The shorebirding at the sod farm is usually good from March through May as long as there’s water. The day after a heavy rain is best. Two days after a rain may still yield a fair number of birds. Timing of the storm matters and on occasion, there will be no shorebirds after a rain in the spring, however, this is rare. Starting at the north end of Cut-Off Road (where it turns off Hwy 34) is a good strategy, because if the sod farm happens to be light on shorebirds, you can quickly move along to finding migrant passerines on the southern “east-west” portion of the road. A scope is essential for the sod farm, as the shorebirds are often at least a good distance out. All birding must be done from the main road. Please do not trespass onto any of the side roads. The good news is the birds will often be on both sides of the main road, sometimes passing over head. There is a spot on the northwest side where if there’s a lot of water, the birds will be close to the road, including waders and ducks. Use your car as a blind.  Where the birds congregate changes gradually over time, and as of this writing (April of 2024) the birds are mainly congregating on the southwest side of the farm. (Southwest of the pallets and outbuildings.)  That south part of Cut-Off Road can be impassable after very heavy rains. Be sure to scroll through the pictures and read the captions for more detailed info on birding strategies and avoiding heavy mud, because you will want to visit when it’s muddy.

Shorebirds and other water/wading birds from mid-March to the end of May, Including good numbers of “grasspipers.” Caracaras frequent this area, and Bobolinks and Yellow-headed Blackbirds are fairly reliable in early May.  Wintering field birds tend to linger well into the spring. Prothonotary Warbler can usually be found on the east-west portion of the road and that stretch is often good for migrants if your timing is right. Keep an eye out for Red-headed and Pileated Woodpeckers.

Cut-Off Road is arguably the best single road for overall birding in Ellis County. Well over 200 species have been found along this road, including all possible woodpeckers. Its close proximity to the Trinity River and very light car traffic make it an ideal spring birding location.  There are two parts to 4.5 mile long Cut-Off Road. The “north-south” part cuts through the sod farm and is about two miles long. At the south end of the sod farm, the road makes a ninety degree turn and now runs east and west. This 2.7 mile “east-west” stretch is better for warblers and other passerines. The sod farm is under-birded except in spring, but it is definitely the best shore bird location in Ellis County. The rest of the year can be lackluster, but Swallow-tailed Kites have shown up in August and September and Ellis County’s first Long-billed Curlew dropped into the sod farm in December, so it’s worth exploring at other times of the year. Longspurs have only sporadically been found here in the winter.  Highway 34 from Ennis to Cut-Off Road is fast and busy, with lots of gravel truck traffic.  While traveling along this road out of Ennis, you will notice ponds and birds, but its best to just continue onwards to Cut-Off Road.  About a mile before you get to Cut-Off Road, the far western portion of the sod farm becomes visible along the south side of Hwy 34. For some reason, only the most common shorebirds infrequently use this area, so unless you see any “big birds” it’s almost never worth stopping. The fast gravel trucks will make this a miserable birding stop anyway, although the truck traffic is much lighter on the weekends.   Before you get to Cut-Off Road, you will see a marshy pond on the left by the entrance to the gravel pit. This pond almost never has anything on it, but on the right side of the road across from the gravel pit entrance there is sometimes Black-necked Stilts in April and May in the muddy fields, and close to the road.  Here and the nearby sod farm seem to be the only place to find this species in Ellis County. Continue on to Cut-Off Road up ahead on the right.