Go Birding

Pennsylvania’s Important Bird Area (IBA) Program is part of a dynamic worldwide effort to identify and protect outstanding habitats for birds and all wildlife. Based on strict scientific criteria two areas in Clarion County and one in nearby Jefferson County were selected in 1998:

SRAS has formally adopted these IBA’s and will monitor and endeavor to protect their habitats.

Click for a printable pdf version of the SGL 330 map, which includes Piney Tract.

Overview: Multiple lodging, dining, shopping and fueling facilities are available at Exit 62 (one of the Clarion exits) off Route 80. During your outing you may wish to get a quick meal at the Korner Restaurant (814-745-2660) at 405 Colerain St, Sligo; you pass it on Route 58 if you follow the directions below. BJ’s Restaurant on the North side of Exit 53 (you pass it at the beginning) also provides quick and inexpensive meals. Tell them we sent you!

A portion of this outing goes through the nationally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA) #21 (Mount Zion/Piney Tract). The newly acquired PA State Game Land 330 resides within the IBA #21.

Getting there: Take Rt 80 to Exit 53 (Knox) and follow black-topped Canoe Ripple Road south across the Clarion River to the first left (Elliot Rd) after crossing the river. Before you get to the river, there is a sharp right curve with a smaller road going straight; stay on Canoe Ripple Road. Be careful turning left onto Elliot Road; it is at the crest of a hill.

Elliot road becomes a dirt road. Follow it for a mile or so, until you reach the crest of a hill from which you can see the expanse of grassland (SGL 330) ahead. This is a good place to start birding! Look for both grassland and edge-habitat birds.

Details: Begin birding about 100 yards before the end of Elliot Rd. Then continue a short distance to the T onto Mt Zion Road, turn left (East) and continue ¼ mile to a parking area on the left (look for a brochure at the parking lot). The field across from that parking area has been good for grassland birds (especially Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrow and, at dusk, Short-eared Owl). Walk the gated road (south) across from the parking area. The recently scraped area on top of the hill was good for Horned Lark and Savannah Sparrow in 2009, and Vesper Sparrow was noted at the far eastern end of the field to the left. Several nesting pairs of Clay-colored Sparrows have been observed in a 1 mile section beginning about 0.5 mi from the gate.

Return to Mt Zion Rd. The pine stand on the other side of Mt Zion is good general birding. Continue on Mt Zion Road for about 0.6 mi to a T onto Limestone Flat Road; turn right and park in the parking area on the right. Henslow’s Sparrows have been found in the field across from the parking area.

Continue South on Limestone Flat Road. After about a mile, notice Wyman Rd to the left. The Wyman Rd side trip can provide Vesper Sparrow and Short-eared Owl. The Vesper Sparrow habitat is on Wyman Rd after about a half mile and continuing almost to Stockdill Rd, but Vesper Sparrows are becoming less common as the habitat matures. Turn left on Stockdill and park in the parking lot to the left. Walking west from the parking lot will provide excellent grassland birding. The area further up the hill on Stockdill is also good, but on private land, so should be viewed from the road. Turn around and return to Limestone Flat Road.

Turn left on Limestone Flat Rd and continue to Rt 58. Turn right on Rt 58 (Sligo and the Korner Restaurant is a short distance to the left), and take the first left onto Morris Rd, which becomes Stewart Rd. When Stewart Rd reaches a fenced pasture area on the right, start looking for Upland Sandpipers. This area, which we call Mt Airy, is all private land and you should not wander from the road. Upland Sandpipers can be difficult to observe when they are nesting in June. Continue on Stewart Rd to Shannon-Tipple Rd; turn right, cross Mt Airy Road and continue to the first Right. This is an excellent spot for several grassland birds, including Upland Sandpipers and Short-eared Owls.

Return to Mt Airy Rd, turn left. Notice Murray Hollow Rd on left. Explore Murray Hollow if you want another look at the grassland you just observed, but from the other side. There are pull-off locations on the left side of Murray Hollow Rd. Continue on Mt Airy Rd past a farm house and barn to another great grassland.

Continue on Mt Airy to the bottom of the hill and to a T. Turn Right and continue to Rt 58. Turn left on Rt 58, continue through Callensburg and take the first left on Callensburg Rd. Take the first right on McCall Rd. Watch for grassland birds, go through a crossroad, where the road becomes Logue Rd. Continue about a half mile on Logue and park at a tiny (private) dirt road on the right. A short walk back the dirt road could yield Clay-colored Sparrows, among other grassland birds.

Conservation: If you are not from the Clarion area, we would appreciate being informed of your visit, because we want a measure of the interest in our grassland habitat and its impact on the local economy. Please visit our web site at www.senecarocksaudubon.org for how you can contact one of our current officers. We are interested in what you see, how long you stay, the number in your party, where you are from, and anything else you wish to pass along.

The park, which contains a few notable old-growth forest remnants, is accessible from Interstate 80. From the east, take the Brookville Exit 78. Take PA36 north directly to the park in Cooksburg. From the west, take the Shippenville Exit 60. Take PA66 north to Leeper. In Leeper, take a right onto PA36 at the light. Follow PA36 into the park (7 miles). Good maps and hiking information are available at the park office just off Route 36 before the Clarion River Bridge in Cooksburg.

The unique birding opportunities in Cook Forest are associated mostly with the old growth forest remnants located in the Forest Cathedral and on the Seneca Trail. The riparian habitat along the Clarion River on River Road is worth investigating also. Tom's Run Road, open during the late spring through fall only, has good second-growth forest habitat as well as vernal pond habitat during the spring. Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit and Wood Thrushes, Blackburnian Warblers and Northern Parulas, Dark-eyed Junco and "winter finches" have been seen in some years.

A Checklist of the Birds of Cook Forest State Park was completed in November, 2009, based largely on the data supplied by longtime SRAS member Margaret Buckwalter. Thanks also to Dale Luthringer and Doug Gross for making this checklist a reality. It can be read or downloaded here. Note - it is a 2 page pdf (designed to be printed front and back) and will print on standard 8 1/2 X 11" paper, but is more easily readable on 8 1/2 X 14" paper.

This is a 2500-acre portion of Clear Creek State Forest in Jefferson County. The area is managed by DCNR in Clarion. To reach the Research Area from Route 80, follow Route 36 North from Brookville and turn right on Route 949 in Sigel. Turn right again on Cullen Road at Heath Station. One can drive within the Research Area by traveling South on Cullen Run Road, crossing over Spring Creek Road onto Fire Tower Road, turning left onto an unnamed dirt road which takes you back to Spring Creek Road, and turning left to return to Cullen Run Road.

Little Gems are great local sites for birdwatching. Many are overlooked by most people, but offer unique outdoor opportunities.

Getting there: If you go north to Marienville on route 66, turn right at the main intersection in Marienville and go directly east on Lamonaville Road. Lamonaville Road is the intersection just before the Uni-Mart. Don’t turn sharply right, which will take you south toward Loleta. Marienville is 28 miles from the Clarion Court House.

Description: This Little Gem walk is a 2.7 mile loop if you have two cars or 3.7 miles if you have one car. Of course shorter walks can be taken if one chooses. For the first mile, Lamonaville Road is paved, then turns into a good-quality dirt road. The hiking trails are wide, clear and dry, but there is some high grass, which can be wet with dew in the morning. There is a convenient place to rest and snack about half-way around the loop. The trail involves only very modest hills. Plan 3 to 4 hours for a casual birding walk around the 2.7 mile path.

The area is quite primitive. Public rest rooms are available during office hours at the Ranger Station (814-927-6628) which is a couple of miles north of Marienville. There is a new convenience store/gas station along this road also, offering coffee, snacks, and facilities. A good stop for lunch or dinner is Bettina's Italian Restaurant (814-927-7888) in Marienville on the west side of Route 66, just a little north of the Lamonaville intersection. The Bucktail Coffee Shop and Restaurant at the main intersection in Marienville is now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Details: Drive 3.2 miles east on Lamonaville Road to well-marked trail head # 377 on the right. Leave one car there and drive another mile (4.2 miles from Marienville) to trail head # 157 on the right to park the other car. The first part of Trail 157 involves a 1.8 mile, well-marked, wide, grassy path that goes past several small fish-filled wooded lakes. Bird sightings will vary with the seasons, but the birding is good.

The path then comes upon a crossing. Take the left hand trail about 100 feet to sit on some rocks while you rest and snack. Take the right turn, a high-quality dirt path (suitable for cycling), to return to trail head #377 where you left your first car. This walk goes through an upland forest and presents different birding opportunities than the first part of the walk.

Map: Route 8 and the Polk Cutoff road are shown on any Pennsylvania road-map.

Getting there: From Franklin, go south on Route 8. The Polk Cutoff is about 5 miles from downtown Franklin (Note: Route 62 splits from Route 8 about half way up the hill leading out of Franklin. Stay on Route 8) A Dairy Queen is located on the right side of Route 8 about 0.6 of a mile before the Polk Cutoff. Turn right at Polk Cutoff, immediately past Maurer's Trading Post. Proceed down the hill past a Skeet Club on the left and a cemetery on the right near the bottom of the hill. There is a gravel parking area on the left about 0.5 miles past the cemetery.

pond can be seen in the distance. The pond is about 0.4 of a mile long and is easily reached via a well worn path that leads to the left side of the pond. Depending on the time of year, the side of the pond nearest the parking area may be wet enough to require rubber boots. The terrain is level but when walking the raised far side of the pond, be careful of groundhog holes. Walking from the parking area to the path leading to the left side of the pond, then around the far side of the pond and back through the field to the parking area is about 1.2 miles.

The nearest restrooms are at the Dairy Queen on Route 8 or one of the restaurants in Polk. The main building of Polk State School can be seen to the west.

Details: Some seasons are better than others. In Spring, Wilson’s Snipe can be flushed from the wet area adjacent to the near side of the pond and migrating waterfowl and a few shorebirds can be seen when walking the raised far side of the pond. In late summer much of the water is gone from the pond and shorebirds frequent the exposed mud flats. Some years there are more mud flats than others. Usually, the more mud flat area, the more shorebirds. The only county record Western Sandpiper was documented here July 15 and 16, 2001. In Fall, a few waterfowl utilize the pond and shorebirds continue to appear. The fields between the parking area and the near side of the pond attract large numbers of migrating sparrows in late September and October. The only county records for LeConte's Sparrow and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow were

South of the far right-hand corner of the pond is another smaller pond with cattail areas between the two ponds. The Marsh Wrens, Sora, and Virginia Rails have been recorded in this area several times.

Map: Begin at Tionesta, which can be found on any Pennsylvania road map. All of the roads in this Little Gem can be found in the DeLorme PA Atlas & Gazetteer. Tionesta is on the top of page 44, and the route goes up into pages 30 and 31.

Getting There: From I-80 exit 78, proceed North on PA 36 for about 38 miles to Tionesta. Watch for German Hill on your right at the south end of town.

From the west, take I-80 exit 29 and proceed North on US Rt. 8 for 17 miles into Franklin, then US Rt. 62 for about 27 miles to Tionesta. After crossing the bridge into town, turn right onto PA 36 south for a few blocks and watch for German Hill on your left.

Description: This is a drive through the Tionesta Creek valley, mostly through undisturbed Allegheny National Forest and Army Corps of Engineers property. There are several places to hike. Many warblers breed here, and even more can be found during spring and fall migration.

From the south end of Tionesta, take German Hill Road for about 4 miles – watch for a right-hand turn onto Jughandle Road, which will go down a steep hill to meet Tionesta Creek. This is prime habitat for about 8 miles, where the road meets PA 666 at Kellettville. There is very little traffic. There will be a wooded hillside on your left, and Tionesta Creek on your right, sometimes bordered by woods or brushy areas. There are a few seasonal cabins, but most of the area is undeveloped; there are several places where you may park to walk along the road or access the creek.

Details: After about ¼ mile along Jughandle Road, start listening for warblers. Watch for a gated logging road on the left – this can be a productive hike along the ridge-top where Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Winter Wrens, Black-throated Blue Warblers and Canada Warblers breed. (Sappies and Blues can be abundant in spring). Going down the hill you might find Swainson’s Thrushes and Northern Parulas. As you drive along Tionesta Creek, Alder Flycatcher, Northern Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, and Swainson’s Thrush are possibilities in summer. Black-throated Green Warblers are abundant. The first road to the left is Ross Run Road; you might want to diverge and drive through this ravine, along Ross Run for a mile or so, for it is very good for warblers, Acadian Flycatcher and Winter Wren. (Ross Run Road will take you back up to German Hill Road if you wish to make a short loop). Continue up the creek road – you will come to some different habitat on your right: an abandoned farm with access to the creek includes feed plots, some tall evergreens, and an Osprey platform. Nashville Warblers are probable breeders along the hillside here. About ¼ mile past this open area, another hiking option into the hardwood forest can be found opposite the old bridge piers, where a road once went up the hill. Another place worth stopping is a pull-off near where Hazelton Run Road (from the Flying W Ranch) meets the creek road; from here you can observe an island, have a good view upstream, including an Osprey platform, and the vegetation is good for spring and fall warblers. Common Mergansers, Green Heron, Bank Swallows, and Black-and-white Warblers may be found here. At Kellettville, you may cross the bridge and bird the Kellettville Campground, which is a good spot for Least Flycatcher and a warbler magnet in spring and fall.

To return to Tionesta, take PA 666 about 2 miles west to Whig Hill, turn left on German Hill Road and proceed 12 miles to Tionesta.

Facilities: The area is primitive; restrooms are available at the Kellettville Campground. Cougar Bob's Kellettville Tavern (814.463.7351) is just east of Kellettville on PA 666. It can provide lunch and an experience in itself. A small restaurant at the Flying W Ranch (814.463.7663) is open on a limited basis. The newly remodeled and re-opened Whig Hill Store (814.463.7422) is on the left on PA 666 west before meeting German Hill Road. This general store/gas station is open daily until 6, until 8 on weekends, and until 2 on Sundays, and offers fresh subs and soft drinks. There are also restaurants in Tionesta.

Birds that might be seen: A variety of ducks, also swans, loons, and grebes may be seen during migration; Wood Duck and Common Mergansers breed here. Both Osprey platforms have attracted some attention, but no nesting pairs to date. A Bald Eagle is a possibility in this valley any time of year. Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks as well as Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers can be found from spring through fall. In summer, while the woods on one side of the road may harbor Acadian and Least Flycatchers, Alders can be found in the brushy areas on the creek side. Bank Swallows nest along Tionesta Creek, and Cliff Swallows nest at the Kellettville Bridge. Red-breasted Nuthatches may be found, particularly near Ross Run. Winter Wrens as well as Swainson’s Thrushes are possible in summer. Breeding Warblers include Blue-winged, Nashville, Northern Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Ovenbird, possibly Mourning, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, and Canada. Other warblers may be seen in migration.