Message:

[

Previous   Next

]

By Topic:

[

Previous   Next

]

Subject:

Access to Swan Creek

From:

Bill Hubick

Reply-To:

Bill Hubick

Date:

Tue, 2 Jun 2009 06:05:17 -0700

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the report, Stan, and for getting the word out about access to Swan Creek. I'd like to supplement the description slightly, if I may. I hope Matt Grey will also post if I miss anything or if anything is inaccurate.

Swan Creek only recently opened to public access, and birding here is slightly more complicated than most birding sites. Because of these two reasons, I hope that everyone will be especially careful not to jeopardize future access here. In particular, this means always checking in at the office and staying well out of the way of any ongoing work. I believe the areas we are welcome to visit are also quite limited (see below). Overall, I think the biggest risk to access here is someone getting locked in after 5:30 p.m. Of course, the best ways to avoid this are to check in and to make sure you're getting in your car at 5:30. The office is well-marked, on the left, at the end of Kembo Road.

A step that some locals take is to park before (west of) the second (inner) gate. There is a lot of clearance under this large gate, so if it happened to be closed, most visitors could easily get under the gate. (The outer gate is always open a bit longer.) Of course, many people will understandably prefer to skip this step, and that's totally fine. 

The other reason I'm writing is to pass on how to bird the area. After checking in at the office on the left, you continue forward (toward the Bay) about 50-100 feet and are faced with a massive dredge area. There are two large pits, one or both of which will hold water. Both of these should be scanned for ducks, shorebirds, terns, and so on. The best bird I know of from the large area on the left has been American Avocet. As far as I know, we are NOT welcome to approach these areas closely. Just scan from up there on the road.

After scanning the dredge area, you take what would be your first right after the office. You head slightly downhill and through a small patch of woods. Soon you emerge onto a small but productive mitigated wetland area. It now includes a small, well-placed observation deck. This is a good location for wading birds and tough-in-county shorebirds. You can walk the road through the wetland, then veer to the left to check the beach. There are decent woods beyond the wetland, but I'm not sure if they are intended for public access. (Matt?)

I'd like to say thanks to Matt Grey for his routine surveys here and for his part in facilitating this public access. I hope he will pass on any details I missed. Thanks, Matt!

Good birding,

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com


--- On Tue, 6/2/09, Stanley Arnold <> wrote:

> This location is near the Key Bridge at the end of Kembo
> Rd., which is off of Ft Smallwood Rd., and easily accessed
> from the Hawkins Point exit off of I-695 (the last exit
> before the Key Bridge heading east).  The facility is
> open to birders once they sign a waiver, and is open from
> 7:30 a.m. (I'm not sure of this) till 5:30 p.m. (when both
> gates close), though the office for the Md Env Service
> closes at 3:30 p.m., and this is where one signs the waiver
> form.