Wildlife Viewing at Sandhill

Sandhill Wildlife Area is home to a wide variety of native plants and animals. Common mammals that you may glimpse here include: white-tailed deer, coyote, snowshoe hare, cottontail, beaver, muskrat, mink, otter, raccoon, badger, porcupine, tree squirrels, Eastern chipmunk, and deer mice.

Some of the more common or unique birds that you may see include: sandhill cranes, Canada geese, loons, herons, bitterns, black terns, cormorants, eagles, hawks, owls, turkey vultures, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, marsh wrens, bluebirds, eastern kingbirds as well as a large variety of warblers and other songbirds. Other interesting wildlife include: the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly and the threatened Blanding’s turtle.

Wildlife are appropriately named - they are wild! They naturally shy away from visitors to our property. Therefore, if you plan a wildlife viewing adventure to Sandhill Wildlife Area, keep these tips in mind:

Look at the right time of day

• At dawn or dusk you will more likely see: deer, coyotes, otter, beaver, waterfowl, cranes and raccoon.
• During mid-day, you will more likely see squirrels, some songbirds, some waterfowl and hawks.

Look at the right time of year

• Spring: migratory waterfowl, beaver, muskrat, frogs chorusing in the marshes, grouse drumming in the woods, moths, woodland wildflowers
• Summer: white-tailed fawns, bats, nesting songbirds, snakes, frogs, toads, turtles, prairie wildflowers
• Fall: migratory waterfowl, sandhill cranes, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, prairie wildflowers and prairie grasses
• Winter: white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, snowshoe hare, cottontails, woodpeckers, owls

Use all your senses

• Learn how to identify animals not only by sight, but also by the signs they leave behind or by the sounds they make.

Be kind and quiet

• Take is easy and drive 10-15 miles per hour.
• Stop now and then to get out and stretch you legs a bit. Look and listen carefully and enjoy!
• Leave nothing but your footprints, take nothing but photographs and exciting memories.

Be Safe!

• Visitors to Sandhill Wildlife Area are reminded to use common sense. Travel is at your own risk.

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