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Brookville Lake Region Field Trip
March 11, 2023 @ 7:30 am - 2:00 pm
Theme: Waterfowl & Early Spring Migration
Location: Brookville Lake Region
Date: Saturday, March 11, 2023
Meet: 7:30 A.M. at the Park & Ride at I-275 Exit # 7 (see directions below)
Leaders: Jack Stenger, (513) 503-3389, jackstenger@gmail.com
Jay Stenger, (513) 522-8147, jaystenger1@gmail.com
The focus of this trip will be the spring waterfowl migration, which should be near peak at this date. Our trip leaders, Jack Stenger and Jay Stenger, plan to visit several spots around the Brookville Lake Region. If time permits we might make the short hop over to Hueston Woods to take a quick look around Acton Lake before returning home. Jack, and his father Jay, are exceptionally skilled birders and have high expectations for this trip. Jay and Jack know the Brookville Lake region extremely well, having birded there many, many times over the past 30 plus years.
Both the Brookville Lake Region & Hueston Woods are birding hotspots and are excellent for attracting waterfowl and water birds at this season. The rural countryside surrounding these two large lakes has diverse habitats so we expect to find a great variety of species along the way. Finding 16 plus species of Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans) is quite possible. We also expect to find numbers of gulls, grebes, Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagles and other raptors, and songbirds, including early spring migrants and lingering winter visitors. Finding something rare is always a strong possibility on this trip. Past ASO March field trips to Brookville Lake have yielded Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, several rare waterfowl, and Lapland Longspurs just to name a few.
Because Brookville Lake is so large, this field trip will be an auto-tour type, which will consist of driving from spot to spot interspersed with a few short easy walks. While the trip duration is long and does entail considerable driving, the rewards, in terms of what we see, always make it worth the effort.
The trip will run into mid to late afternoon, but of course you can leave at any time you like. Bring your lunch and drinks. It always seems colder around large lakes so dress accordingly. If you have a scope it will prove useful. Restrooms will be available and we will make several stops during the day. One important note: a few of our scheduled stops will be on Indiana Park property. Indiana State Parks charges a daily per car entrance fee ($7 resident, $9 non-resident) that is good for any park property that day. That said, at this time of year there are usually no attendants on duty, but we cannot be sure of that. Ohio State Parks are free so there is no charge at Houston Woods.
We will meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Park & Ride lot, located on SR 128 at the I-275 Exit # 7, which is marked Cleves-Hamilton. This is the first exit just west of the Great Miami River at Miamitown. We will caravan from there to the Brookville area, about a 30-minute drive. Call or email Jay or Jack if you have any questions.
Visit the Brookville Lake website at:
https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/brookville-lake/
Visit the Whitewater Memorial State Park (at Brookville Lake) website at:
https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/whitewater-memorial-state-park/