#14 - Goldsboro Boat Landing
Property Manager: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (814) 643-1831
GPS address: 45 N River St, Goldsboro, PA 17319
Hours: Dawn until Dusk
Parking: The two parking areas at the boat landing are adjacent to each other and to the two boat launching areas.
Restrooms: Restrooms are not available.
Safety Reminders: Please be aware of your surroundings and practice smart birding, it is not advisable to kayak or boat here without prior experience or knowledge of this section of river. Birding from shore is best.
Best Birding: Non-waterfowl birding is best April through September, dawn until dusk. Waterfowl is best October-March.
Site Description: This boat launch area is a great place to view migrating waterfowl and gulls along the Susquehanna River (October through April). There are three areas that give great views of the river. The birds viewed on the river and islands here are in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County. A scope is useful when attempting identifications of the birds along the river as some larger birds can be identified here up to 2 miles away. Please be courteous of anglers and boaters. Do not park or set up your scope on the ramps. Songbirds and those flying over the boat launch are often easily identified with a standard pair of binoculars.
Songbird activity here is at its peak in May and September. Breeding Baltimore Oriole, Belted Kingfisher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo can be found here over the summer months as well. Looking south from the very first pull off with a scope you may see activity in the trees as herons nest on some of the smaller islands south of Goldsboro.
A favorite time of year here is early spring and late fall as that is when the waterbirds, waterfowl, and gull migrations are in full swing. Horned Grebe, cormorants, and loon species have been viewed here. Rarely Red-necked Grebe and other waterbirds come close enough to shore to be identified or photographed. Waterfowl and gull viewing here gives similar opportunities that can be found at York Birding Trail stop #8 Wrightsville, but the birds do not often congregate here in large numbers as they do in Wrightsville.
The large nearby islands obscuring open river and the small boat launch area typically make for a short visit, but patience for fly overs is often rewarded. A birder’s views at Goldsboro are often less birdy than they are at Wrightsville. With that being said, a Little Gull or other rarity is just as likely to fly by Goldsboro as it is Wrightsville.
Goldsboro’s view of the river from the boat launch is iconic. It is only about 1 mile from Three Mile Island (TMI). The island is home to a non-operational nuclear power facility along the Susquehanna River. Occasionally Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles can be viewed from the launch flying over TMI. The area has great potential. It is certainly not birded as much as the popular river locations at Wrightsville (York) and Washington Boro’s (Lancaster) Conejohela Flats.