Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 and is located along the eastern shore of New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

's Great Bay

Great Bay (New Hampshire)

Great Bay is a tidal estuary located in Strafford and Rockingham counties in eastern New Hampshire, United States. The bay occupies over , not including its several tidal river tributaries. Its outlet is at Hilton Point in Dover, New Hampshire, where waters from the bay flow into the Piscataqua...

 in the town of Newington

Newington, New Hampshire

Newington is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 753 at the 2010 census. It is bounded to the west by Great Bay, northwest by Little Bay and northeast by the Piscataqua River. It is home to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease , and to the New...

. The area was formerly part of weapons storage area at Pease Air Force Base, which was closed in 1991.

A variety of rich wildlife habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s from uplands to open waters can be found throughout the refuge. With its open coastal water and abundant prey, the refuge plays a significant role as migration and wintering habitat for the federally protected bald eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

. The bay area also provides prime migration habitat for the peregrine falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

. Many state protected species use the refuge including the common loon, pied-billed grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

The Pied-billed Grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlán Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become extinct, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.-Description:...

, osprey

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

, common tern

Common Tern

The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...

, northern harrier and upland sandpiper

Upland Sandpiper

The Upland Sandpiper is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews . Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram...

. The bay area also serves as New Hampshire's major wintering area for black ducks

American Black Duck

The American Black Duck is a large dabbling duck. American Black Ducks are similar to Mallards in size, and resemble the female Mallard in coloration, although the Black Duck's plumage is darker...

.

Both Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and the Karner blue butterfly easement

Easement

An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...

 in Concord, New Hampshire

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

, which protects important habitat for this federally endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

, are managed by the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1942 primarily to provide feeding, resting, and nesting habitats for migratory birds. Located along the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge is of vital stopover significance to waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds during migratory periods.The refuge...

 in Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...

. The refuge has a surface area of 1,116.08 acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s (4.52 km² or 451.66 ha

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

).

Wildlife and habitat

A variety of rich wildlife habitats from uplands to open waters can be found throughout the refuge. With its open coastal water and abundant prey, the refuge plays a significant role as migration and wintering habitat for the federally protected bald eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

. The bay area also provides prime migration habitat for the peregrine falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

. Many state protected species use the refuge, including the common loon, pied-billed grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

The Pied-billed Grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlán Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become extinct, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.-Description:...

, osprey

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

, common tern

Common Tern

The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...

, northern harrier and upland sandpiper

Upland Sandpiper

The Upland Sandpiper is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews . Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram...

. The bay area also serves as New Hampshire's major wintering area for black duck

American Black Duck

The American Black Duck is a large dabbling duck. American Black Ducks are similar to Mallards in size, and resemble the female Mallard in coloration, although the Black Duck's plumage is darker...

s. Great Bay refuge also manages the Karner Blue

Karner Blue

The Karner Blue, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, is a small, blue butterfly found in small areas of New Jersey, the Great Lakes region, southern New Hampshire, and the Capital District region of New York. The butterfly, whose lifecycle depends on the wild blue lupine flower , is classified as an...

 butterfly easement in Concord, New Hampshire

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

, that protects important habitat for this federally endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

.

Spring at Great Bay

Spring peeper

Spring Peeper

The Spring Peeper is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern USA and Canada.-Subspecies:There are two subspecies of the Spring Peeper, the Northern and the Southern Spring Peeper . The Northern is similar to the Southern except for a strong dark marking on the Southern frog's belly...

s announce the return of warmer weather as myriad shades of green begin to color the trees and shrubs. Flocks of migratory ducks, geese and songbirds drop into the protected waters, fields and forests of the refuge, making this an ideal time for bird watchers and nature enthusiasts to take to the trails.

Summer at Great Bay

White-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

 and their speckled fawns might be spied in the meadow along Ferry Way Trail. Turkey

Turkey (bird)

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

 families strut boldly along the paths, and occasionally down the road. Birders can enjoy dazzling array of summer visitors such as the Baltimore oriole

Baltimore Oriole

The Baltimore Oriole is a small icterid blackbird that averages 18 cm long and weighs 34 g. This bird received its name from the fact that the male's colors resemble those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore...

, goldfinch

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch , also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary, is a small North American bird in the finch family...

, ruby-throated hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird , is a small hummingbird. It is the only species of hummingbird that regularly nests east of the Mississippi River in North America.- Description :...

 and yellow warbler

Yellow Warbler

Dendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...

.

Fall at Great Bay

Nature puts on quite a spectacular fall show for visitors. Various species of trees vie with one another to see which one can create the most stunning colors, a contest which the visitor always wins. The ponds and bay are alive with migratory waterfowl, delighting in a safe resting spot on the trip south for the winter. Beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

 and porcupine

Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...

 prepare for the coming winter. A stroll down either trail this time of year dazzles the senses.

Winter at Great Bay

Bald eagles wintering on Great Bay can be seen soaring overhead and black ducks may be observed in patches of open water. Deer and turkey abound and are visible in the undergrowth. Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

 and snowshoe

Snowshoe

A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....

ing can bring visitors close to wildlife in the depths of winter.