Join us for a birdwalk and picnic at Southbury’s Shepaug Dam Bald Eagle Viewing Area. Grassy areas offer Savannah Sparrows, plus bird houses with bluebirds and Tree Swallows. Powerline cuts and shrubby edges harbor Field Sparrows, Indigo Buntings, Prairie Warblers, and perhaps a towhee or two. Lake Zoar (above the dam) has breeding Common Mergansers, Spotted Sandpipers, Orchard Orioles, and other treats — Great Blue Herons, Ospreys, Bald Eagles, and Black-crowned Night Herons. Shepaug Dam hosts a thriving Cliff Swallow colony as well as resident ravens and a Peregrine Falcon. Above it, Gulls, Ducks, and Cormorants hold forth. Other birds we might see in this mix of habitats: Black Duck, Pine Warbler, Carolina Wren, Black Vulture, and various hawks.

For the picnic: Bring your own food, beverage, and utensils. Be ready for a brief uphill walk to the picnic area above the dam.

Meet at the visitor parking area below Shepaug Dam on River Road. Directions: Since the usual River Road access is closed due to washout, we need to go this way: Take Route 6 to Route 67 in Southbury; turn right onto Route 67. Go about 3 miles and turn left onto Route 122 (South Britain Road). Pass Southbury Training School and continue into South Britain. At the South Britain General Store, turn right onto East Flat Hill Road and follow it past Bent of the River Audubon Center.Stay on East Flat Hill Road to its end at Purchase Brook Road (about 2 miles). Go left on Purchase Brook Road, pass Waldo State Park, and go all the way to the end at River Road near Mitchell Farm. Turn right on River Road to the visitor parking area below the dam inside the entrance gate.