About Us
Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is a grassroots nonprofit organization consisting of private citizens who provide volunteer and financial support to Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge.
Visiting the Refuge
Trails are open every day from dawn until dusk and the Refuge Visitor Center is open daily Monday through Friday. Visitors are welcome to view the many educational exhibits, learn about refuge management programs and find out what’s going on at the refuge to benefit both wildlife and people. The Refuge Visitor Center hours are: [...]
Photo Galleries
Enjoy our collections of photos that have been taken on the refuge by our members. We’d love to see your pictures as well! Please share them on Facebook, or email them to us. Thanks Be sure to check out our monthly Featured Photo! Home » Photo Galleries Refuge Wildlife Wildlife and nature photos taken on the [...]
Refuge Manager’s Corner
If you have been bird watching in Vermont in the last month you may have been lucky enough to spot one of the area’s winter visitors: the rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus). This large bird of prey gets its common name from the fact that feathers cover its legs all the way to its toes. Although its feathered legs are good diagnostic characteristics, it is also identified by its large size (wing span of up to 4.5 feet), dark patches under each wing, a white patch at the base of the tail and a dark band at the tip of the tail. There are two color phases or morphs of the rough-legged hawk: a light phase which is most common and a dark phase. Rough-legged hawks typically breed in the far north, in the tundra and boreal forests of northern Canada and Alaska. This bird migrates south for the winter in search for food and is more common in the northern United States. However, rough-legs are often seen in Vermont during the fall and winter months. During Christmas Bird Counts over...
Nature Notes
What Am I?
You may have seen me out in the marshes at the Refuge or along the edge of the Missisquoi River. I am a very common plant that likes to have my feet wet, so-to-speak. I bloom from spring to summer and have a lovely purple spike of small flowers. I grow to about two to three feet tall and have really large leaves that are lance shaped. Muskrats love to eat my roots and fish are known to take shelter in the shade of my leaves. Dragonflies and damselflies lay their eggs on my leaves and...
