FFA New London School Forest, Waupaca County, WI, US - eBird Hotspot
Habitat: Mixed Coniferous Forest, Pine Plantation.
Best Birds: At the head of the trail can be heard calling, on a good day, nesting Eastern Towhee, Pine, Chestnut-Sided, and Mourning Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager. Also prevalent should be Red-shouldered Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, and Tufted Titmouse.
In winter, both Red and White-winged Crossbill have enjoyed the conifer cones at the corner of Ernst and Seefelt Roads. Five acres of pines were cut a few years ago and the new growth is where some of the great birding is found.
Directions: 27 miles WNW of Appleton. From New London, take Hwy W at 2.5 miles look for Cut-off Road to the right. From Cut-off, take the first left turn onto Seefelt Road. Where Seefelt meets Ernst Road, look for the FFA sign and park just to the south of it (44.32255, -88.79843). Walk your way in until the trail seems clear. A good plan is to walk through the cut-over plot, listening for passerines and then follow the trail clockwise to where after a half mile you come back out to Seefelt Road.
Site Address & Additional Information:
This is a 300-acre mature Red Pine plantation with an undergrowth of White Pine. Five acres of pines were cut a few years ago and the new growth is where the great birding is found. It is bordered by private lands with a mature pine-oak forest.
Ernst Road, New London WI
Look down as well as up, as off trail there may be poison ivy.
Mike O’Connell
