At the entrance with high angle of light and about 6 miles of hiking under my belt so far.
The view from the entrance sign pull-off.
The park was certainly scenic as I rolled into the dirt road of the park eventually coming to a parking area that seemed to have trailhead for the hiking club trail. I didn't want to really hoof a major effort and this path seemed to limit elevation gain/loss in favor of a nice ridge and wooded hike out to a scenic viewpoint. I figured by the time I finished it would be at 12 hours of birding and 9 miles hiked often in 83 degree heat.
I found active White-throated Sparrows and several species of Warbler as I made my way along the quiet trail coming into contact with some mushroom hunters and a small family enjoying a hike as well. I picked up first of year birds like Golden-winged Warbler and though I had them earlier in the day a number of Rose-breasted Grosbeak that cooperated for some pictures as well.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak was one of many in the area making noise and feeding. This one wasn't to sure or impressed with my paparazzi attitude.
The trail found brief open looks the valley and river eventually coming to an overlook of the Mississippi River that provided some pleasant views as I eventually spotted some Turkey Vultures using a steep hillside as a perch and take off point for soaring on thermals.
Scenic view at the end of the Hiking Club trail.
On my return I picked up a couple of Kik calls from a likely Coopers Hawk and found him moments later as I rounded a corner and the bird took off. The reason for the calls was soon found in a headless Red Squirrel the Cooper's had taken out. I hoped after I moved past the bird was able to finish up it's meal. Back at the car I drove in further to check out a pair of overlooks that were just a quick .1 miles to each from the lot. This space actually provided good warbler efforts with tree tops being below my view line and seeing Orange-crowned and several other species fueling on insects.
Another river view after a short hike to another of several available overlooks.
By this time I had contemplated a stop for a massive stair climb at John Latsch, but I thought better of that with 9 miles behind me already on the day.
The Great: Some fun trail spaces, though limited to about 6.5 miles total with many being an out and back to a view point. Of course the view points are the easy draw for a space like this and it accomplishes that very well. This could very well provide some awesome sky watching potential at the right times of the year.
The Meh: I'm not sure of any key target birds you'd look for at this park and habitat diversity is certainly a limitation for the serious birder. With the trails limited to 6.5 miles a person could bet bored with them over multiple visits, but again not every park needs to be all things to provide value. This natural space and view of a great river is preserved and available for use to explore.
The Verdict: I can see quick stops in the future as I look to expand my park list or county list. It is probably the type of place I'm more likely to bring my wife for a short reasonable hike to see some nice scenery and perhaps pick up a few bird species as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment