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Road Trip USA (1 Viewer)

lmans66

lmans66

Out Birding....
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United States
I am moving part time back to the east coast (New Jersey) from Washington State and am thinking about making that adventure back a 'road trip'..

So...thoughts on this...

Washington State south down to Las Vegas area and bird a bit of the desert there for a day or two... then on to Tuscon area for a few days...across New Mexico so I can bird the Panhandle of Texas for a few days...

From there thru Oklahoma, in Arkansas and up thru Missouri (birding those two states)..over to Magee Marsh in Ohio... to Preque Isle State park in Northern PA and into the Cape May area of New Jersey.

A long trip...perhaps two weeks in the car easily....thoughts? jim
 
How 'bout this. Stay in the northern tier.

Stop in North Dakota for the prairie specialties, then go to Sax-Zim bog in Minnesota. Cross the UP into northern Michigan for Kirtland's warbler (if you need it), then drop down to Ohio and continue on as you planned. Or depending on your timing stop at a hawk watch in PA for a while.
 
July.....

My other alternative is the northern tier of states from Montana on across as Jeff listed. Good suggestion... I don't have the kirtlands warbler do a good tick...
 
Jeff hopkins said:
How 'bout this. Stay in the northern tier.

Stop in North Dakota for the prairie specialties, then go to Sax-Zim bog in Minnesota. Cross the UP into northern Michigan for Kirtland's warbler (if you need it), then drop down to Ohio and continue on as you planned. Or depending on your timing stop at a hawk watch in PA for a while.
Click to expand...

I can certainly recommend the prairies of North Dakota and Minnesota for great birding. North Dakota is said to be the only state without any tourist attractions, which for me made it so attractive, there is no one there! However, July might be quite late to see some of the secretive prairie specialists such as Baird's Sparrow.
 
Sax Zim is not on my Rand McNalley map ...but it must be a plus.... Any others in MN? I was looking at Big Stone National Wildlife and Beaver Creek Valley, but both of those are in the southern part of MN.

Also, are you suggesting I jump from MN to WI to MIchigan up north..a ferry or bridge or? (UP) thanks, good stuff, jim
 
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lmans66 said:
Sax Zim is not on my Rand McNalley map ...but it must be a plus.... Any others in MN? I was looking at Big Stone National Wildlife and Beaver Creek Valley, but both of those are in the southern part of MN.

Also, are you suggesting I jump from MN to WI to MIchigan up north..a ferry or bridge or? (UP) thanks, good stuff, jim
Click to expand...

If I remember rightly Sax-Zim Bog is named after two virtually non-existent villages, Sax and Zim. It's located about 45 minutes north of Duluth, west of a village called Cotton. I guess there will be one or two mosquitoes there in July...

Another excellent site in MN is Rothsay Prairie just off Interstate 94. While the prairie is pretty tame compared to what you will have passed through further west, it does hold Greater Prairie-chicken.
 
lmans66 said:
Also, are you suggesting I jump from MN to WI to MIchigan up north..a ferry or bridge or? (UP) thanks, good stuff, jim
Click to expand...

Yes. MN to WI to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, then take the Mackinac bridge (I-75) down to get the Kirtland's.

And July is too early for hawkwatching, so you can skip that. It's a little early for Cape May, too. Big migration doesn't start there until late August.
 
yeah I don't think I would bother with Magee Marsh either...that is an awesome place during migration, but I don't think it's particularly that special in mid summer
 
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