Alliance+Birding+Drive

=Ohio Birding Drives= Ohio Birding Drives are routes for birding trips which can be accomplished in one day, stopping to walk and bird at various eBird hotspots. For each birding drive, a Google map is provided with the route and suggested stops at eBird hotspots. You may save the link to the Google map on your smartphone or tablet, or print a copy on paper to take with you. Links are provided with information about each eBird hotspot. Follow those links for more information about birding each location.
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Stark County
=Alliance Birding Drive= Click on the hotspot names below to view the page about that hotspot in a new tab or window. You can click on the thumbnail maps below to view a larger version in a new window or tab.

This Birding Drive explores eBird hotspots around Alliance in Stark County. When you submit checklists here you help to add to the data about birds in this region of Ohio.

Deer Creek Reservoir
14514 Price Street Northeast Alliance, Ohio 44601

From Alliance, drive north on OH-255 for 3.2 miles. Turn left onto Price Street and go .9 mile. Turn left into the parking area for Deer Creek Reservoir.

There are tips for birding Deer Creek Reservoir From Ohio Ornithological Society website.

Deer Creek Reservoir was built in 1954 as Alliance's primary drinking water supply. This 300-acre lake surrounded by forest features an accessible fishing pier, a boat ramp for electric motors only, picnic tables and grills, and a section of the Mahoning Valley Trail. From Deer Creek Reservoir webpage

@Walborn Reservoir
Walborn Reservoir--Eagle Nest Observation Deck Walborn Reservoir--German Church Road Walborn Reservoir--West Alliance, Ohio 44601

From Deer Creek Reservoir, turn left onto Price Street and drive 1.6 miles. Continue onto East Main Street for .5 mile. Continue onto Price Street and drive 3.2 miles. Turn left onto Marlboro Avenue and drive 1.1 miles. Turn left into the parking area for the Eagle Observation Deck.

There are several eBird hotspots around the Walborn Reservoir. Explore as many of them as your time allows on this visit.

There are tips for birding the Walborn Reservoir From Ohio Ornithological Society website.

Walborn Reservoir encompasses more than 1,852 total acres (1,235 in Stark County) and provides the perfect escape for equestrians, hikers, canoeists, and kayakers. Quiet trails travel through pine woods, brushlands, and oak and hickory forests. The reservoir was named for Dale Walborn, the mayor of Alliance from 1963-71, who initiated its construction.

You may spot wildflowers such as mayapple and trillium or such wildlife as white-tailed deer, wild turkey, osprey, bald eagles, and migratory waterfowl. Fishing is permitted, view the boating and fishing guide here for a complete list of regulations.

Under a cooperative agreement with the City of Alliance, Walborn Reservoir came under the jurisdiction of the Stark County Park District in 1998. From Walborn Reservoir webpage

@Quail Hollow State Park
13480 Congress Lake Avenue Hartville, Ohio 44632

From Walborn Reservoir, drive north on Marlboro Avenue for 1 mile. Turn left onto Pontius Street and drive 5.6 miles. Turn left onto Congress Lake Avenue and go .5 mile. Turn left into Quail Hollow State Park.

During spring migration my route of preference is to park by the mountain bike trail and begin on the mountain bike trail. The east edge of the older woods catches the sun early and is often hopping quickly. I then connect onto the beaver lodge trail which is much thicker, secondary growth habitat that warblers and allies get very active in as the morning progresses. Beaver Lodge trail held a summering Clay-colored Sparrow and couple years back and is prime habitat for Mourning/Connecticut Warblers. I've seen Connecticut several times on the trail and one morning had double digit numbers of Mourning Warblers on that loop. As mid-day approaches, Woodland Swamp trail becomes a better option as migrants often come towards the more shaded older forest and often use the shallow stream adjacent to the path to bathe.The Meadowlands Trail is great for early spring Fox Sparrows, late spring Olive-sided Flycatchers and holds nesting Blue-winged Warblers and my only park record of Golden-winged Warbler (also a couple Brewster's records). The scattered pines that rise above the grassy scrub inside the Meadowlands trail held Long-eared and Saw-whet Owl last spring. Brown Creepers and Hooded Warblers nest along the Deciduous Trail, Pine Warblers and Red-breasted Nuthatch are a spring and sometimes breeding presence along Nature for All and Coniferous Forest trails. Virginia Rails and Soras use a small swamp on the far east end of the Mountain Bike Trail. In winter, my favorite spot is right at the junction of Congress Lake Rd and the entrance driveway of the park. Here is an abundance of fruit trees that each January holds robins, waxwings, Hermit Thrush, Purple Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, towhee, Fox Sparrow and many other good January birds. From Kent Miller

@Huston Brumbaugh Nature Center
Daniel Street Northeast Minerva, Ohio 44657

From Quail Hollow State Park, turn left onto Congress Lake Avenue and drive 1 mile. Continue onto Prospect Avenue for .5 mile. Turn left onto OH-619 and drive 4.3 miles. Turn right onto OH-44 south and drive 2.5 miles. Turn left onto Alberta Beach Street for .1 mile. Make a slight right onto Paris Avenue and drive 3.9 miles. At the traffic circle take the second exit and stay on Paris Avenue for 3 miles. Turn left onto OH-153 east and drive 4.3 miles. Turn right onto OH-183 west and go .8 mile. Turn left onto Daniel Street and arrive at Huston Brumbaugh Nature Center in .2 mile.

The Dr. John D. Brumbaugh Visitors Center (1991) includes displays on natural history, a classroom, restrooms and access to the Bird Observatory. The Bird Observatory (2001) provides year-round viewing of birds and resources to better appreciate them. The Visitors Center is open all year. From Huston Brumbaugh Nature Center webpage

|| media type="custom" key="28600885"

media type="custom" key="28600887" Open Google Map in a new window ||