Follow Migration - Part 3 - Split Rock Creek & Camden

Split Rock Creek

After I finished an epic 10 mile hike at Blue Mounds and chewed up 6 total hours of my day I tried to wedge in 2 more parks before having to head home and get ready for a morning guide effort at Frontenac State Park for the MOU.

I snagged a quick lunch and headed to Split Rock Creek State Park.

I quickly found the winds had raised a lot during this time and I was facing 15 to 20 mph cross winds in the park that was heavily suppressing bird activity.

Split Rock Creek had a real county park type of vibe to me as it is not a large space and the majority of the key feature is likely the lake that the park borders. My understanding is that in the depths of summer this is one of the few bodies of water in the county and it provides an oasis for birds and errant migrants so it retains a moderately high bird quality level for the relative habitat and natural space that is available.

Stone bridge just on the edge of the park forming a stream from the dam above that you can walk across at Split Rock Creek State Park.

The spillway and walkway that you can traverse with a little extra trail in a wooded patch on the edge of the lake.

I hiked the hiking club trail and generally just moved along at a good clip in the high winds finding some nice migrant birds, but nothing earth shattering to be honest. The trails were not really challenging to any great degree, but I can see the park being a prime stop on a south-western circuit. A sort of, well I'm in the area, type of bird stop where you can look the place over pretty quick and see what is present.

The Great: Having a body of water in an agriculture dessert can be key. This park space provides that for the birder looking to find rarities on the western edge of the state. I can see keeping this on my short list for stops when I'm hitting other key spots in this part of the state.

The Meh: A limited dry land habitat spread does limit the fun of hiking this park. I covered a good portion of the park in a short period of time and found some dogs on the neighbor property were pervasive barkers along with a campground taking up another huge chunk of space. I don't think it would be possible to ever feel alone or even at peace in a park like this, though again I have a leaning towards total solitude. I'm sure the park is a great summer escape for families and those looking to do some fishing in the area.

The Verdict: As noted, this is a birder stop in the summer for sure. I'm not sure the other seasons would provide a ton of value, but it will stay on my list for stops when I visit Blue Mounds and want to check for rarities.

Camden

I waffled back and forth on getting another park wedged in before heading home. When I plotted my route home I realized it literally drove past the entrance to Camden State Park so I figured a stop was definitely going to happen to ensure I get a visit in before the year gets to far along.

I allocated only about an hour of time though as I knew I had to guide for 4 or so hours the next day and then start an even bigger circuit of parks after that. I stopped in the office for directions and thankfully did as I soon found the entrance bridge is closed for construction and effectively blocking access to the majority of trails in the park. On top of that another park entrance just down the road to another area with trails was also not open for the season yet. In fact this massive park appeared to be down to 1 official parking area with trail access, meaning if you wanted to do the hiking club trail you would be doubling or tripling the distance.

I eventually settled upon a route that would cover some river lowlands area and then some upper prairie edges as well. I put up 40 species in about 1:30 of time in the park in the worst park of the day for birding. This was 4 more than I put up at Split Rock Creek and the most exciting was a cooperative Broad-winged Hawk while driving down the road to the parking lot.

Took this photo from drivers seat turned to look out the rear passenger window. The hawk had just crossed the road and perched in a tree ignoring the car being present. Best shot I've gotten of a Broad-winged Hawk.

My hike was filled with nice elevation changes and I immediately felt like I was in the wild so to speak so it was a great vibe. Even the railroad tracks running through a portion near me did not annoy as it felt like they ran through the wilderness beyond the frontier or something. I picked up expected birds with continued good Thrush activity all day long.

Based on what I saw Camden is a hikers park for sure. Assuming you are in for some serious trail time the bridge being out doesn't mean much as you can just hike to the other trails and explore them, likely with very few people present. I saw just 1 other person the entire time and that was a Trout fisherman when I got done with the hike.

This was a surprise upper prairie tract I found after traversing the river bottoms and ravine trails to the top. It was very quiet and open without neighboring properties pressing tight on the edges that I could see.

I did not really detect any serious warbler activity, but considering what side of the state I was on that is not a surprise. You definitely start to get a vibe that super waves of warblers are an eastern corridor type of thing that follows the big rivers more than you might initially realize.

The Great: Based on what I saw this park as the hiking goods in many ways. I'm juiced to come back at some point with a full day available and just hike the entire park like I do today with Afton State Park. I don't know about rarities, but it would be fun to find out what might be hiding in this diverse park location.

The Meh: Having closed areas, bridges out with no pedestrian way to directly cross, and apparently even a back entrance closed off is not a way to run a state park. I understand limited resources and the need to upkeep serious infrastructure up to date, but this was kind of crazy for a park this size in May. I almost got the vibe the woman working the office didn't know what to tell me as far as getting in an using the park facilities.

The Verdict: Come to this park when it is fully open and I think you will have more than enough to do for an entire weekend if need be. It is a hikers park from what I can tell and I want to come back and use it as a base of operations for birding. As far as this year goes, I'm not likely to make another stop though as the bulk of migration will be done and I don't know that it is known for any local specialty birds.