Gilmore Ponds Preserve

To get there: In SE Butler County, just east of Fairfield and Hamilton. From I-75 take the Tylersville Road (Exit 22) and go west for about six miles to bypass 4. Turn left (south) and proceed about 0.25 mile and turn right (west) onto Symmes Road. Or from downtown Hamilton, take Ohio 4 south about two miles to Symmes Road. Follow Symmes Road about 1.5 miles to Berk Boulevard. Park opposite Berk Blvd. in front of the guard rail. Follow the dike north to the ponds. From I-275 take Ohio 4 north, then right on Ohio Bypass 4 to Symmes Road, then left to parking area.

Located in a bustling industrial area within the city limits of Hamilton and adjacent to a remnant section of the Miami-Erie Canal, this area of about 250 acres is nearly hidden by an industrial park and an airport. It contains a vestige of interesting wetland habitat, a small portion of which is currently protected (about one-fourth) and managed by the Metro Parks of Butler County. Current efforts to expand and save this important site are being undertaken by the Gilmore Ponds Conservancy.

Several drainage ditches empty here and are flanked by a series of dikes that divide the water into three separate impoundments - a transient lake, a shallow pond to the south, and a deeper, triangular pond to the east. Remnants of the historic Miami-Erie Canal still flow through the area. White-tailed deer rabbits, groundhogs, red fox, muskrats, raccoons, mink, and weasels can all be found.

The transient lake reaches its fullest stage only after periods of heavy rainfall. During the spring migration, hundreds of diving and dabbling ducks feed in the flooded vegetation. Soras and Common Snipe can be found along the edges. In the wooded area at the center of the lake, large concentrations of Rusty Blackbirds congregate from late February through April. As the lake begins to dry up, large areas of mudflat are exposed, attracting a variety of shorebirds. When the lake is full, shorebirds can be found in nearby flooded farmland, especially across the railroad tracks to the north.

All of the common shorebirds have been recorded, plus such uncommon species as Piping Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Sanderling, Stilt, White-rumped, and Baird's sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Wilson's and Red-necked phalaropes.

The shallow cattail pond to the south is bordered by a willow swamp. Pied-billed Grebes, Least Bitterns, Blue-winged Teals, Hooded Mergansers, Soras, and American Coots have nested here. American Bitterns and Marsh Wrens are sometimes seen during migration. American Woodcock are common and can be observed displaying at dawn and dusk from March through early May, especially in the field to the west.

It is difficult to traverse the ditch necessary to reach the east pond, but it can sometimes be well worth the effort. The pond is choked with dead and dying willows which provide excellent cover for nesting Black-crowned Night-Herons and Wood Ducks.

Additional nesting waterbirds include Green-backed Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Virginia Rail, Sora, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, and Belted Kingfisher.

The area also has an interesting variety of landbirds. The brushy thickets along the dikes are good places to look for Eastern Kingbirds, Willow Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers, Prothonotary Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow-breasted Chats, Orchard and Northern orioles. Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, and Northern Bobwhites inhabit the area.

Many other unusual species have been sighted over the years including Snowy and Cattle egrets, Tundra Swan, Oldsquaw, Black Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, King Rail, Piping Plover, Wilson's Phalarope, Least Tern, Barn and Northern Saw-whet owls, Sedge Wren, Worm-eating, Mourning, and Kirtland's warblers, Dickcissel, Bobolink, and Brewer's Blackbird.

Winter species include some ducks, occasional Northern Harriers and Accipiters, Horned Larks, and numerous sparrows. Minimum amounts of water collect in the area during drought years. Check with local birders as to conditions.

The ponds are not far from the Miami and Erie Canal Park.