Less than a mile north of Hinesburg village on Shelburne Falls Road is one of Vermont’s best spots for finding elusive Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers, Geprag Community Park. This small property, owned and managed by the town of Hinesburg, contains several different habitats, including grassland, early succession/shrubland, and mature forest. This is the preferred habitat for breeding winged warblers.

Vermont is the only state in New England that supports breeding Golden-winged Warblers and Geprag Park is prime nesting territory for them. For the past several years former GMAS Board member, Bill Mercia, has led a field trip in May looking for these warblers, which have been successful in finding these and many other birds. Furthermore, Audubon Vermont’s Mark LaBarr has assisted the town in managing this property for birds. Recently, Mark advised the Conservation Commission and the Selectboard during the construction phase of the natural gas pipeline that runs through Geprag. In 2017 a new species was added to the list of breeding birds in Geprags Park, the Hooded Warbler. Whether Hooded Warblers will become regular breeders at Geprags remains to be seen, but we are hopeful.

Geprag Park hosts a variety of nesting warblers as well as many other birds in migration. American Redstarts, Yellow Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Ovenbirds, and Black-and-White Warblers all nest in the park and are relatively common. In migration, many other warblers pass through the park.

In addition, Red-eyed Vireos, Rose-beasted Grosbeaks, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhees, Indigo Buntings, and Baltimore Orioles are common in the park, and a variety of flycatchers, woodpeckers, and grassland birds, including Bobolinks, Savannah Sparrows, and Eastern Meadowlarks have been reported there.

Geprag Park is located on Shelburne Falls Road. The park has acres of hilly meadows with trails for walking, birding, and cross-country skiing.

The TrailFinder website has a description and map of a hike at Geprag Community Park.