Omro Township WMAs

A must visit area of Yellow Medicine County for birding during spring and fall seasons especially is to the scattered Wildlife Management Areas in Omro Township. This smattering of WMAs includes prairie grassland birding with several small wetlands and creeks to draw waterfowl, grassland nesting species, and migrating hawks.During spring, occasionally flooded fields often provide unexpected shorebird stopover sites. The right time in fall migration can produce Short-eared Owls, as well as a variety of sparrows.

 

Curtis-Herschberger WMA

The Curtis-Herschberger Wildlife Management Area is the perfect example of how prairie pothole restoration can work. This moderately sized WMA complex offers scattered patches of dense scrub in a rolling prairie grass covered hill setting between two diverse wetlands. Throw in a sizeable grove of mature trees and you’ve got on-stop birding in almost any season.

DIRECTIONS: North on US 75 for 4 miles from the City of Lake Benton to Lincoln County Road 15, Turn West on County 15 for one mile, then turn North on the gravel road for .75 miles to the access of the Curtis-Herschberger Wildlife Management Area on the West side of the gravel road.

This recently reclaimed area has a little bit of everything for those who want to explore. Two basins, Herschberger Slough and Curtis Lake seem inappropriately named by today’s standards though with Herschberger Slough looking more like a lake, and Curtis Lake choked with cattails. Between them is an area of rolling grassland with a dense planting of deciduous trees along the slough and a smattering of the ever popular Eastern Red Cedar. Right next to the road is a roughly 20 acre plot of mature deciduous trees that are a usual stop for warblers in spring and fall, or a solid nest site for a Swainson’s Hawk.

When water level are low in the slough several species of shorebirds can be observed; both Godwits, Willet, and both Black-bellied and American Golden Plover have been seen here along with the more common species. Curtis Lake, with its dense vegetation seems a likely place for a Least Bittern, and certainly is host to a variety of migrating waterbirds such as Virginal Rail, American Bittern, and Black Tern. Cattle Egret has been seen here in recent years as well. Baltimore and Orchard Orioles nest in the trees while Dickcissel, Clay-colored and Field Sparrows abound in the scrub and grasses.

 

Chen Bay WMA

Located to the North of Lake Benton is the Chen Bay Wildlife Management Area

After leaving Norwegian Creek County Park, go back to US Highway 75 and turn North for 1 mile, turn East and follow the curving Lincoln County Road for about 3 miles. The basin to the North is a great place to check for migrating Bald Eagle or Osprey. Turn North on the unmarked gravel road that splits between the large basin to the Northwest, and the smaller basin on the East. This gravel runs through an area where Cattle Egret and Black-crowned Night-Heron are almost annually seen in spring, and a sizeable planting of conifers that may hold a Townsend’s Solitaire in late fall.