Sandbar WMA IBA

Birds of Interest

Songbirds include eastern bluebird, veery, wood thrush, blue-gray gnatcatcher, warbling vireo, yellow-throated vireo, and Baltimore oriole. Upland game birds are American woodcock, common snipe, wild turkey, and ruffed grouse. Several impressive raptors can easily be seen at the WMA. Turkey vultures are common. Breeding pairs of osprey have built large nests, some of which can be viewed from Route 2. Northern harriers hunt in the marshes. Bald eagles are occasionally seen here as well.

Sandbar WMA is considered the second most productive waterfowl site in the state with its marshes supporting a number of breeding waterfowl species including Black Duck, Wood Duck, Mallard Hooded Merganser, and Common Goldeneye. Its location along Lake Champlain makes it an ideal migratory stopover for thousands of waterfowl in the spring and fall. Other priority species include Osprey, Pied-billed Grebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Pine Warbler, and American Bittern. Sandbar WMA has also been a breeding site for Cerulean Warbler, a species currently being considered for federal listing. Large numbers of Great Blue Herons from colonies to the north and west also use Sandbar as a primary feeding site.

About Sandbar Wildlife Management Area

See all hotspots at Sandbar Wildlife Management Area

Sandbar Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Important Bird Area (IBA) is located in the town of Milton and borders Lake Champlain on either side of Route 2. Most of its 1,560 acres are a refuge with no public access. However, the upland portion of the WMA northeast of Route 2 is open for public use, as is Delta Island. One may also boat along the Lamoille River and in nearby Lake Champlain, or drive along Route 2 and stop at pull-offs there. Sandbar State Park and the Sandbar Causeway to South Hero are other areas from which one may observe wildlife in the refuge. Boats may be put into the Lamoille River at the boat access off Cub Road, or into the Lake across from Sandbar State Park. The WMA is owned by the State of Vermont and managed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

The Lamoille River has built an extensive delta at its mouth in Lake Champlain, and this comprises the majority of the WMA. This includes an abandoned channel that extends through the wetland north of the river. The channel bed is at lake level and supports luxuriant aquatic vegetation. Earthen dikes were constructed to control water levels in the marsh. This WMA is 70% wetland and 30% forested upland. The wetlands are a mix of open water emergent marsh and floodplain forest. The marshes contain water and yellow pond lilies, pickerelweed, sago and large-leaved pondweed, spiked water milfoil, bladderwort, duckweed, arrowhead species, water-plantain, cattail, three-way sedge, other sedge species, rushes, bulrushes, water-dock, water smartweed, buttonbush, winterberry, and one of the finest stands of wild rice in the State. Blue flag, sweet flag, least spike-rush, and burreed grow along the shores.

The forest is mentioned in land survey notes from the late 1700s and was much the same as it is today. Some of this original sandplain forest community remains. Swamp white oak-silver maple forest occurs along the river in the rich alluvial soils, perhaps the largest stand in the State. There are some nearly pure stands of silver maple. Eastern cottonwood, American elm, and red maple are also found. The uplands are a mix of hemlock, white pine, northern white cedar, red oak, aspen, gray birch, shagbark hickory, white ash, and red and sugar maple. There are some small fields and several large forested bluffs as well.

Wild rye is one unusual plant found in the refuge. The State-endangered osprey has made a dramatic comeback in the Sandbar area. State-endangered spiny softshell turtles sometimes are seen sunning themselves along the Lamoille River. Remember that it is illegal to harm or harass endangered animals. Viewing them from a distance with binoculars is recommended.

There is a full complement of waterfowl and water birds on the refuge. Breeding ducks include black, wood, ring-necked, and mallard ducks, goldeneyes, and hooded mergansers. A greater variety of ducks pass through during migration, along with many shorebird species. Marsh-dwelling birds like soras, pied-billed grebes, and common moorhens can be heard in the cattails. Great blue herons commonly fly overhead and forage in the shallows.

The Sandbar Wildlife Management Area (WMA) has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by the National Audubon Society.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Sandbar Wildlife Management Area brochure and map

Last updated October 13, 2023