Side Trail: Going Birdwatching IN the Parks

Indiana Audubon Society: Birdwatching IN the State

The first thing I learned about birds when I interviewed Whitney Yoerger from the Indiana Audubon Society was a spark bird. It's a bird that really captures your attention and gets you hooked on birding. For Whitney, her spark bird was an osprey. She said, “The osprey just captured my attention, and I couldn't stop looking at it!”

As communications and outreach manager for IAS, Whitney helps share its mission. It engages communities in the enjoyment of birds through conservation, education and research. Founded in 1898, IAS is the oldest conservation organization in the state and began seven years prior to the National Audubon Society. Indiana Audubon provides resources for individuals, schools, and entire communities who love birds. 

Indiana Audubon hosts two incredible events for bird lovers. The first is called Project Owl-Net, which works with some of the smallest owls in North America: the Northern Saw-whet owl. These tiny owls with oversized yellow eyes are beautiful and hard to find. But from mid-October through mid-November, people are invited to watch IAS band Northern Saw-whet Owls. The banding happens at Indiana Dunes State Park and would be the perfect Halloween activity!

In the spring, the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival draws over 700 people to watch birds migrate. There are field trips, programs, workshops and banding demonstrations as well. She shared the festival is “a great way for the beginning birders to really get an overview of all the species that we have in the state that are moving through at that lower Lake Michigan area as they go north. It's a fantastic way just to take in what migration can be in Indiana as all that explosion of birds comes through.”

Planning ahead for the birding festival is important. The program is typically released in December, and registration usually happens in March. The best way to have access to early registration is by becoming an Indiana Audubon member. It’s affordable and provides access to free camping and fishing at Mary Grey Bird Sanctuary in Connersville. Best of all, Whitney reminded me that “Membership is something that is a really easy way for you to support the birds here in Indiana because that funding is going directly back into our ongoing research, our conservation, and our education programs.” 

I enjoyed talking with Whitney so much I became an IAS member after our conversation! After watching ospreys at Monroe Lake and Potato Creek State Park, I agree with her about them too. They are really amazing birds, and I would love to have some nesting on the water near my house!

Sabrewing Nature Tours: Birdwatching Around the World

If you’re an avid birdwatcher, you should also consider taking your hobby on the road. I interviewed Rob Ripma, owner and guide at Sabrewing Nature Tours. Rob is an Indiana University grad who turned his interest in local birdwatching into an international experience. His company Sabrewing (pronounced “sabre-wing” and named for a type of hummingbird) has been around for over a decade. 

Rob explained that Indiana is a great state for birdwatching because we’re on the migratory path for many birds. What's also really cool about seeing birds migrating through Indiana at places like the Dunes Festival is that if you travel to Central or South America, you could end up seeing the same birds!

Rob told me birds like the Cerulean Warbler migrate through Indiana, and “during the winter months when I'm in Columbia or Ecuador, we see Cerulean Warbler on their wintering grounds down there. We talk about that with people all the time… this could be the one that came right through your yard or right through your favorite local park.” 

If you’re interested in international tours, Rob said, “I specialize in Central and South America, but also lead tours in Asia, Africa and Europe. This year I've been in Vietnam, Thailand, Guatemala, and then I'm about to go to Uganda in Africa, and then I will be going to Ecuador. Ecuador is always one of my favorites. The diversity of birds is really, really high. The country is easy to get around. You can get to lots of habitats from 14,000 feet in the mountains down into the Amazon with relatively easy drives. And I think our last tour there, over two weeks, got about 550 species.” 

I can’t imagine a better way to see another country than being able to view and photograph its birds, wildlife and nature! To do that, you definitely need the right equipment. 

Equipment & Apps

To prove how much of an amateur I am, my birdwatching equipment is a pair of 50-year-old binoculars that belonged to my grandfather! Rob and Whitney both said binoculars are a must for birdwatching. They recommended starting with companies like Vortex, Zeiss, Swarovski or Kowa. Rob also suggested 8x42, which meant nothing to me, so he gave a quick explanation. He said, “Eight is the magnification, and forty-two is the diameter of the objective lens on the other side. Those are the easiest for birding because they have a pretty wide field of view, so that you can track things a little easier, and the 8 power is enough to get it close enough to see for the most part.”

They both recommended purchasing either a digital or physical field guide as well as downloading a few apps. My favorite has been Merlin Bird ID which was created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The app’s AI feature helps you identify birds by their songs. However, it’s not foolproof, so it’s always important to verify what you see with what you hear. Cornell Lab’s app eBird is another great one for tracking and identifying birds. 

Planning Your Birdwatching IN the Parks

The best thing about birdwatching is you can do it anywhere! Many of the state parks offer indoor viewing experiences in their nature centers. Quiet back rooms with windows provide views of bird feeders and bird baths. Other parks have more active birdwatching through guided hikes, nests and platforms, or migration events. Plus, you can learn about any type of bird at our parks, from hummingbirds to owls!

Here are a few parks to keep an eye on for events:

• Brookville Lake SRA and Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area are popular spots for sandhill crane migrations. Brookville Lake also has hundreds of bluebirds nesting in their boxes every spring and summer.

• Fort Harrison offers weekly birdwatching hikes.

• Indiana Dunes hosts the birding festival and has regular birding programs. They have a beautiful birdwatching platform that overlooks fields, forests and Lake Michigan.

• Monroe Lake’s history with bald eagles and osprey is extensive, and they have an easily accessible osprey tower and bald eagle nests around the lake.

• Potato Creek has an osprey platform near the dam and offers bird programs.

• Prophetstown has a scenic overlook that gives you a view of a vast prairie where birds are extremely active.

• Summit Lake has a large bald eagle nest on the edge of the property.

• Salamonie & Mississinewa Lakes host an eagle watch in late winter.

Many parks also have brochures about what kinds of birds you’re likely to spot in the area. Stop in the nature center or park office and talk to the staff. You could also contact your closest state park to learn what birdwatching programs they provide. 

As for me, I have my grandpa's old binoculars polished, my apps downloaded, and I'm ready to go birding.

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