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As the saying goes, all of us together know more than any one of us alone. Special thanks goes to those many dedicated birders who took time to talk with us about their favorite birding haunts. We asked lots of folks this question: Aside from the notable Audubon State Park in Henderson County, Ayrshire Mine in Warrick County, and Harmonie State Park in Posey County, where are your favorite local birding hot spots? Almost to a one, our birders answered, "My own back yard!" We take that as a tribute to their successful establishment of backyard wildlife habitats — providing food (both native seeds and fruits as well as packaged bird seeds and suet), water (including water features and bird baths), nesting, and protection. And our birds thank them for that. Still, we asked for more. The result, of course, is in your hands. This booklet of hot-spot descriptions includes specific spots (like ponds or borrow pits), general areas (like Howell Park Wetlands), driving loops (like the A.B. Brown Generating Plant Perimeter Auto Loop), and roads (like Boehne Camp Road). In every case, we have omitted naming those great birding spots that require permission from land owners to access private property, and we have made every effort to remind readers that trespassing on private property, even in the name of birding, is not recommended. While preparing this list was a work of love on the part of everyone who contributed, a shadow of pessimism crept into the project. It came from birders’ two frequent laments: — "Well, I used to get really good birds at site x, but now it’s been bulldozed/logged/subdivided/developed/paved." — "Used to be all these warblers/herons/sparrows nesting at these sites,but we haven’t seen any here in two or three years." The laments were a sobering reminder that while we despair over the rain forest destruction in South America, our own habitat destruction is no less serious. Perhaps for these reasons, this list of local birding hot spots is all the more precious. Arranged by county, including Vanderburgh, Posey, Warrick, Gibson, and Henderson, and by geographic proximity within counties, this list may well represent our last best hope for local bird habitat. On the other hand, we know this list is not a definitive compilation of the only remaining habitats. Considered a work in progress, the list needs your contributions as well; and we fervently hope changes in any future lists are additions, not deletions. May you find birds in your binoculars at every turn. Evansville Audubon Society
Credits A Compilation of 70 Great Birding Sites in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, Gibson and Henderson Counties Compiled by the Evansville Audubon Society with special thanks to the following local birders: Carolyn Bennett Midge Lechner Paul Bennett Yvonne Lingo Dorothy Bonar John Meredig John Bonar Charles Mills Pat Burden Gene Schroeder Larry Caldwell Jackie Schroeder Ron Crawford Virginia Simmons Don Goodaker Marietta Smith Pat Goodaker Charles Sorenson Lois Gorrell Sharon Sorenson Glen Grant Evan Speck Nellie Grant Tammy Turner Nancy Hitch Richard Vernier Ted Hitch Sue Vernier Tom Westfall
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