Birding

Photo Credit: Tommy Gonzales Photography

Birds abound in Miller Beach!

The Indiana Dunes is ranked one of the “best national parks to go birding” by National Parks Conservation Association and a place to “see an abundance of birds” by The Audubon Society. This is because the Indiana Dunes is part of the Mississippi Flyway, an annual migratory route used by hundreds of bird species in North America.

Four Indiana Birding Trail hot spots are located in Miller Beach, making it one of the best places to go birding in the Indiana Dunes and Chicagoland! Birders can use the Miller Beach trail system to reach the birding areas and explore public beaches, wetlands, and forested dune habitats. All birding spots are within 10 minutes from downtown Miller and easy to access by driving, walking, or bicycling.

Photo Credit: Erika Blackwell

Lake Street Beach

860 N Lake St, Gary, IN.

An Important Birding Area, designated by the Indiana Audubon Society, and an official stop on the Indiana Birding Trail.

At Lake Street Beach birders often scan the beach and water for migrating shorebirds, gulls, and terns. Walk just north of the parking lot on the beach and bring a chair to sit in the sand. Located on the Lake Michigan shore.

Miller Woods Beach

This beach is located in Indiana Dunes National Park, one mile to the west of Lake Street Beach. At the far west end of the beach there are US Steel breakwater walls, where birds rest and gather. Sandy trails lead south from the beach, into Miller Woods and towards the Calumet Lagoon. Birding on the lakefront is best on days with a brisk northerly wind, August through early December.

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Photo Credit: Erika Blackwell

Marquette Park Concession

Oak Avenue and Montgomery Street in Marquette Park, Gary, IN.

An Important Birding Area, designated by the Indiana Audubon Society and an official stop on the Indiana Birding Trail.

This spot is located near the concession stand in Marquette Park, overlooking Lake Michigan. Birds migrate south along the east and west coasts of Lake Michigan and funnel towards this site when there are northerly winds. Birders gather on the large patio east of the concession, allowing the building to provide a windbreak on the west side. Permanent picnic tables are available year round. Panoramic lake views and plenty of public parking.

Close to 300 species have been observed at this site. More jaegers have been seen here than anywhere in Indiana. See what’s been reported here, at the Indiana Audubon ebird hotspot reporting blog.

Birding is best on days with a brisk northerly wind, August through early December.

Paul H. Douglas Trail (Miller Woods)

100 N Lake St, Gary, IN.

An official stop on the Indiana Birding Trail.

Located in far west section of the Indiana Dunes National Park, Miller Woods is composed of globally rare dune and swale topography (rows of sand dunes and oak savanna interspersed with long ponds and wetlands), as well as the Calumet Lagoon, headwaters of the Calumet River. Beaver dams dot the marshy, elongated ponds, and herons are easy to spot here. Observe perching birds and songbirds not be seen on the shoreline, during spring and fall migrations. Nesting bald eagles have been spotted by the Calumet Lagoon.

Used as stopover habitat during migration by many watch list birds, such as Wood Thrush, Golden-winged Warbler, and Canada Warbler. See what’s been reported here at the Indiana Audubon ebird hotspot reporting blog.

The Mississippi Flyway, a highway for Birds

Photo Credit: Tommy Gonzales Photography

The Mississippi Flyway is part of a larger migration route that extends from northwest Canada, along the Great Lakes, and down along the Mississippi River Valley. This flyway is one of 8 globally important bird migration routes.

About 300 species of birds use the Mississippi flyway every year. Miller Beach’s miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, surrounded by Indiana Dunes National Park lands, provides birds with important habitats for resting and feeding.