Birding Drives are routes for birding trips which can be accomplished in one day, stopping to walk and bird at various eBird hotspots. For each birding drive, a Google map is provided with the route and suggested stops at eBird hotspots. You may save the link to the Google map on your smartphone or tablet, or print a copy on paper to take with you. Links are provided with information about each eBird hotspot. Follow those links for more information about birding each location.
Dayton Southeast Birding Drive
Click on the hotspot names below to view the page about that hotspot.
This Birding Drive explores eBird hotspots in Montgomery County. When you submit checklists here you help to add to the data about birds in this region of Ohio.
1000 Carillon Boulevard Dayton, Ohio 45409
From I-75, take Exit 51 for Edwin C. Moses Boulevard. Turn east on South Edwin C. Moses Boulevard and go .5 mile. Turn right at Arena Park Drive and arrive at Carillon Historical Park.
Carillon Historical Park engages you to sample Dayton’s rich heritage of creativity and invention! Founded by Colonel Edward and Edith Deeds, the Park is situated on a beautiful 65-acre campus between the Great Miami River and a glacial moraine.
The Park immerses you in the region’s history – from Dayton’s founding in 1796 through two centuries of expansion, industrialism, and innovation. Learn about these revolutionary achievements while strolling through the Park’s 25 historical buildings and interacting with the hundreds of artifacts in our exhibits.
Where else can you see the original 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world’s first practical airplane and National Historic Landmark, the 1835 B&O (Grasshopper) steam locomotive, and the first automobile self-starter? Only at Dayton History’s Carillon Historical Park, that’s where! As a visitor, you will also get to experience Dayton’s pioneer history complete with costumed interpreters and a visit to Dayton’s oldest building, Newcom’s Tavern, erected in 1796.
The Park is also home to the Deeds Carillon, one of Dayton’s best-known landmarks, and the largest carillon in Ohio.
2655 South Patterson Boulevard Kettering, Ohio 45409
From Carillon Historical Park, turn right onto South Edwin C. Moses Boulevard and go .7 mile. Turn right onto West Steward Street and go .2 mile. Turn right onto South Patterson Boulevard and drive 1.2 miles. Turn left onto West Schantz Avenue. Turn right onto South Patterson Boulevard and drive 1.1 miles. Arrive at Hills and Dales MetroPark on the left.
The 63-acre Hills and Dales MetroPark is filled with picturesque creeks, rolling hills, dense woods (including an outstanding example of Ohio natural forest), wildflowers and wetlands, all conveniently located just south of downtown Dayton.
2490 Newcastle Drive Dayton, Ohio 45420
From Hills and Dales MetroPark, drive southeast on South Paterson Boulevard for .6 mile. Turn left onto West Dorothy Lane and drive 2.1 miles. Turn self onto Wilmington Pike and go .6 mile. Continue straight onto Smithville Road and go .8 mile. Turn right onto Patterson Road and go .7 mile. Turn left onto Horlacher Avenue and go .4 mile. Turn right onto Eastgate Avenue for .1 mile. Turn left onto Newcastle Drive and go .1 mile. Arrive at Woodman Fen.
Located near the Belmont neighborhood, passers-by can observe the Woodman Fen Conservation Area, a 33-acre wetland restoration area owned and managed by Five Rivers MetroParks. What makes this wetland unique is its particular kind of muck. “A fen is a type of groundwater-fed wetland that remains wet year round,” explains Five Rivers MetroParks Wildlife Biologist Michael Enright. “Alkaline wetlands, like Woodman Fen, were once very common throughout southwestern Ohio; however, due to increases in development, relatively few remain today.”
In 2003, Five Rivers MetroParks purchased the Woodman Fen site, which was once converted into a vegetable farm, and began to restore the wetland. “The restoration process at Woodman Fen has been incredibly successful, and finally this fall, the restoration was completed,” Enright says. Montgomery County’s lone fen site has come a long way, and it took a lot of hard work to restore it to its natural state.
501 Normandy Ridge Road Centerville, Ohio 45459
From Woodman Fen, drive southeast on Newcastle Drive for .1 mile. Turn right onto Eastgate Avenue. Turn left onto Flesher Avenue and go .4 mile. Turn left onto Patterson Road for .1 mile. Continue onto Research Boulevard and drive 1.1 miles. Turn right onto County Line Road and drive 1.4 miles. Turn left onto Indian Ripple Road and go .4 mile. Turn right to merge onto I-675 and drive 5.5 miles. Take Exit 4 for OH-48. Turn left onto OH-48 and go .3 mile. Turn right onto West Alex Bell Road and go .5 mile. Turn left onto Paragon Road and drive .3 mile. Turn right onto Normandy Ridge Road and go .3 mile. Arrive at Grant Park.
Grant Park is a 187-acre natural area. Trails in the park lead along creeks and through a meadow, forest, prairie, and wetland habitats. The trails are of varying difficulty; some follow ridgelines or bottomlands, while others climb fairly steep hills. Two fire rings, located at the Chimneys and behind the Grant Nature Center, are available for reservations. Campfires are allowed by permit only. For the safety of park visitors, bicycles are not permitted on the trails and all pets must be on a leash. Parking is available at Normandy Elementary School on Normandy Ridge Road, Hadley Watts Middle School on McEwen Road, and at Grant Nature Nook on McEwen Road. Play equipment is located at the Grant’s Trail entrance to the park.
8798 Rooks Mill Lane Dayton, Ohio 45458
From Grant Park, drive northeast on Normandy Ridge Road for .3 mile. Turn right on Paragon Road and go .2 mile. Turn left on Normandy Lane and drive .7 mile. Turn left onto West Franklin Street and go .5 mile. continue Straight onto East Franklin Street and drive 1 mile. Continue onto East Centerville Station Road and drive .9 mile. Turn right onto Station House Road for .1 mile. Turn left to stay on Station House Road and go .1 mile. Arrive at Bill Yeck Park.
Bill Yeck Park is a 194-acre natural area along 1.75 miles of Sugar Creek. The park is treasured by hikers, bird watchers, and nature enthusiasts and harbors many rare species of plant life, providing a home to a variety of animals in every season. Fossils from the Ordovician period can be found in Sugar Creek which flows through the park. The park connects with other parks and wildlife areas creating a large corridor of green space that extends from St. Leonard Center to the Little Miami River. This unbroken wooded area makes the park’s wildlife abundant and varied.
Another feature of the park is the Tri-centennial Time-Trail. Established during the Centerville-Washington Township bi-centennial in 1996, the time trail is a tract of land representing 100 years of natural succession. Each year another unmown section is added, creating a trail showing how a field turns into a forest.
The latest addition to the park is the former Victor and Mary Jane Smith property along Centerville Station Road. The 37-acre site includes a historic home and corn crib, meadow, and woods.