For quite some time I've wanted to visit Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area south of Linton, in central Indiana. Mind you this is a long, long drive from Louisville for a day trip. However, the weather forecast today looked promising so I headed out. As I approached the marshes at Goose Pond, the Great Blue Herons were visible everywhere and quite a few close to the road.
As you drive through the main portion of Goose Pond, you'll find a huge marsh with Route 59 running north and south right through the middle of it. There's a second marsh area northeast of Goose Pond called Beehunter's Marsh which I visited, but didn't see many species of birds on this visit. The water was a gorgeous blue today. The perfect day to explore the entire area.
I encountered this Great Blue Heron intently keeping an eagle eye out for a meal. I didn't get the impression I even warranted a glance from him. At times as I found Herons standing a little closer to Route 59, if I stopped my car to snap an image they would fly away squawking. I wasn't even close to them. A little different behavior from what I'm used to at Mustatatuck.
The marshes at Goose Pond are five times the size of Mustatatuck. One important note here, Goose Pond is in the direct path of one of North America's migratory flyways called the Mississippi Migratory Flyway. Generally, birds fly through in Fall from Yukon, Alaska and southern Ontario, flying through Michigan and Ohio and directly over Goose Pond in Indiana. So this fish and wildlife area is a major stopover for the migratory birds on their way to the Mississippi River. From there they continue flying south to the Gulf of Mexico, where they make their way east or west along the coast to overwinter in southern Florida or the Texas coast or parts further south.
I wanted you to see the flyways on a map which I pulled off of www.birdnature.com's website. There are many websites that offer information on the flyway if you Google it. I can't wait to go back to Goose Pond when the migratory birds are making their Fall pilgrimage. Perhaps a two day trip would be in order as I've read the many different types of birds and the sheer numbers of each species is huge at that time. Hope your weekend was great. ENJOY!
As you drive through the main portion of Goose Pond, you'll find a huge marsh with Route 59 running north and south right through the middle of it. There's a second marsh area northeast of Goose Pond called Beehunter's Marsh which I visited, but didn't see many species of birds on this visit. The water was a gorgeous blue today. The perfect day to explore the entire area.
I encountered this Great Blue Heron intently keeping an eagle eye out for a meal. I didn't get the impression I even warranted a glance from him. At times as I found Herons standing a little closer to Route 59, if I stopped my car to snap an image they would fly away squawking. I wasn't even close to them. A little different behavior from what I'm used to at Mustatatuck.
The marshes at Goose Pond are five times the size of Mustatatuck. One important note here, Goose Pond is in the direct path of one of North America's migratory flyways called the Mississippi Migratory Flyway. Generally, birds fly through in Fall from Yukon, Alaska and southern Ontario, flying through Michigan and Ohio and directly over Goose Pond in Indiana. So this fish and wildlife area is a major stopover for the migratory birds on their way to the Mississippi River. From there they continue flying south to the Gulf of Mexico, where they make their way east or west along the coast to overwinter in southern Florida or the Texas coast or parts further south.
Carol, this looks like a great location to view and enjoy the sights of Autumn migration. I hope you get the chance to go back.
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