Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area 

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Warrick County’s biggest attraction is, of course, Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area.  The property is located along Boonville-New Harmony Road and east of Interstate 69.  Check lakes for waterfowl and fields for birds of prey and grassland/shrubland birds such as Blue Grosbeak, Bell’s Vireo, Yellow Warbler, and more.  Check the Indiana Audubon Society’s On-line Birding Guide for complete details about this site: http://www.indianaaudubon.org/.

 

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Scales Lake Park 

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Northeast edge of Boonville. Great for ducks, warblers, tanagers. Breeding birds of interest include Mississippi Kite, Pine Warbler, and tanagers. Take Hwy 62 east through Boonville.  Angle left at the TF ice cream stand and follow sign at top of hill.  Take the road around the lake which provides access to most of the birds.  There are also numerous walking trails.  Small admission charged when attendant on duty.

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Pigeon Creek Bottoms

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On Boonville-New Harmony Road east of Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area. Follow Boonville-New Harmony Road east from Interstate 69 to the Pigeon Creek wetlands.  Parking along the road is allowed, but be careful to pull completely off the road.  Looking to the south, the Great Blue Heron rookery is visible. 

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Wood Ducks breed here and other waterfowl can be found during migration.  Other breeders include Prothonotary Warbler, all of the expected woodpeckers, and Eastern Phoebe at the bridges.  Just west of the wetlands, Perdido Road can be a good area to find Prairie Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat during the breeding season and during the winter a variety of sparrows can be found.

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Little Ditney Hill

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North of Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area: (labeled on DeLorme Map 60 C 10 as 590' elevation). Take Boonville-New Harmony Road east through Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area to St. John’s Road. Turn north at St. John’s Road and then at the top of the hill turn east at Gander Road.  Drive slowly to bird along Gander Road to a sign that says Gander Cemetery.  Birding along the cemetery road is good for woodland birds, but do not attempt to enter private property. Great during migration for tanagers, warblers, orioles. 

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Newburgh Lock and Dam Overlook

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Off Hwy. 662 at the junction with Hwy. 66. Drive up to the top of the hill and wander around, or park at the dam parking lot and walk the paved trail up the hill after checking the dam area for gulls and nesting Cliff Swallows. Many of the migrant song birds may be found here. The Overlook area is an old home site whose owner obviously loved exotic trees.

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Lynnville/Squaw Creek Mine Area

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The Lynnville/Squaw Creek area is reclaimed strip mine that covers almost 7,000 acres and consists of grassland/scrub, lakes, early to mid-successional woodlands, wetland mature woods, some upland mature woods, and some row crops. Because the extensive grasslands here support Indiana’s second largest population of Henslow’s Sparrow, a Watch List species, it has been designated as an Important Bird Area.  Other Watch List species that have large populations here include Bell’s Vireo, Dickcissel, and Willow Flycatcher.  This area is also important for several raptors, including the Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl.

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