Pickering Creek Audubon Center
With over 400 acres of forests, fields and shoreline on the Eastern Shore, Pickering Creek Audubon Center provides a natural environment for learning about the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors can explore the preserve along nature trails looking for bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, herons, ospreys, owls, bluebirds, purple martins and many more species of birds. Or, participate in programs on Bay ecology, traditional crafts and much more. Pickering Creek also works with local school systems providing classes for area students.
The Center's property features a variety of habitats including mature hardwood forest, fresh and brackish marsh, meadow, tidal and non-tidal wetlands, over a mile of shoreline on a tidal creek, and cropland. Two hundred and seventy acres are devoted to low impact "best management practice" agriculture. The farmed acreage of Pickering Creek is its link to the significant farming heritage of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
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Hours
Office hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Center grounds and walking trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk every day.
Canoes are available to Pickering Creek supporters and Audubon members Monday-Friday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
(Note: Many places fill to capacity on busy, nice weather days, especially holiday weekends. Please call ahead or visit the official website to get the most up-to-date information before visiting.)
Fees
Trails and viewing areas at Pickering Creek are free.
Activities
Participate in programs on Chesapeake Bay ecology, farming, organic gardening, native species, traditional crafts, birding, beekeeping, or orienteering. Go for a canoe trip on the creek or hike through mature forests on the nature trail. Walk through the gardens and enjoy the flowers, have a picnic at the waterfront or go birding at the farm pond. Visit the tool museum and the Settler's Cottage to experience early agricultural life. Discover the fascinating world of honeybees at the apiary or visit the goats and chickens for a feel of life on the farm.
History
Envisioned as a place to learn about the environment, and the unique ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay region, Margaret Strahl and her brother, George Olds donated to the Chesapeake Audubon Society in 1984. It was their wish that all members of the community, whether watermen, farmers, birders, painters, naturalists, children or adults would have access to the property. The center has been providing excellent environmental and science education programs to students from eight Maryland Counties and the District of Columbia for more than 25 years. Over 16,000 school children visit each year and are given the opportunity to make a physical and emotional connection to their Bay.
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