Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve

This 18-acre preserve located in Ambler near the Wissahickon Creek is owned and maintained by the Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve (WWP), a 501c(3) nonprofit and subsidiary of Wissahickon Trails.  

The Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve is an example of how a community can come together to reduce the negative impacts that humans can have on the natural world and turn it into something beautiful. At the encouragement of local birders and community members, Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve purchased the site in 2006. In 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency became involved and declared three parcels as a superfund site, now known as the BoRit  Asbestos Superfund Site. During this time, the EPA worked with the community and a Community Action Group (CAG) was formed to provide input. According to the EPA, they removed any potential risk from asbestos and completed all removal cleanup work in 2017. After the work was completed, a 511-foot hard surface walking path and benches were installed around the fenced-in 11-acre pond. The pond is fenced-in for the safety of visitors and to prevent accident or injury. 

One of our more accessible preserves, visitors can connect to this trail on foot from the Green Ribbon Trail or Ambler Borough and can arrive by bicycle, car, bus, or regional rail. 

The reservoir provides important habitat for a variety of birds year-round. Follow the crushed stone path along its perimeter and you are likely to see wood ducks, common mergansers, great blue and green herons, savannah sparrows, and killdeer. Wintering and migrating birds often seen here include spotted, least, and solitary sandpipers, ruddy and ring-necked ducks, northern shovelers, hooded mergansers, and bufflehead. Rarities like red-necked phalaropes and common goldeneyes have also been documented - check out the eBird Hotspot to see a list of all the species that have been spotted. As you look out across the reservoir toward the island, you will see an artificial chimney. The structure was constructed in 2018 to provide an essential nesting and roosting site for chimney swifts, a remarkable bird whose numbers have been declining. 

You can learn more about the EPA’s work here: https://www.epa.gov/ambler/what-epa-doing-ambler-pennsylvania