Brickyard Ponds is an old clay mining site and there is still occasionally heavy truck traffic. Please be aware that the work trucks always have the right-of-way. You must check in at the Bait Store/Office before entering the property. There is a small charge ($4 as of Oct 2022) for birders to enter the propery.

Winter waterfowl, migrants

You will be driving on dirt roads throughout the property. If the weather has been raining a lot they will be muddy and occasionally impassable. Under those conditions access may be limited to foot traffic or prohibited all together. Always check with the office first.  The roads drive past and around clay mining quarries, some small and some large. This is a good place for wintering waterfowl. Ditch Pond and the two Expressway Ponds should always be checked for ducks, geese, swans and others. Double-crested Cormorants can be here in the hundreds in winter. Gulls can be found in these ponds as well and occasionally rare gulls show up. Pelicans can occasionally be found as well. Watch for small passerines as you drive the roads as there is a lot of brush. 

The paved road can be very good for woodland birds and migrants in spring and fall. The Haul Road (dirt road behind the yellow gate) is the main road to follow to check ponds. Other roads are sometimes impassable but can usually be walked. Do not pass any locked gate without permission and there is no access on the left side of the paved road (coming in from the Bait Shop) at all.