General: 
https://ebird.org/wi/hotspot/L631115
Bridge Drive: https://ebird.org/wi/hotspot/L304733
North Lake Drive: https://ebird.org/wi/hotspot/L3661343
Habitat: 1280 acres of Open Water, Marsh, Willow-Alder-Dogwood Swamp, Wet Prairie-Fen, Non-native Grassland, Restored Grassland, Cropland, Oak-Hickory Forest, and Pine Plantation.
Best Birds: The widest variety of species can be found in the section west of Marsh Road, and the section south of Bridge Drive. Listen for both Alder Flycatcher and Willow Flycatcher in the Alder Swamp and nearby Cattail Marsh. Black-Billed Cuckoo, Wood Thrush, and Scarlet Tanager are summer residents of the Hardwood forest. Swamp Sparrow are abundant. Listen for Eastern Towhee in the Shrubby areas. American Woodcock breed here, and their courtship ritual can be seen at dusk early in the breeding season. Wilson’s Snipe and Virginia Rail, and Sedge Wren and Marsh Wren can be heard in the marshland. Sandhill Crane are common over most of the SWA. In the Bridge Drive section, there is an active Osprey platform.
Directions: The main area is located 31 miles SW of Milwaukee/2 miles NW of Waterford. There are numerous parking lots, two of which are recommended here. A small gravel parking lot on the west side of Marsh Road at (42.79744, -88.24308) takes you to a well maintained trail, that can be walked west about 1.5 miles to another parking lot on Hwy 83, (42.79064, -88.26114). The Bridge Drive section has a parking lot at the boat launch, (42.82320, -88.23461). Another small parking lot further south on Marsh Road (42.81390, -88.24745) can be used to launch a canoe.
Site Addresses & Additional Information:
5880 Marsh Road, Waterford, WI
31425 Bridge Drive, Waterford, WI
Much of Tichigan State Wildlife Area is accessible only by water. There is a paved boat launch on Bridge Drive, and a small unmaintained canoe launch on Marsh Road. It has numerous trails maintained for hunting, though by early summer they become overgrown and difficult to walk. There are no trail maps, the property boundaries can be found from the state website map. Main trails are easy to follow from the parking lots fall through spring. The area east of the Marsh Road parking lot has a fairly wide trail traversing mostly open land, and a narrow, unmaintained trail on a ridge through the forest, south of the fen. The section near Bridge Drive has a dirt road for walking that wraps around a diked section from which migrating waterfowl can be scoped. This section is closed to all entry from early fall through January each year.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Lands/WildlifeAreas/tichigan.html
Paul Kinzer
