|
Cecil Birding Hotspots
New Beginnings
– The Woodlawn Wildlife Area |
| Description |
Located
near Port Deposit, The Woodlawn
Wildlife
Area is approximately 55 acres of undeveloped land owned by
Bridgestone
Americas Holdings, Inc. The land is adjacent to the former
37-acre
Woodlawn landfill, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund
site
owned by Cecil County. The lands are managed for wildlife by
Bridgestone
under the guidance of the nonprofit Wildlife Habitat Council
(WHC).
Although mostly forested, the Wildlife Area has a 4-acre meadow and
several
early-stage reforestation areas. The landfill site is primarily
open
fields and forest edge with a small retention pond that is being
enhanced
as a wetland. Contact WHC (see below) prior to visiting the
site.
WHC tracks community use and arranges for gate opening/closing. |
| How to get there |
From Port Deposit, take MD-276
(Tome Highway) towards Rising Sun. Make a left onto Firetower
Road. Less than a mile later, you will pass the entrance
to the county transfer/recycling center. Immediately after the
center’s
entrance, The Woodlawn Wildlife Area gate is on the left.
From Rising Sun, take Rt 276 (Tome Highway) south to Rt 269, Barnes
Corner
Road, Turn right (west) onto Barnes Corner and then right at the
first
intersection onto Harrisville Rd, which becomes Firetower Rd at the
West
Nottingham Academy gate. Continue south on Firetower Rd to the
entrance
to the Wildlife Area, just past the intersection of Colora Rd on the
right.
Park at the small, fenced-in parking lot with the kiosk. |
| Map reference |
De Lorme MD State Atlas
Book: map page 77; grid B4.
ADC Cecil County Map Book:
map page 9; grid D2-E2.
Google
map click here
|
| What to do
after arrival |
Park at the small lot and explore
the Wildlife Area on foot.
A nature trail traverses the meadow and passes through parts of the
forest
in the Area. Keep your eyes and ears open for Estern Screch Owls:
some
rehabilitated owls were released in August 2004 at the small wooded
area
between the open meadow and recycling station. This wooded area also
contains
one of the county’s largest black birch trees.
Continuing south on foot, you’ll be able to easily identify the former
county
landfill; this open land is separated from the Wildlife Area by a
wooden
fence. The landfill has raptor perches, bluebird boxes, and
a
American Kestrel boxes. The southeastern corner of the site has a
small
retention pond which is being transformed into wetland habitat.
The
southern border of the old landfill is bounded by woods and a small
creek.
The western edge runs along the property of a small private horse farm.
Returning to The Woodlawn Wildlife Area, you’ll pass near a Cecil
Master
Gardeners’ project close to the educational pavilion. A spur
trail
leads through the project site and through an area being reforested
before
connecting up with the main trail. The main trail continues
through
the reforestation project area before edging into the woods that make
up
the relatively unexplored, large forested western border of the
Wildlife
Area. More nest boxes line the trail as it emerges from the
woods,
and then continues around and through the meadow. A solitary bat
box
stands in the southern portion of the meadow, near the reforestation
project
area.
|
| Birds to look
for |
- Year-round: raptors,
songbirds
- Spring and summer: vireos,
flycatchers, warblers, tanagers, sparrows,
thrushes, bobolinks, mimids, waxwings, other songbirds.
|
| Hours/Fees/Amenities |
No fee. Open dawn to dusk
(unless prior WHC approval for nocturnal
birding), year-round. Picnic tables and shelter. Portable
toilet
on-site. No running water. |
| What to bring |
Binoculars.
Appropriate clothing and foot wear for hiking. |
| Difficulty of
walking |
Easy to moderate. The
established trail, former landfill, and
meadow are easy walking. The large, western boundary forest will
involve some
moderate, off-trail hiking. Wet areas are primarily near already
established
waterways, such as the creek at the southern border, small creek in the
western
forest, and wetland area on the landfill. No opportunity to bird
from
a vehicle. |
| Personal safety |
No
hunting is allowed at the site. Recycling center employees
are nearby during normal business hours. The area is surrounded
by private property whose owners are familiar with the site. Pay
phones are located at
the nearby mini-mart stations at the intersection of Firetower Road and
MD-276.
As always, put your valuables out of sight and lock your vehicle.
|
| Nearby sites |
Perryville
Town Park, Funk's Pond
|
| For more
information |
Woodlawn
Wildlife Area website at http://www.wildlifehc.org/brownfields/woodlawn.cfm;
Wildlife Habitat Council at (301) 588-8994 or Whc@wildlifehc.org.
|
Copyright 1998,
1999, 2007 Cecil Bird
Club; All rights reserved. May be printed for personal use
but may not be reproduced in any form for mass or commercial
distribution
without permission of the Executive
Committee
of the Cecil Bird Club.
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