I had seen on social media that as many as 27,000 Sandhill Cranes had arrived at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge and that seemed to justify an eighty mile road trip. This would be Footpaths first visit to a national wildlife refuge, perhaps underappreciated venues for hiking. The National Wildlife Refuge System is made up of 588 refuges. The mission of the organization is “to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and, where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.” Simply put, they set aside and enhance habitats to ensure population stability of our native wildlife.
Our first stop was the visitor center to find out the best viewing sites for the cranes on this 7,700 acre refuge. Imagine our disappointment when the staff person told us that we would probably not see them as they fly out in the early morning to feed in nearby agricultural fields, and only return at dusk. The other surprise for the day that necessitated a change in plans, was the weather. Mostly sunny skies with temps in the low 40s was predicted, but we were greeted by overcast skies and cold, blustery winds.
The refuge has a formal auto tour that instructs the visitors on the habitats and management of the preserve, so we decided to start with that to get an introduction to the massive property. Immediately we enjoyed some beautiful scenery as noted in the title photo and below.
After a short distance we decided to pull over to take a brief walk to a viewing stand that overlooked one of the ponds. As we changed into our hiking boots we heard a cacophony of honks coming from the horizon – surprisingly loud, heard but not seen. Then they appeared over the tree line – two disorganized Vs of Sandhill Cranes flying south. It was from a distance, but gave us hope.
We continued on our trek to the viewing structure, walking on what appeared to be an old farm lane with a sentinel Sweetgum tree on the edge of a marsh.
We had just returned from a trip down south so were not aware of the low temps that the midwest had experienced Thanksgiving week. We were a bit surprised when we took to the viewing stand and found the shallow pond entirely frozen.
The auto tour had educational stops along the way, commenting on the ecology of the wetlands and grasslands.
Some of the wetlands had Bald Cypresses with their buttressed bases.
and the upland fields hosted native grasses, including Big Bluestem.
The formal auto tour route, highlighted in gold on this map, only covers a small section of the refuge.
But it does provide views onto marshes, ponds, and lakes. This allowed us to see many waterfowl including this mixed group of Ring-necked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, and Lesser Scalp.
In addition we saw two swans. Due to the distance we could not tell if they were Trumpeter Swans or Tundra Swans, both of which migrate to Indiana in the winter.
After completing the auto tour we did drive through the rest of the refuge utilizing its limited gravel roadways. We almost had the entire facility to ourselves this day, only seeing a couple of other vehicles. Much of the rest of the refuge was wooded.
Along the route there are several parking areas for short walks to ponds and lakes, as well as trailheads. The trails are generally short – a mile or less. One we stopped at was for the paired Sand Hill Ponds, with the hope that its namesake would be present. The path is concrete and leads to the dam for one of the ponds. While there was some open water on this pond, there were no cranes.
Around bends or through openings in the woodlands, we would come upon peaceful views on a variety of wetlands.
The main road ends at the Myers cabin which dates to the 1880s. It was constructed from Beech trees cut on the farm.
Nearby is the barn that was built with timber frame construction in 1907, after the farm’s original barn had burned.
Both of the structures are a short walk from the roadside parking and constructed so visitors can peer inside to get a glimpse of the lifestyle of the early1900s Midwestern farm families.
As we continued our version of a hop in, hop out tour of the refuge, we drove with the windows half down and the heated seats cranked up. Occasionally we would again hear the cranes calling and would jump out to see them above us.
Each time that we saw them in flight they were headed to the “Sanctuary”, an 800 acre wetland that is closed to the public and gives the cranes, and other waterfowl, a protected environment. It is the area hashed in red on the earlier map.
In addition to the cranes and waterfowl, we saw many other species of birds along the route. Muscatatuck is considered a “birding hotspot” and 279 species have been identified there:
Red-tailed Hawk, White-crested Sparrow, and Killdeer. Hawks were especially abundant on the refuge.
When we came upon this unique plant along the gravel road I thought that we had a entry for our “new plant of the day” series. There were hundreds if not thousands of what appeared to be single stemmed plants in a 10 by 30 foot area. Evenly spaced leaves enveloped the stem. Due to the cold I really did not do my best plant identification work, requesting photos with the hope of identifying the plant later. With no personal identification success, I shared the photos with a naturalist resource who identified them as sprigs of young sycamore trees.
After he suggested that to me, I enlarged some of the photos and, indeed, you can see some lateral buds along the stems that will be next years branches (yellow arrows). I have never seen so many tree seedlings in that close of proximity.
As I wrote this essay I ventured to a nearby creek bank that hosted numerous sycamores, and I found a couple of specimens with this unusual leave composition, confirming my resources assessment. A lesson that I do not think I will forget.
As the morning had bled well into the afternoon, and as the winter wind picked up, we called it a day, certain that we will revisit Muscatatuck.
In summary, Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge was an impressive place with a terrific collection of wetlands. As we reflected on the visit, we realized that it truly can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of mobility limitations. The formal auto tour and cruising along through the refuge gives beautiful scenery and the opportunity to see a lot of wildlife. Our hop in/hop out technique worked well on a somewhat inclement day, as the short hikes would get us out in nature, but back to our vehicle before the joy was gone. While we were here specifically to see the Sandhill Cranes, and migrating waterfowl of winter, we are convinced that this is indeed a four season venue, offering an outstanding and ever changing experience any time of the year. Photos that I have seen on-line confirm that. Based on this experience, we will add National Wildlife Refuges to our list of public lands to utilize for future Footpaths outings.
Footpathsblog.com posts are released every Sunday morning and some bonus content is added periodically. Please click on a social media icon above to follow for future posts and to make sure that you catch all our reflections on, and adventures with, the great outdoors.
Photo credits to Peggy Juengling Burns.
Overview:
Location – 12985 East U.S. Highway 50, Seymour, Indiana. It is 84 miles south of downtown Cincinnati.
Parking – gravel lots other than at the Visitor Center which was asphalt.
Facilities – Flush toilets at the Visitor Center and pit toilets elsewhere.
Trail Conditions – generally compacted dirt, grass, or gravel. The Sand Pine Ponds Trail was concrete.
Print Map Link – none. Pick up a map at the Visitor Center.
Benches – only near the Visitor Center.
Picnic Tables – I believe that there were some around the Visitor Center.
Kids – kids of all ages should do well hear. They should enjoy seeing the wildlife and the hikes are short enough that they could be carried if necessary.
Dogs – allowed on a leash.
Suggested Paired Hikes – in total there are 6 short hikes, ranging from 0.25 to one mile. They appeared to go through a variety of habitats. The Wood Duck Trail that loops through a maple and beech forest should be excellent for spring ephemeral wildflowers.
Links: