. Some are used through rental agreements for hay production, others are mowed to keep open as wildlife habitat, and several are unmanaged.

People walking across a bridge in a dense forest Forested areas within the Sanctuary include red pine plantations, white pine stands, areas of swamp hardwoods, flood plain hardwoods along the Fort River, and upland hardwoods. Large specimens of white oaks and white pines are present in the Eastern Wildlife Sanctuary south of College Street.

Principal water resources in the Sanctuary include:

• Fort River and a major tributary system coming into the Fort River from the north
• Fearing Brook and its small tributaries
• Two ponds
•  Sections of wet meadow in the main South Pleasant Street field and near South East Street
• Wet shrub-filled swales near Mill Lane and the main South Pleasant Street field
• Vernal pools in the area near the Physical Plant south of College Street and in the Wildlife Sanctuary area west of South East Street
• Swamp forest near South East Street

The trailhead is on East Drive, across from faculty departments on the Amherst College campus. If you plan to park on campus, obtain permission from the Amherst College police department (second building on the left when you turn onto East Drive from MA-9) to avoid getting a ticket.