Harford County

Harford County is one of the seven jurisdictions within the Central Region. The county seat is Bel Air, located near the middle of the county. Other large towns include Aberdeen and Havre de Grace. The county is home to the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a federal military installation (not open to the public).

Harford County has 326+ species reported on eBird. For the county eBird checklist, eBird hotspots, and more, click here.

View a comparison of Maryland counties based on total number of species reported on eBird.

Harford County sits at the top of the Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehanna River flows along the eastern border of the county to enter the Bay at Havre de Grace. Other major waterways include the Gunpowder Falls and the Bush River. Much of Harford County is characterized by the rolling hills of the Piedmont Plateau, but the southeast corner is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The county has a mix of rural and suburban areas, but also includes some forested tracts. The highest elevation is 805 feet in the county’s northwestern corner.

Harford County is bordered by the state of Pennsylvania to the north; Cecil County to the east, across the Susquehanna River; Baltimore County to the west; and Kent County to the southwest, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The border between Harford and Kent is in the middle of the Bay.

I-95, US Route 1, and US Route 40 are major corridors through Harford County, all running roughly parallel to one another, oriented slightly northeast-southwest.  Major north-south roadways are MD Routes 152, 24, 543, and 22.

To view the State Highway Administration’s printable road map of Harford County (PDF format), please click here.

The local chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society is the Harford Bird Club.

Explore birding sites in Harford County by choosing from the list below.