The MVLT Founders Preserve is a better site for birding, just 0.2 miles up the dirt road from the old quarry. There is room to park a few cars. The first loop trail starts in the blueberry barrens and goes 1.75 miles through woods, open fields, past a pond, and back through the woods. There is an additional loop that leaves from the midpoint of the first, but it can be quite wet in summer.

Bobolinks nest in the open fields that are managed for nesting habitat by delaying mowing, and warblers sing everywhere in the woods in spring. 200 species of birds have been identified on or adjacent to the property, including a number of species that are declining in New England. 

These are really two preserves at one hotspot: The Quarry Hill Preserve and the MVLT Founders Preserve. There is a short loop trail around the old quarry and a much larger trail system on the Founders Preserve.

Founders Preserve consists of 107 acres and has some of the hilliest terrain found in Lincoln County. Combined with the 320-acre Quarry Hill Preserve, owned by the Town of Waldoboro, it forms a wildlife corridor of more than 400 acres that supports an abundance of species with its diverse habitats. The donors dedicated the property to the founders of the Medomak Valley Land Trust, which was formed in 1991. All of the initial founders were still active in the organization at the time that it merged with Midcoast Conservancy, 28 years later!

From US-1 in Waldoboro, turn north onto Depot Street and go about 0.7 miles. You’ll see a sign for Quarry Hill on the right. You can drive up the dirt road and park near the quarry pond, or continue another 0.2 miles to the Founders Preserve kiosk.

The Maine By Foot website has a description and map of a hike at Quarry Hill Preserve and Founders Preserve.