rcl@tellab1.UUCP (Ron Lewen) (05/17/84)
So far this week, I have spent my lunch breaks watching the following;
Three Pheasant hens (walking along the railroad tracks)
One Pheasant cock (supervising the hens froma safe place!)
A Downy Woodpecker
A Flicker (just flew by now!)
Numerous Red-winged Blackbirds
Numerous Mallards
Several Crows
In addition, I spend a lot of time along the Indiana shore of Lake
Michigan, and have seen;
Many flocks of Crested Mergansers
Several Goldeneyes (Cute little diving ducks)
Herring Gulls (a standard)
Arctic Terns
Sandhill Cranes (There is a growing population of Sandhills
along the Indiana Dunes and, amazingly, along the East Branch
of the Dupage River here in west suburban Chicago!)
I, too, am glad to see some interesting discussions here in
net.rec.birds! I have been a casual bird watcher since I was
just a pup!
Ron Lewen (tellab1!rcl)dub@pur-phy.UUCP (Dwight U. Bartholomew) (05/19/84)
I've been at Purdue Univ. for about 4 years now and haven't
done any bird watching. I used to do a lot of it back in
Massachusetts. One of the reasons I haven't is that Indiana
seems so much more desolate than Ma. It has kind of put me
off. Does anybody out there know a nice place to go birding?
Signed,
The Birdman of Alcatraz
(NO! NO! I mean Purdue)
D. Bartholomew
{lots of sites}!pur-ee!Physics:dubrcl@tellab1.UUCP (Ron Lewen) (05/24/84)
To the Birdman of Purdue; Depending on how far you want to drive, I suggest; 1) The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; The National Park Service has taken over a lot of land along the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan, and much of it is great for birding, or just plain hiking. There are areas that are right along the "Big Lake", and offer a chance to see some of the native shore birds along with some forest dwelling birds in the woods that grow on the fore-dunes of the area. This includes Herring Gulls, Arctic Terns, Sandhill and Whooping Cranes, several types of sandpipers and similar birds, an occasional Kingfisher, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mourning Doves.... The list goes on. Also, there are areas of the Nat. Lakeshore that are strictly wooded, with hidden lakes and marshes that offer a different group of birds (including pheasants, quail, grouse [Look at the grouse!], woodcock...). There is a Visitor's Center on US hwy 12, about three miles east of Indiana Hwy. 49. I am at a loss as to the exact location of West Lafayette relative to the Nat. Lakeshore, but I think you will have to take I65 north to I94, then go east to Indiana 49. Take that north to US 12, then go east to the visitors center. Also in that area is the Indiana Dunes State Park, but I don't reccomend (sp?) it unless you are willing to hike a couple of miles to get away from the crowds! 2) South of Indy about 100 miles (actually southwest, towards Evansville), there is a state forest (the name evades me...) that is very rich in wildlife. The area is hilly, with a few lakes that hold decent bass population (if you are into fishing. I haven't spent a lot of time there... but I plan to in the future. I hope I have helped you a little. If you plan to come up north to the Dunes area, and need more info, just drop me a line! As I memtioned in my article, I spend a lot of time there! (By the way... If you are into fishing, and want to try some if you are in the Dunes area, I suggest a trip sometime in the first three weeks of July. Fishing off of the pier at Michigan City, or in some of the streams is fantastic. Indiana has stocked the lake with BIG steelhead trout that spawn during this time. Last summer we caught two over twenty pounds, and many between fifteen and twenty.) Note; Birdman, I tried twice to mail this to you, and failed both times. The mailer-daemon at Purdue sent it back labeled user unknown. Did I have the wrong path? or what? -- Ron Lewen ....ihnp4!tellab1!rcl <---------------------------------------------------------------->