White Rock and Payen Roads
Vast grassland expanses and rolling hills provide excellent opportunities to look for Ferruginous Hawks, Prairie Falcons, and other winter raptors. Payen Road has few cars and allows a leisurely visit.
Eastern Grasslands and Blue Oak Woodlands
Vast grassland expanses and rolling hills provide excellent opportunities to look for Ferruginous Hawks, Prairie Falcons, and other winter raptors. Payen Road has few cars and allows a leisurely visit.
This area is primarily open grasslands interspersed with oaks hosting a wonderful variety of passerines and raptors. The area is of particular interest from the first fall rains until the water dries up (normally in June).
With a mix of blue oak woodland, savanna, and expansive grasslands, a trip along Latrobe Road has a diversity of habitats and a real sense of remoteness. It is the possibility of less common sightings that often draw birders to this location including: Lawrence’s Goldfinches, Band-tailed Pigeons, Hairy Woodpeckers, Steller’s Jays, Greater Roadrunners, and Northern Pygmy-Owls.
Michigan Bar Road is another location where the possibility of less common species is the draw, with Hairy Woodpeckers, Steller’s Jays, Band-tailed Pigeons, American Dippers, and Lawrence’s Goldfinches all rare but possible.
An open country gem, a drive along Meiss Road can produce winter raptors and a variety of passerines. In spring and summer, this area has been fairly reliable for Lesser Nighthawks and Grasshopper Sparrows.