Brunet Island SP, Chippewa County, WI, US - eBird Hotspot
Habitat: Open Water, Bottomland Hardwoods, Mixed Coniferous Forest, Beaches and Mudflats, Marsh. Mixed Coniferous Forest east of Brunet Island.
Best Birds: Breeding birds include Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Broad-winged Hawk, Bald Eagle, Barred Owl, Red-headed and Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-throated Vireo, Cliff Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Northern waterthrush, Black-throated Green, Pine, Yellow-rumped, Blackburnian and Mourning Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager.
Directions: 38 miles NE of Eau Claire/26 miles northeast of Chippewa Falls in Cornell, WI. Take Hwy 64 in Cornell to Park Road which is 0.25 miles east of the bridge over the Chippewa River. Follow the road about one mile to the park entrance (45.18003, -91.16196). The trail going north through the SNA starts just north of the HQ parking.
One may also bike from Chippewa Falls to Brunet Island on the Old Abe Trail which itself is good for birding.
Site Address and Additional Information:
This area consists of the island, which is 169 acres, plus more than 1300 acres east of the Chippewa River. There is a trail for the portion east of the Chippewa River that leads through the Jean Brunet Woods SNA. The SNA lies along the Chippewa and Fisher Rivers and is mostly a near old-growth hemlock-hardwoods forest with dominant Red Oak. The area has good birding during spring and fall as migrants follow the Chippewa River Valley.
23125 255th St., Cornell, WI
Brunet Island State Park | Wisconsin DNR
Jean Brunet Woods State Natural Area - Wisconsin DNR
Rory Cameron
