Basic Birding Tips:
1. Walk every tree line. These are great places to catch birds during mealtimes; they can sit in the trees and swoop down to the grass for insects.
2. Check out all bodies of water, even puddles. All birds need to stay hydrated and will take advantage of any water sources convenient for them.
3. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon/early evening are the best times to see birds. These are most likely the times they will be searching for food.
4. Look up at power lines and telephone lines. Many birds use them to survey the ground for food, especially birds of prey like hawks.
5. Pause and take a look near or in brush piles; birds dig through them for bugs.
6. Avoid eye contact! It sounds silly, but this is actually mentioned in birding books. Animals have some sort of innate sense of what it means to be "looked at"; so if you're trying to be sneaky, act like you don't notice them at all.
Places to Bird:
These are just a few of my favorite places to go birding. I'll keep it updated as I find new cool spots!
1. Johnson County Park (Nineveh)- The whole park is amazing! There's a prairie habitat to walk through as well as wooded trails.
2. Camp Atterbury Fish & Wildlife Area (Edinburgh)- Covers a large area of all kinds of habitats; including ponds, woods and meadows and marshes. Look for pull offs on the side of the road to park in and start exploring!
3. Stone Arch Road (Nineveh)- Anywhere along this road is excellent. It winds through woods, a lake, an old cemetery and fields of wildflowers.
4. Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary (Connersville)- The name says it all...its a BIRD sanctuary maintained through donations by the Indiana Audubon Society, The drive out there is just as fun for seeing birds as actually being there! I've seen black vultures, red-tailed hawks, barn swallows, indigo buntings, and even some groundhogs and turtles just on my way there. Primitive camping is allowed for Indiana Audubon members!
5. Cemeteries....any and all of them. Walk the tree line around it, not through the plots. Please remember to be respectful of the property.
6. Freedom Park (Greenwood)- There's a disc course, protected habitat areas, trees and ponds to check out. The resident Great Blue Heron and Green Heron are usually around to say hi!
7. US 31 and Worthsville Rd. (just east of 31, past the lumber yard- small parking lot on left side of road)- Ponds, a drainage ditch (ALWAYS good birding spots!), a tree line to walk and trails through the woods.
8. Westside Park (Main and Averitt in Greenwood)- Wander back to the construction dumping area; I've found it's full of wildlife and birds. The creek is a great place to spot herons and ducks.
9. Meltzer Woods Nature Preserve (Shelbyville)- An easy 1.2 mile loop trail through the wooded preserve. A beautiful area.
10. Laura Hare Nature Preserve at Blossom Hollow (Trafalgar)- Runs alongside a portion of Lamb Lake. A moderate (a few steep inclines) 1.5 mile in and out trail. Look out for eagles and shorebirds!
11. Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (Seymour) - Almost 8000 acres!! A couple of larger lakes and numerous small ponds makes this a great place for ducks and shorebirds. There are trails through the woods, an old cemetery, the cabin and barn from the original family who owned the land, and an auto tour loop with a guide you can follow on your phone and places to pull over and just enjoy things for a bit.
12. Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park (Newfields)- This is 100 acres that was donated to the art museum over two decade ago. Admission and parking are FREE. There are plenty of places to sit and enjoy the beautiful sculptures or scenery. It has the largest pollinator garden in the entire state! As of October, Eastern Bluebirds and Yellow-Rumped Warblers were flocking there for the winter! There's a decent sized lake for waterfowl too. I was told that Common Loons can be found there in the winter!
13. Marott Woods Nature Preserve (Broad Ripple)- This place is especially active during spring and fall migration. The trails are easy and you don't really have to spend much time here if you're looking for a lunch hour birding opportunity.
14. Goose Pond FWA (Greene County)- Almost 10,000 acres!! An excellent place for raptors and migrating birds, especially the Orange sparrows. Definitely check the website. It's such a large property that you could easily get lost if you don't know what you're looking for. Check Ebird for the place to see all the Short-eared owls in the winter!
Here's an article from the Amos Butler Audubon Society about birding in Johnson County. It has specific details about sites and even strategy tips! https://www.amosbutleraudubon.org/2022/07/01/birding-johnson-county/
Here's one for Marion County- https://www.amosbutleraudubon.org/2023/04/30/birding-in-marion-county/ This specifically covers Eagle Creek and Fort Harrison State Park.