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Fernald Preserve – Late Fall Migration and Winter Residents
December 11, 2022 @ 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Theme: Late Fall Migration & Winter Residents
Location: Fernald Preserve
Date: Sunday, December 11, 2022
Meet: At 8:00 A.M. at the Lodge Pond parking lot at Fernald Preserve (1st parking lot on right just past entrance).
Trip Leader: Rick Marra, (513) 236-7693, rickpmarra@aol.com
Fernald Preserve has a great diversity of habitats that include grassland, weedy fields, marshes, ponds, savannah, woodland, pine plantings and riparian corridor all of which attract a great number of birds and other wildlife throughout the year. While this will be a general birding field trip our focus will be the waterfowl (ducks, geese & swans) that are attracted to the many ponds and wetlands found at the preserve. Ducks and geese of many different species are likely to be found on this trip if the ponds are not frozen. Much of the 1050 acres at Fernald Preserve is open country, so winter resident sparrows of several species should be abundant. A number of wintering raptors are also drawn to the open country habitats found here. Northern Harriers, American Kestrel and Red-tailed Hawks should all be seen. Wintering Rough-legged Hawks are also a possibility as are transient Sandhill Cranes.
Our trip leader for this morning walk is Rick Marra. Rick is an ASO board member and an avid and experienced birder. Rick will surely help us find a diverse number of seasonal birds. Rick plans to spend the morning covering a number of sections of the preserve, so this trip will consist of viewing the various ponds and walking the roadsides and some trails. The terrain is relatively flat and even and the walking will be at a birders pace.
This trip will run until about noon. Restrooms are available at the Visitor Center. Some trails may be muddy or damp. We recommend wearing appropriate footwear. If you expect to see birds you will need binoculars. Feel free to contact Rick if you have any questions.
Directions: Fernald Preserve is located in Northwestern Hamilton County. The entrance is located at 7400 Wiley Road, about ¼ of a mile west of State Route 128. Follow the entrance road to the first gravel parking lot on the right, about 4 tenths of a mile beyond the entrance.
Visit the Fernald Preserve website at: https://www.energy.gov/lm/visit-fernald-preserve-visitors-center