Silver Creek Birding Trail

The Silver Creek Birding Trail is unique in that it travels through a great diversity of habitat in a relatively short distance. Begin the trail at the kiosk and drive through a young aspen forest while keeping an eye out for ruffed grouse, American redstart, chestnut-sided warbler and veery. The banks of the Silver Creek Pond are an excellent site to watch for warblers, which congregate in the conifers and feed on insect hatches coming off the water. Look for yellow-rumped, Cape May, black-throated green, blackburnian, palm and Nashville warblers. Hooded merganser and bufflehead can be spotted on the water as well as belted kingfishers. More mature coniferous forest abounds further along the driving loop where brown creepers, pine warbler and hermit thrush can be found. The deciduous forest dominated by large maples at the center of the loop provide breeding habitat for scarlet tanagers, pileated woodpeckers and black-throated blue warbler. Finishing the loop out at stops eight and nine are bog complexes which host Lincoln's sparrow, common yellowthroat, and Wilson's snipe.