Liberty+Wildlife+Area


 * =Birding in Ohio=

Jackson County
=Liberty Wildlife Area= Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 Liberty Wildlife Area webpage Liberty Wildlife Area map

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Liberty Wildlife Area
Coordinates: 39.10677, -82.778746 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Liberty Wildlife Area
The unique, 140-acre Liberty Wildlife Area lies eight miles west of Jackson. It can be reached by township and county roads from OH-35 and OH-335.

The area includes steep rocky terrain, varied forest types, and a small stream. Nearly all of it is wooded. The ridges and steep slopes are mostly sawlog size oak-hickory, with some Virginia pine of pole or sawlog size. One stream, Dry Run, flows from north to south through the area. Vegetation along Dry Run is mostly bottomland hardwoods of pole and sawlog size, with small openings comprised primarily of alder and button bush. Hemlock and mountain laurel can be found in the upper coves. Greenbriar is common among the understory plants.

This area was acquired as a gift from the Central Ohio Anglers and Hunters Club in 1956. Wildlife management work has included the protection and improvement of existing woodland.

Hunting is the major recreational use, along with nature study, hiking, bird watching, mushroom hunting, and berry and nut picking.

The primary game species are ruffed grouse, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, raccoon, cottontail rabbit, and white-tailed deer. Most furbearers common to the region are found on the area. Migratory game species such as crow and woodcock are present both as residents and as migrants.

Red-tailed hawks, screech owls, and turkey vultures are among the more common large nongame birds. Many songbirds and small nongame mammals live in the mixed forest types. The songbirds are primarily upland species typical of open, hilly woodlands, such as the yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos, yellow-shafted flicker, whip-poor-will, Carolina chickadee, Eastern bluebird, and tanagers. There are also lesser numbers of lowland woods and brush species such as the yellow-throated warbler, white-eyed vireo, and brown thrasher. Among the several species of reptiles on the area are the Eastern timber rattlesnake and Northern copperhead.

Liberty Wildlife Area is situated in one of the most geologically noteworthy and botanically rich townships in the state. The southernmost outcrops of the Black Hand Sandstone terminate here. The name Black Hand is used to identify a sandstone formation which outcrops in a north-south band from Richland and Medina counties through the Hocking Hills to Jackson County. Liberty Township also is the north limit of big-leaf and umbrella magnolia, which are found on the hillsides of the wildlife area.

In keeping with the objective of perpetuating the wild state of this area, the facilities are limited to one roadside pull off. From Liberty Wildlife Area webpage

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media type="custom" key="25934740" || L1914778 US US-OH US-OH-079 39.10677 -82.778746 Liberty Wildlife Area