https://ebird.org/wi/hotspot/L730386
Habitat: 1100 acres of Northern Hardwood Forest, Bottomland Hardwoods, Native and Restored Grassland, Marsh, Open Water.
Best Birds: Multiple easy walking trails loop through three properties that abut St. Croix National Scenic Riverway lands. At Englewood, search the area around the parking lot for Eastern Kingbird, Field Sparrow, Bobolink, and Orchard Oriole. Walk the trails along the western edge of the prairie for flycatchers, swallows, bluebirds, thrashers, sparrows, and warblers.
Heading south passes a small wetland where ducks, Sora, and Alder Flycatcher nest. Continue southwest into the forest, a State Natural Area portion of Englewood, with mature Sugar Maple-Red Oak-Basswood-Yellow Birch-White Pine forest for Black-billed Cuckoo, woodpeckers, flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Towhee, warblers including Blue-winged Warbler and Mourning Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager. The maintained trail ends at the Riverway property where bottomland forest of Red Maple and Silver Maple can have Red-shouldered Hawk, Barred Owl, and at the river, Prothonotary Warbler.
Head northwest from the parking lot for Yellow-bellied Sapsucker near the small ponds with nesting geese, ducks, flycatchers, swallows, Swamp Sparrow, and warblers. Turn northwest into the forest for woodpeckers, Acadian Flycatcher and Wood Thrush. This trail also ends at the St. Croix River but you can walk through the woods to the river here as well.
Most of the forested lands here are designated Standing Cedars State Natural Area.
Directions: 26 miles N of Hudson/Five miles S of Osceola. Parking lots on 280th Ave. at 45.240688, -92.733051 and 45.237042, -92.733196.
Site Address and Additional Information:
215 280th St, Osceola
Secondary parking: 45.237042, -92.733196
Standing Cedars Conservancy: https://www.standingcedars.org/
Standing Cedars SNA: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/naturalareas/index.asp?SNA=600
Robin Maercklein
