Photo
of red-shouldered hawk by Tom Harbron (click for larger image)
Nature
Day at the Limberlost: Kamal Islam releasing
a hawk that's been rehabilitated by Laura Edmunds, formerly of Soarin'
Hawk Raptor Center
Photo of young
female barred owl by Tom Harbron (click for larger image)
Birding in our area
Blackford County • Delaware County • Grant County • Henry County
Jay County • Madison County • Randolph County
Some
of the best birding in our region happens on private property—sometimes
right outside our own backdoors—and unfortunately we can't tell
you about those locations. But here is a sampling of some of the public
sites in East Central Indiana that typically offer good birding. If you
know of other places in our region that should be listed, please contact
us.
For places to bird throughout Indiana, visit the Indiana Audubon Society website's Online Birding Guide, which offers full details and rich descriptions of more than 40 top birding sites in the state.
Blackford County (map)
We need suggestions for birding locations in Blackford County! Please write to us!
Delaware County (map)
- Ball
State University properties
Ball State owns several properties that offer a variety of bird habitats: Christy Woods (18 acres on the university campus), Cooper Farm (about 88 acres that is mostly wooded), Ginn Woods (161 acres that boasts the second-largest stand of old-growth forest in the state), Miller Wildlife Preserve (an area along the White River that's also known to long-time Auduboners as "Sixteen Acres"), and Hults Farm (100 acres just outside Albany). Because access to these properties is regulated by Ball State, interested birders should contact John Taylor for more information.
- Prairie
Creek Reservoir
Located five miles southeast of Muncie, Prairie Creek is the largest lake in the county. According to Steve Pancol's Birding Tours (scroll down to #7, "East-Central Tours"), your best bets for waterfowl are the beach area on the east side of the reservoir (off of County Rd. 532 E), the north shore/campgrounds area, and a sod farm on Windsor Rd.
- Great
blue heron rookery
Behind and just a little to the west of the Daleville Community Library is an active rookery that contains approximately two dozen nests. The best time of the year to view the nests is in the spring, after herons have begun tending to eggs and the young but before trees have fully leafed out.
The library is located at 13601 State Rd. 67 (aka County Rd. 550 S), just east of Daleville. (See map.)
Grant County (map)
- Mississinewa
Reservoir
The Mississinewa Reservoir, just north of Jalapa, is reported to be very good territory for warblers and orioles. See map (Jalapa is in lower right corner).
- Taylor
University
The Taylor University arboretum is a 65-acre nature area (and a state nature preserve), just west of the campus, that offers pleasant birding through varied habitats. For more information about access to the property, call 765-998-5354.
- Great blue heron rookery
A notable rookery can be found at the northernmost edge of Grant County, just east of State Rd. 15 along County Line Rd. (aka Wabash CR 1200 S). See map.
Henry Co. (map)
Summit
Lake
Since its creation in 1988, Summit Lake has become the best place in East Central Indiana to watch waterfowl, especially as they migrate through each fall and spring. Within the park's 2,500 acres, birding is often best at the swimming beach and boat ramp areas, but the real focal point for birders is just outside the park's boundaries, at the three ponds that comprise the Nature Area (known to many as the Back Ponds, one of which is Pintail Pond).
The park is located at 5993 N. Messick Road, north of U.S. 36, and the Nature Area is at the intersection of County Roads 500 E and 750 N.
The Indiana Audubon Society's website provides an excellent discussion of birding opportunities and specific locations at Summit Lake, including driving instructions and a map of the park. Steve Pancol's Birding Indiana website also offers many photos of birding sites at Summit Lake.
- Wilbur
Wright State Fish & Wildlife Area
The Wilbur Wright FWA, located north of New Castle off State Rd. 103, is perhaps best known among birders as a place to watch male woodcocks do their aerial mating display, or "dance," each spring. While there are never any guarantees as to when and how often the woodcocks will put on their display, the best chances for seeing them in action are mid-spring, just after sunset. For more information about the specific fields where woodcocks nest, call 765-529-9581.
- Westwood
Park
Located just west of New Castle, Westwood Park's 650 acres include a 180-acre lake, often good for catching migratory waterfowl as they pass through the area. The entire park is under the authority of the Big Blue River Conservancy District.
Westwood's entrance is located at 1900 S CR 275 W, south of State Rd. 38. (See map.)
Jay Co. (map)
- Limberlost/Loblolly
Marsh
The
Limberlost
Swamp was once a 13,000-acre system of wetlands, immortalized
in the writings of Gene
Stratton-Porter. Today, more than 1,200 of those acres have been
restored to wetlands, providing large populations of waterfowl, shorebirds,
songbirds, raptors, and other birds. While the wetlands spread into much of Adams County, the most important area for birders is the 428-acre Loblolly Marsh Wetland Preserve, in County Rd. 250 W in Jay County, west of the town of Bryant. (See map.) There, egrets and great blue herons gather by the dozens, and at the right time of the year, visitors can expect to see sandhill cranes, rails, bitterns, and even the bald eagle that has become an increasingly common sight.
You can get a sneak preview of things to see at the Limberlost and Loblolly with this photo set and virtual tour.
Madison Co. (map)
- Edgewater
Park, Killbuck Wetlands, and Shadyside Lake
Called the Anderson Waterways Trail System on the Indiana Audubon Society website, this interconnected trio of parks is worth a drive for its specialty species alone.
Edgewater Park, accessible by heading west on 10th St. from State Rd. 9 in Anderson, is well known for its warbler population each spring and fall. Park at the park entrance on 10th St. and follow the river trail east/southeast.
At Shadyside Park, a resident barred owl family has been meticulously chronicled through the years by two of our RCAS members, Tom and Jean Harbron. Visit their site, The Birds of Madison County, to follow their latest sightings of the owls' newest generation. (See a map of the park system created by the Harbrons.)
Together, Killbuck Creek and Shadyside Park provide approximately three miles of paved trails. Include Edgewater Park, and the trails add up to five miles of good walking and birding.
Randolph County (map)
We need recommendations for birding locations in Randolph County! Please, write to us!
