Paradise Valley SWA
Paradise Valley SWA--Bark River Unit (Waukesha Co.), Waukesha County, WI, US - eBird Hotspot
Habitat: Marsh, Open Water, Successional Oldfield, Willow/Dogwood Swamp, Oak Savanna.
Best Birds: The open water attracts large numbers and diversity of migrating ducks, geese & both Trumpeter and Tundra Swan. There are also wading birds, gulls & terns and shorebirds including possible Black-necked Stilt, Wilson’s Snipe. Also possible are Sandhill Crane, Forster’s Tern, Caspian Tern, Black Tern, American White Pelican, and Double-crested Cormorant. In summer there will be Common Gallinule.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Virginia Rail, American Bittern, Least Bittern, Willow Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Marsh Wren, Swamp Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Bobolink, and Dickcissel, may breed. A Bald Eagle nest is in the tree-line west of the marsh.
In winter the marsh and fields are good for Short-eared Owl, Great-horned Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Northern Harrier, Rough-legged Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Northern Shrike. Check the croplands along Kincaid Lane for Horned Larks and Snow Bunting.
Directions: 36 miles W of Milwauykee/2 miles west of Dousman. Take County Hwy Z to Kincaid Lane. The parking lot is at the west end of mile-long Kincaid Lane, (43.00349, -88.52283). A platform adjacent to the parking lot affords an overview of the marsh. An ADA Blind 1/2 mile further west of the parking lot is also a good vantage point. Further exploration can be done by foot on the dikes south and then west of the parking area. The Glacial Drumlin Recreational Trail skirts the north boundary of the marsh and passes the winding Bark River, grasslands, old fields and forest. It is accessed from its intersection with Gramling Road to the east and from Indian Point Road to the west.
Site Address & Additional Information:
Over 6000 acres, this former muck farm, adjacent to the Bark River was restored to a cattail marsh in March 2009. Most of the area is marsh, but there are also some upland Oldfield areas as well as stands of Willow and Dogwood. A few scattered trees survive within the marsh and Oak Savannas and other hardwood trees ring the borders of the marsh.
Kincaid Lane, Dousman WI
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Lands/WildlifeAreas/paradisevalley.html
Anne Moretti
