Many thanks to Dave Bartkey for his post, with directions, about the east side of the Cannon River Wilderness area. We visited the more developed west side on Tuesday--after some searching for that entrance--and enjoyed good hiking and birding there. Our one frustration was in hearing ceruleans and a cuckoo on the opposite shore, and not even knowing if there was a trail over there, or where to access it. With Dave's directions, we were able to return today and do the east side.
At long last I've had THE satisfactory ID experience of cerulean warblers--watching them sing, in plain view, in a blaze of blue glory. Right after the first bridge, a short walk into the ravine, is a large open area in which there were about 4 ceruleans singing. Eventually two of them came in sight on bare branch, giving us long, definitive looks. We also heard ceruleans further down the trail as it parallels the river, in a ravine that rises up from a bridged stream, and again opposite the first bench on the trail. Also seen and/or heard on one or both of the two days: indigo bunting, rose-breasted grosbeak, Baltimore oriole, eastern towhee, common yellow-throat, yellow warbler, blue-winged warbler, scarlet tanager, r-t. hummingbird, yellow-throated vireo, great crested flycatcher, oven bird, veery, peewee, possible wood thrush, e. phoebe, possible Philadelphia vireo, least flycatcher, song and field sparrows, house wrens, catbirds, turkey vultures, and redstarts in abundance, among others. This is certainly a place we will revisit in the future, for both hiking and birding. Note: if you go to the west side park area, reached from off Co.3, taking 151st St. down to the river, you need to turn left at the river and follow the dirt road awhile before you come to the parking area for the trail accesses. Next to the picnic shelter and port-a-potty is a mowed field through which you walk to the end to find the trails. The "nature trail" on the left goes up along the bluff, with much uphill-downhill across numerous ravines. Good hiking shoes and walking sticks as well as stamina are recommended, but it does afford great views into the canopy below. The river trail starts in the back corner of the field, to your right; its sign is somewhat obscured by foliage. (The trail for the east side of the river is much easier to find, using Dave's directions.) Linda Whyte
