Strouds Run State Park – Athens County

The various trail systems at Strouds Run State Park have been good for birding diversity this fall, including breeding and migrant warblers. A recently exciting find by Athens birder Phil Cantino was this Clay-colored Sparrow, spotted along the fencing and scrubby habitat at the northwest end of the Blackhaw Trail. It hung out long enough for some of us to find and enjoy it! The Blackhaw Trail has been black-topped recently, improving accessibility for those with mobility issues. Other park trails circle the lake or head into the ravines and up into the beautiful forested hills surrounding Dow Lake, providing a nice diversity of habitat.

Quail Hollow Park – Stark County

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park—Cedar Ridge Hawthorn Trail – Franklin County

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park—Cedar Ridge Hawthorn Trail is a great place in central Ohio to look for fall migrants in September. Vireos, Warblers, Thrushes, Tanagers and more can be found here as they rest on their journeys south. You can also check out Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park—Darby Plains Wet Prairie Restoration across the road for migrating shorebirds and other marsh-loving species. Battelle Darby has a fantastic nature center with restrooms, and plenty of paved and accessible trails as well.

Poston Preserve / Hockhocking Adena Bikeway – Athens County

The 21-mile-long Hockhocking Adena Bikeway in Athens County offers an array of good birding spots. The stretch just south of Nelsonville at Glen Ebon Road (County Road 4) is a particularly good one with parking on either side of the bike path. Heading north or south will take you into tracts of the Poston Nature Preserve. Fall can offer up migrating thrushes and warblers as well as incoming sparrows and kinglets. Keep your eye on the Hocking River on the east side of the bike path for possible ducks.

Salt Fork State Park and Seneca Lake – Guernsey County

Walnut Woods Metro Park – Tall Pines Area – Franklin County

Walnut Woods Metro Park – Tall Pines Area in Franklin county is a great place to look for owls in the fall and winter months. Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech-owl, Long-eared Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl have all been detected at this metro park in the last year! Tricky to find, and even more difficult to see, it often involves a long night hike and a lot of patience in the dark. Give the owls their much-needed space, have patience, and with some luck, you might be able to hear or see them just after dusk – or if you’re extra lucky, find them roosting in the daylight.

In the daylight hours, it’s a lovely park to go for a stroll on the nicely paved path winding through the “tall pines.”