Butler+Spring

Also, see Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, Killbuck Valley Important Bird Area, and Holmes County Birding Drive
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Holmes County
=Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area= =Butler Spring= OH-83 Holmesville, Ohio 44633 Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area webpage Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area map

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Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area--Butler Spring
Coordinates: 40.646399, -81.938561 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding Butler Spring
Butler Spring is a year-round, open spring within (at the edge of) the Killbuck Marsh complex. It is located just north of the village of Holmesville, on OH-83, at the very southeastern edge of the Killbuck Wildlife Area Complex. Butler Spring never freezes and remains a shallow, open area that attracts waterfowl, shorebirds, and pipits during extremely cold temperatures. The spring originates in the hillside, on the east side of OH-83, runs under the road and opens in the marsh complex. The open water area of the spring, just west of the road edge is very shallow and is filled with watercress (//Nasturtium officinale W.T. Aiton//). The birds often sit, rest, and forage on or in the watercress, in the shallow water. There are places to pull off on both the east and west sides of the road, near the spring. It's a great place to check for January birding! From Jason Larson

About Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area
The 5,671-acre Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area is situated in northeastern Ohio in portions of Wayne and Holmes counties. The area extends north from Holmesville to three miles south of Wooster and lies between OH-83 on the east and OH-226 on the west.

The area is in a shallow, U-shaped glacial outwash valley. The elevation varies from 840 feet at the floor of Killbuck Creek near Holmesville to nearly 1,000 feet on hillsides parallel to the valley floor. About 56 percent of the acquisition unit consists of marsh and swamp that is flooded during some portion of the year. This complex is Ohio’s largest remaining marshland outside of the Lake Erie region.

Purchase of land for Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area began in 1969. Additional land is being acquired as funds become available. The wildlife management plan provides for maintenance and protection of the existing woodlands, the establishment of regular crop rotations, improvement of open fields for wildlife nesting by controlled burning and selective spraying, and the establishment of food patches for general wildlife use. Permanent wildlife cover has been provided by planting thousands of trees and shrubs. Wright’s Marsh, a 350-acre diked wetland off OH-226, was restored in partnership with Ducks Unlimited. Dikes and water control structures are being developed to increase and improve the wetland habitat in the area. From Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area webpage

Pectoral Sandpiper Photo by Su Snyder Photo by Ken Ostermiller

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L3284793 US US-OH US-OH-075 40.646399 -81.938561 Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area--Butler Spring