At this location, the Ohio-West Virginia state line is near the Ohio side of the river. Birds seen on the other side of the Ohio River are in West Virginia. When reporting birds from the Ohio hotspot use multiple incomplete checklists as described below.

Ohio eBird reviewers ask that birders keep precise state and county lists. When you are at a location where you see birds across a state or county line, we ask that you keep two incomplete birding lists, one for each side of the border.

When keeping separate checklists for different sides of a border, please follow these rules:

• For both checklists, the answer to “Is this a complete checklist of the birds you were able to identify?” must be “No“, because each list intentionally omits birds in the other geopolitical area.
• Use your exact location for birds detected on your side of the border; create a personal location directly across from you on the opposite side of the border for the birds you detect on that side. (You can also select an appropriate hotspot for either side of the border, but only if it accurately describes your location on your side or the general vicinity of the birds on the other side.)
• If you freely crossed back and forth across the border while birding, choose an incomplete Stationary or Traveling protocol for both checklists. If you could not freely cross the border while birding, use the “Incidental” protocol for the checklist on the inaccessible side. Do not use the Stationary or Traveling protocol for any lists plotted to counties, states, or provinces you did not actually bird within.
• We recommend focusing on one side of the border at a time instead of trying to keep two lists at once (you will not be able to keep simultaneous lists running on eBird Mobile if you are using tracks).

Forked Run State Park lies in the forested hill country of southeastern Ohio. This is Ohio’s oldest landscape never reached by the glacial ice that once covered much of Ohio. Although this area was untouched by the massive ice sheets, torrents of glacial meltwaters hastened the carving of the valleys and hillsides into their present-day form.

Much of the area, now heavily forested, was once void of timber. Trees were cut to fuel the many iron furnaces of the area in the mid-1800s. Today, much of the forest has regrown, and vast stands of oak, hickory, maple, and tuliptree clothe the deep ravines and hillsides. Wildflowers can be found in bloom except in the winter months. Wild blue phlox, bloodroot, dame’s rocket, cardinal flower, daisy fleabane, goldenrod, and asters provide colorful displays. In spring, the hillsides burst forth with brilliant blooms of dogwood and redbud.

The forest and fields provide habitat for a variety of wildlife species including gray fox, raccoon, opossum, gray squirrel, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey. Many songbirds enjoy the refuge of the forest including wood thrush, white-breasted nuthatch, scarlet tanager, pileated woodpecker, and whip-poor-wills.