Continued from part 3.
Clegg’s Gardens: This property borders the Wildcat Creek. The terrain is rugged, wooded with deep ravines. There is also a small flower garden. Woodpecker varieties, nuthatches and a variety of warblers are heard, if not seen, throughout the park. Along the creek, various waterfowl from ducks to herons may be seen. Kingfishers frequent the creek area. Cliff swallows buzz the stream from conglomerate honeycombed rock outcroppings. Park (link).
NICHES properties: Northern Indiana Citizens Helping Ecosystems Survive (link) land trust holds a number of conservation easements throughout several counties. Similar to Nature Conservancy, NICHES maintains and restores property. Many of these properties are open to the public. Mulvey Pond, a new wetland restoration near West Lafayette, is becoming a good stopover for waterfowl. The Indian Creek Basin, near Granville Bridge, and is being restored from farmland to river bottom sand prairie. There are several parcels within a few minutes of the Lafayette area. They also have several parcels up to an hour away. Most are good birding areas.
Nature Conservancy: Most of the Nature Conservancy (link) properties in our area require about an hour’s drive. The Potholes and Kankakee Sands in particular, are well worth the drive. Kankakee Sands restoration includes a number of unique habitats. Prairie, savannah and wooded acreage hosts wild turkeys and warblers among some of the more familiar hawks and over-wintering birds. The Potholes is better known for ferns, fungi and falls than the bird population. The standard woodland species and cliff swallows are seen typically.
Continued in part 5.
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