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Welcome to Indiana!!! Based in Anderson, Indiana, USA, I started this Website to help birders throughout the world bird Indiana effectively. The BIRDING TOURS web page, the heart of this Website, is one of the most comprehensive birding site guides ever written for Indiana. Birding Tours exist for each region. These tours accomplish 2 primary goals: 1. To identify productive birding sites in a particular area, or region. 2. To link these sites together through detailed and precise directions. These Tours are meant to be "FIELD TOOLS", and nothing more. To serve you in the same way your binoculars and scope do. The BIRD ALERTS page will contain current sightings information. Hopefully, a digital photo of the rare or unusual species will be included. The sighting will be posted to In-Bird-L first, of course. In-Bird-L subscribers will be able to visit this page to view a photo of the bird currently being reported. The BIRDING LINKS page will contain internet resources covering all phases of birding. The PHOTO GALLERY will contain digital photographs of birds and nature. All photos were taken by me, unless otherwise specified. Cameras used include a Nikon N70 S.L.R. Camera, Nikon Coolpix 995 Digital Camera and a Nikon Coolpix 4300 Digital Camera.
The Birding Tours and Photo Tours in this website lead you to 232 Birding Sites in the State of Indiana. The breakdown is as follows: Southwest Indiana Tour-60, Northwest Indiana Tour-38, Salamonie Big Day-12, Northeast Indiana Tour-38, Monroe County Tour-15, West-central Tour-29, Southeast Tour-27, East-central Tour-8, Photo Tours-5. Are you a hard core Indiana based lister? Are you willing to chase rarities reported in surrounding states? Use the links below for instant access to the E-mail Hot Line and bird discussion lists for the following states: In-Bird-L - Birding on the Net Illinois-IBET - from Surfbirds.com Michigan Listers - from Birding on the Net Ohio E-Mail discussion list and hotline-From Birding on the Net BirdKy - Kentucky list from Birding on the Net In Bird-L Archives - E-mail RBA for Indiana NOAA Weather Report for Indiana
Get the 7 day forecast for any Indiana
I have been all over this state doing birding tours and birding site write ups. I saw Indiana Heritage Trust signs just about every where I went. In my opinion, the most important investment a birder can make in Indiana is to buy a environmental license plate. If you want more places to bird, fish, hunt or recreate, this is the investment you need to make. The following is a direct quote from the Indiana Heritage Trust Website: " The Indiana Heritage Trust buys land from willing sellers and protects it for wildlife habitat and recreation. But that takes money--money from the Environmental license plate. In the past 10 years the trust has saved more than 30,000 acres in 55 Indiana counties. When you renew your license plate for your car, truck or RV, choose the blue "eagle and sun" plate. If you already have renewed your license plate, send a tax deductible donation to the Indiana Heritage Trust." For more information about the Indiana Heritage Trust, please visit their website at: http://www.in.gov/dnr/heritage/
Northern Cardinal - Indiana State Bird
Bald Eagle - Our National Symbol Helpful Tips: The best time to visit Indiana is during migratory periods. The most important factor during migratory periods is WEATHER. Current weather conditions will determine the success of your birding trip. Look for strong southern fronts in the spring. Strong winds and rain will ground migrants. If it is impossible to bird during the rain, be sure you are there when the rain subsides. In fall, look for strong northern fronts to bring waterfowl and seabirds south. Like spring, strong winds and rain will ground migrants. On Lake Michigan, strong north winds in fall will drive Seabirds, Shorebirds and Waterfowl closer to shore.
These two books provide one of the most comprehensive birding site guides ever written for the state of Indiana. Alan calls them Nature Walks but as you know, a nature walk is also a bird walk. Sponsored by the Sierra Club, these books combine to provide over 400+ birding sites for the state of Indiana. Unfortunately, I did not discover these two books until I had already driven and written my birding tours. These books can still be ordered from major On-Line Book Stores.
One of the leading authorities on Indiana Birds, Ken offers the following in this excellent bird finding guide: 1.A checklist of Dunes Area Birds 2.Occurence Histograms 3.Migration Envelopes 4.An explanation of how weather affects Dunes Area Birding and the funneling effect of Lake Michigan 5.A detailed account of all the birding hotspots complete with maps. Ken draws on his massive data base of Indiana bird sightings to show you when, where, and how to look for birds in the Indiana Dunes Region.
Also leading authorities on Indiana Birds, Charlie, Shirley and Tim divide the state into 3 parts: North, Central and South. In these three sections, 63 of the best birding sites in the state are addressed in detail. Part 2 of this book is a status report of each species which resides or passes through Indiana.
Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. James Dean
My MissionTo provide birders with the tools necessary to bird Indiana effectively.
Contact Information
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Send mail to
spancol@aol.com with
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