Summer gets a bad rap for birdwatching.

Sure, it’s not as exciting as the spring migration when every day is a new discovery and a whirlwind of birding activity, but the summer has its own rewards. The most exciting part of summer birdwatching, of course, is discovering nesting activity and watching young birds grow. There’s much more to summer birdwatching, however.

First, let’s acknowledge some of the challenges to birdwatching in the summer. Finding a bird in the woods becomes extremely difficult as the leaves are out in full force. You can drive yourself batty trying to find an eastern wood pewee high atop a leafed-out maple or oak.

Birds are also much less vocal in the summer than they are in the spring. Very often in birdwatching, birds are heard before they are seen. You hear a bird, look in that direction, and you find the bird. It’s not always that easy, for sure, but you get the idea. In the summer, birds don’t always give us that verbal cue, making it much more difficult to spot them. Birds don’t want to be seen in the summer, as they are on nests or raising young. The last thing they want is to be discovered, so they remain hidden and silent.

Finally, birdwatching hours in the summer are not conducive to late sleepers or those who turn in early. The long days mean that the sun rises early and sets late. True of all seasons, the best time to watch birds in the summer is early morning or evening. By 9 a.m., the sun is already high and harsh in the sky, and the temperature is rising. You can still find birds in the afternoon, but even the birds seek out shade when it’s too hot.

Now on to the good stuff.

It’s always a thrill to see birds carrying nesting material or food for young in their bills. One of my favorite photos I took is a gray catbird with a bill full of insects. It paused on a perch just long enough before heading to its nest. The bird had five or six insects, all of a different variety, in its bill.

If you are lucky enough to find a nest, it is fun to watch the progress from eggs to babies to fledglings. This should be done in a cautious manner, of course. I wrote earlier this year about watching a pair of northern flickers hollow out a nest in a dead tree in my yard. You can’t see inside a woodpecker nest, but I know they are still there and likely have eggs now. Once they hatch, the baby birds will call constantly for food. It’s fun to watch the dutiful parents make several trips back and forth to the nest.

Summer is the best time to see waders in New England. Waders are tall, skinny birds found around the water, such as herons and egrets. While some great blue herons are year-round New England residents, most arrive in the spring and leave in the fall. That leaves summer as the best time to spot them. Since they are around water, they don’t have the cover of leaves to hide them.

Similarly, ospreys are a summer treat to see, especially around coastal areas, but also around large inland lakes and rivers. Ospreys were rare sightings in New England a few decades ago, but their population has increased dramatically to the point they are common sightings in the summer. Connecticut and Massachusetts, for example, each have more than 1,000 osprey nests. New Hampshire is estimated to have about 150 nests.

Another nice thing about birdwatching in the summer is that it can be done anywhere and combined with other outdoor activities. Going to the beach? Keep an eye out for shorebirds, terns and ospreys. Taking a hike? Look for woodland birds. Neighbor having a barbeque? Look for blue jays, nuthatches, catbirds, goldfinches, wrens and other backyard birds.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention hummingbirds. For some people, a highlight of summer is watching hummingbirds visit their feeders, potted flowers or flower gardens.

And, if the birding gets really slow in August, that’s a great time to look for butterflies, dragonflies and other creatures in fields and meadows.

Summer is often paired with words such as doldrums, dog days, dragging or sweltering. For birdwatchers, it’s just a different season with new opportunities.