Birds of the Indiana Dunes - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Indiana Dunes protect over 15000 acres (60.7 km²) of dunes and shoreline. From the barren sand beaches to the inter-dunal ponds and the intervening forest, this area is inhabited by 271 identified species of birds.

Because the area forms part of the Mississippi Flyway

Mississippi Flyway

The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi River in the United States and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico...

s, many more species of birds can be observed there during spring and fall migration times.

Common Birds of Indiana Dunes

This is a listing of the most common birds seen in the Indiana Dunes.

Water birds

Common Name	Season(s)	Habitat
Loons
Common Loon	common in the fall	along the lakeshore
Grebes
Pied-billed Grebe Pied-billed Grebe The Pied-billed Grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlán Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become extinct, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.-Description:...	Spring through fall	marshes and ponds
Horned Grebe	Fall	lakeshore
Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorant Double-crested Cormorant The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico...	abundant in the fall	lakeshore
Bitterns and Herons
Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...	common from spring to fall	marshes and ponds
Green Heron Green Heron The Green Heron is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron , and together they were called "Green-backed Heron"...	common from spring to fall	marshes and ponds
Black-crowned Night Heron Black-crowned Night Heron The Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...	common in the spring	marshes
Least Bittern Least Bittern The Least Bittern is a small wading bird, the smallest heron found in the Americas.This bird's underparts and throat are white with light brown streaks. Their face and the sides of the neck are light brown; they have yellow eyes and a yellow bill. The adult male is glossy greenish black on the...	summer	marshes
Swans, Geese and Ducks
Canada Goose Canada Goose The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....	abundant year round	lakeshore, marshes and ponds
Wood Duck Wood Duck The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...	common from spring to fall	swamps
Black Duck Black Duck There are three dabbling ducks named as Black Duck:* African Black Duck, Anas sparsa* American Black Duck, Anas rubripes* Pacific Black Duck, Anas superciliosaOther uses...	common in the spring and fall	lakeshore and marshes
Mallard Mallard The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....	abundant year round	marshes and ponds
Blue-winged Teal Blue-winged Teal The Blue-winged Teal is a small dabbling duck from North America.-Description:The Blue-winged Teal is long, with a wingspan of , and a weight of . The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult...	common in spring and fall	marshes and ponds
Gadwall Gadwall The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...	common in spring and fall	marshes and ponds
American Wigeon American Wigeon The American Wigeon, also American Widgeon or Baldpate, is a species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. If this is split up, all wigeons will go into their old genus Mareca again...	common in spring and fall	marshes and ponds
Redhead Redhead (duck) The Redhead is a medium-sized diving duck, 37 cm long with an 84 cm wingspan.The adult male has a blue bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, yellow eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a darker bluish bill with a black tip.The breeding habitat is...	common in spring	lakeshore and ponds
Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Duck The Ring-necked Duck is a smaller diving duck from North America.The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian Tufted Duck, its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back...	common in spring and fall	marshes and ponds
Lesser Scaup Lesser Scaup The Lesser Scaup is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the Little Bluebill or Broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill...	common in spring	lakeshore and ponds
Common Goldeneye Common Goldeneye The Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's Goldeneye....	common in spring and fall	lakeshore
Bufflehead Bufflehead The Bufflehead is a small American sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Anas albeola.-Description:...	common in spring and fall	lakeshore and ponds
Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Merganser The Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...	common in spring and fall	lakeshore and ponds

Birds of prey

Common Name	Season(s)	Habitat
Vultures
Turkey Vulture Turkey Vulture The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...	common in spring and summer	seen in flight
Hawks
Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk. In fact, "sharp-shins" or "sharpies" are the smallest to reside in USA and Canada, though some Neotropical species are smaller...	common in spring	seen in flight
Red-shouldered Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico.-Description:...	common in spring	seen in flight
Broad-winged Hawk Broad-winged Hawk The Broad-winged Hawk is a small hawk of the genus Buteo. During the summer some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to winter in the neotropics from Mexico down to southern Brazil. Other subspecies are all-year...	common in spring	seen in flight
Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...	common all year	seen in flight
Falcons
American Kestrel American Kestrel The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...	common in spring and fall	seen in flight

Ground birds

Common Name	Season(s)	Habitat
Bobwhite and Pheasant
Northern Bobwhite	uncommon all year	wooded areas and fields
Rails and Coots
Sora Sora (crake) The Sora is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the Sora Rail or Sora Crake.Adults Soras are long, with dark-marked brown upperparts, a blue-grey face and underparts, and black and white barring on the flanks. They have a short thick yellow bill, with black...	common in spring	marshes
American Coot American Coot The American Coot is a bird of the family Rallidae, inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies. Measuring in length and across the wings, adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes...	common in summer	marshes and ponds
Cranes
Sandhill Crane Sandhill Crane The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...	common in spring	usually seen in flight
Plovers
Killdeer Killdeer The Killdeer is a medium-sized plover.Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering...	common in summer and fall	marshes and dunes
Sandpipers
Solitary Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper The Solitary Sandpiper is a small wader .-Description:This species measures long, with a wingspan up to and a body mass of . It is a dumpy wader with a dark green back, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. It is obvious in flight, with wings dark above and below, and a dark...	common in spring	marshes
Spotted Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper The Spotted Sandpiper is a small shorebird, 18–20 cm long. Together with its sister species, the Common Sandpiper they make up the genus Actitis...	common in spring and summer	marshes and swamps
Sanderling Sanderling The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...	common in summer	beaches
Semipalmated Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper The Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla, is a very small shorebird. It is sometimes separated with other "stints" in Erolia but although these apparently form a monophyletic group, the present species' old genus Ereunetes had been proposed before Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short stout...	common in summer	beaches and ponds
Least Sandpiper Least Sandpiper The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird.This species has greenish legs and a short thin dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least Sandpipers are grey above...	common in spring and fall	beaches and ponds
Pectoral Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...	common in spring	marshes and ponds
Dunlin Dunlin The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...	common in summer	marshes and ponds
American Woodcock American Woodcock The American Woodcock , sometimes colloquially referred to as the Timberdoodle, is a small chunky shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America...	common in spring and summer	swamps and woods
Gulls and Terns
Bonaparte's Gull Gull Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...	common in spring and summer	lake and beach
Ring-billed Gull Ring-billed Gull The Ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull.Adults are length and with a wingspan. The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims...	common in winter	lake and beach
Herring Gull American Herring Gull The American Herring Gull or Smithsonian Gull is a large gull which breeds in North America. It is often treated as a subspecies of the European Herring Gull but is now regarded as a separate species by some authorities.Adults are white with gray back and wings, black wingtips with white spots,...	common in fall	lake and beach
Caspian Tern Caspian Tern The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...	common in spring and fall	lake and beach
Forster's Tern Tern Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...	common in fall	lake and beach

Perching birds

Common Name	Season(s)	Habitat
Doves
Mourning Dove Mourning Dove The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...	common all year	woods and fields
Goatsuckers
Common Nighthawk Common Nighthawk The Common Nighthawk is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark , displaying cryptic colouration and intricate patterns, this bird becomes invisible by day. Once aerial, with its buoyant but erratic flight,...	common in spring and summer	seen in flight
Swifts
Chimney Swift Chimney Swift The Chimney Swift is a small bird .-Physical description:In flight, this bird looks like a flying cigar with long slender curved wings. The plumage is a sooty grey-brown; the throat, breast, underwings and rump are paler. They have short tails.-Reproduction:The breeding season of Chimney Swifts is...	common in spring through the fall	seen in flight
Hummingbirds
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Ruby-throated Hummingbird The Ruby-throated Hummingbird , is a small hummingbird. It is the only species of hummingbird that regularly nests east of the Mississippi River in North America.- Description :...	common in the fall	woods
Kingfishers
Kingfishers	common in spring through the fall	marshes and ponds
Woodpeckers
Red-headed Woodpecker Red-headed Woodpecker The Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, is a small or medium-sized woodpecker from temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the eastern-central United States.-Taxonomy:...	common in spring through the fall	woods
Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker The Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, is a medium-sized woodpecker of the Picidae family. It breeds in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas...	common in spring and fall	woods
Downy Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker The Downy Woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.- Description :Adult Downy Woodpeckers are mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a...	summer	woods
Northern Flicker Northern Flicker The Northern Flicker is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker...	common in summer	woods
Flycatchers
Eastern Wood Pewee Eastern Wood Pewee The Eastern Wood-pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the Western Wood-pewee were formerly considered to be a single species...	common in spring through the fall	woods
Acadian Flycatcher Acadian Flycatcher The Acadian Flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.- Description :Adults have olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars and a wide bill. The breast is washed with olive. The upper part of...	common in spring through the fall	woods
Willow Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher The Willow Flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.Adults have brown-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have an indistinct white eye ring, white wing bars and a small bill. The breast is washed with olive-grey. The upper...	common in spring	marshes
Least Flycatcher Least Flycatcher The Least Flycatcher , , is a small insect-eating bird...	common in spring and summer	woods and wooded edges
Eastern Phoebe Eastern Phoebe The Eastern Phoebe is a small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its normal range does not include the southeastern coastal USA....	common in spring	fields, woods, and wooded edges
Great Crested Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher The Great Crested Flycatcher is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus, Myiarchus, in North America and is found over most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent...	common in spring and summer	woods
Eastern Kingbird Eastern Kingbird The Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.Adults are grey-black on the upperparts with light underparts; they have a long black tail with a white end and long pointed wings. They have a red patch on their crown, seldom seen...	common in spring and summer	fields and marshes
Swallows
Purple Martin Purple Martin The Purple Martin is the largest North American swallow. These aerial acrobats have speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked.-Description and taxonomy:...	common in spring through the fall
Tree Swallow Tree Swallow The Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, is a migratory passerine bird that breeds in North America and winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe....	common in spring and summer	marshes
Bank Swallow	common in spring and summer	fields
Barn Swallow Barn Swallow The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...	common in spring through the fall	fields
Jays and Crows
Blue Jay Blue Jay The Blue Jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common near and in...	abundant all year	woods
American Crow American Crow The American Crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America...	common all year	all areas
Titmice
Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Chickadee The Black-capped Chickadee is a small, North American songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada...	common all year	woods
Tufted Titmouse Tufted Titmouse The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family . The Black-crested Titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southwards, was included as a subspecies but is now considered a separate species B...	common all year	woods
Nuthatches
White-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch The White-breasted Nuthatch is a small songbird of the nuthatch family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are...	common all year	woods
Creeper
Brown Creeper Brown Creeper -Description:Adults are brown on the upperparts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long tail. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female...	common in spring and fall	woods
Wrens
House Wren House Wren The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren...	common spring through fall	woods
Marsh Wren Marsh Wren The Marsh Wren is a small North American songbird of the wren family. It is sometimes called Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the Sedge Wren, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren....	common spring through fall	marshes
Old World Warblers, Thrushes and Allies
Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet The Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, is a very small songbird.Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black...	common spring and fall	woods
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	common spring through fall	woods
Eastern Bluebird Eastern Bluebird The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....	common spring	woods
Veery Veery The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a small thrush species. It is occasionally called Willow Thrush or Wilson's Thrush. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant Catharus species, which also includes the cryptotaxa Grey-cheeked Thrush and Bicknell's Thrush The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a...	common spring through fall	woods
Hermit Thrush Hermit Thrush The Hermit Thrush is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-thrush.-Description:...	common spring and fall	woods
Wood Thrush Wood Thrush The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is a North American passerine bird. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American Robin and is widely distributed across North America, wintering in Central America and southern Mexico...	common spring and summer	woods
American Robin American Robin The American Robin or North American Robin is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family...	spring through fall	fields
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
Gray Catbird Gray Catbird The Gray Catbird , also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized northern American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella...	common summer and fall	wooded edges
Brown Thrasher Brown Thrasher The Brown Thrasher , sometimes erroneously called the Brown Thrush, is a bird in the Mimidae family, a group that also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds.-Description:...	common spring	woods
Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing Cedar Waxwing The Cedar Waxwing is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It breeds in open wooded areas in North America, principally southern Canada and the northern United States.-Description:...	common spring and fall	woods and marshes
Starlings
European Starling European Starling The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...	common all year	common in all habitats
Vireos
Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo The Yellow-throated Vireo, Vireo flavifrons, is a small American songbird.Adults are mainly olive on the head and upperparts with a yellow throat and white belly; they have dark eyes with yellow "spectacles". The tail and wings are dark with white wing bars...	common spring and summer	woods
Warbling Vireo Warbling Vireo The Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvus, is a small North American songbird.Its breeding habitat is open deciduous and mixed woods from Alaska to Mexico and the Florida Panhandle. It often nests along streams. It migrates to Mexico and Central America....	common spring	wooded edges
Red-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo The Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus, is a small American songbird, 13–14 cm in length. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers...	common spring through fall	woods
Warblers
Blue-winged Warbler Blue-winged Warbler The Blue-winged Warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera, is a fairly common New World warbler, 11.5 cm long and weighing 8.5 g. It breeds in eastern North America in southern Ontario and the eastern USA. Its range is extending northwards, where it is replacing the very closely related...	common spring	wooded edges
Tennessee Warbler Tennessee Warbler The Tennessee Warbler, Oreothlypis peregrina, is a New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America across Canada and the northern USA. It is migratory, wintering in southern Central America and northern Colombia and Venezuela, with a few stragglers going as far south as Ecuador. It is a...	common spring and fall	woods
Nashville Warbler Nashville Warbler The Nashville Warbler, Vermivora ruficapilla, is a small songbird in the New World warbler family.They have olive-brown upperparts, a white belly and a yellow throat and breast; they have a white eye ring, no wing bars and a thin pointed bill. Adult males have a grey head with a rusty crown patch ;...	common spring and fall	woods
Yellow Warbler Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...	common summer	wooded edges and marshes
Chestnut-sided Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler The Chestnut-sided Warbler is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies...	common spring	wooded edges and woods
Magnolia Warbler Magnolia Warbler Setophaga magnolia, commonly known as the Magnolia warbler, is a member of the Parulidae family of wood warblers. [4] This warbler was first discovered in magnolia trees in the 19th century by famed ornithologist Alexander Wilson while in Mississippi. [7]-Description:The magnolia warbler can be...	common spring and fall	woods
Cape May Warbler Cape May Warbler The Cape May Warbler, Dendroica tigrina, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding habitat spans across all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies...	common spring and summer	woods
Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler The Black-throated Green Warbler, Setophaga virens, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.It is 12 cm long and weighs 9 g, and has an olive-green crown, a yellow face with olive markings, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, an olive-green back and pale underparts with...	common spring and fall	woods
Blackburnian Warbler Blackburnian Warbler The Blackburnian Warbler, Dendroica fusca , is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina....	common spring	woods
Palm Warbler Palm Warbler The Palm Warbler, Dendroica palmarum, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.The species comprises two distinct subspecies that may merit specific status....	common spring and fall	wooded edges and marshes
Bay-breasted Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler The Bay-breasted Warbler, Dendroica castanea , is a New World warbler. They breed in northern North America, specifically in Canada, into the Great Lakes region, and into northern New England....	common spring and fall	woods
Blackpoll Warbler Blackpoll Warbler The Blackpoll Warbler, Dendroica striata , is a New World warbler. Breeding males are mostly black and white. They have a prominent black cap, white cheeks and white wing bars. The Blackpoll breeds in northern North America, from Alaska, through most of Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and...	common spring and fall	woods
Cerulean Warbler Cerulean Warbler The Cerulean Warbler, Dendroica cerulea, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.-Description:Adult males have pale cerulean blue upperparts and white underparts with a black necklace across the breast; they also have black streaks on the back and flanks...	common spring and summer	woods
Black and White Warbler	common spring and fall	woods
American Redstart American Redstart The American Redstart is a New World warbler. It is the only member of its genus and is unrelated to the Old World redstarts. It derives its name from the male's red tail, start being an old word for tail.-Description:...	common summer and fall	woods
Ovenbird Ovenbird The Ovenbird is a small songbird of the New World warbler family . This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and moves south in winter.-Taxonomy:...	common spring and summer	woods
Northern Waterthrush Northern Waterthrush The Northern Waterthrush is one of the larger New World warblers. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada, and in the northern United States, . This bird is migratory, wintering in Central America, the West Indies, and Florida; also Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador...	common spring and fall	wooded edges and marshes
Common Yellowthroat Common Yellowthroat The Common Yellowthroat is a New World warbler. They are abundant breeders in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico....	common fall	marshes
Wilson's Warbler Wilson's Warbler The Wilson's Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla, is a small New World warbler. It is primarily greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch which is greatly reduced or missing entirely in the female...	common spring and summer	woods
Canada Warbler Canada Warbler The Canada Warbler is a small 13 cm long songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have yellow underparts, blue-grey upperparts and pink legs; they also have yellow eye-rings and thin, pointed bills. Adult males have black foreheads and black necklaces...	common spring	woods
Tanager
Scarlet Tanager Scarlet Tanager The Scarlet Tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family . The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.-Description:Adults have pale...	common spring and summer	woods
Cardinal and Buntings
Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico...	common all year	woody edges
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Rose-breasted Grosbeak The Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, is a large seed-eating songbird in the cardinal family . It breeds in cool-temperate North America, migrating to tropical America in winter.-Description:...	Common from spring through fall	woods
Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting The Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, is a small seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the...	common spring and summer	woody edges
Sparrows
Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee The Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Spotted Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee.... previously the Rufus-sided Towhee	common spring through autumn	woody edges
Tree Sparrow Tree Sparrow The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult...	common in spring and fall	woody edges, fields and dunes
Chipping Sparrow Chipping Sparrow The Chipping Sparrow is a species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.-Description:...	Common from spring through fall	woody edges, fields and dunes
Field Sparrow Field Sparrow The Field Sparrow is a small sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts, a light brown breast, a white belly, wing bars and a forked tail. They have a grey face, a rusty crown, a white eye ring and a pink bill....	common spring and summer	fields, dunes and marshes
Fox Sparrow Fox Sparrow The Fox Sparrow is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Passerella, although some authors split the genus into four species .-Taxonomy:...	common spring and autumn	woody edges
Song Sparrow Song Sparrow The Song Sparrow is a medium-sized American sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and are white underneath with dark streaking and a dark brown spot in the middle of the breast. They have a brown cap and a long brown rounded tail. Their face is grey with a streak...	common in spring through fall	woody edges, marshes
Swamp Sparrow Swamp Sparrow The Swamp Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow related to the Song Sparrow.Adults have streaked rusty, buff and black upperparts with a gray breast, light belly and a white throat. The wings are strikingly rusty. Most males and a few females have a rust-colored caps. Their face is gray with a dark...	Common from spring through fall	marshes
White-throated Sparrow White-throated Sparrow The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae.-Description:The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae...	common spring and fall	woody edges
Dark-eyed Junco Dark-eyed Junco The Dark-eyed Junco is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic...	Abundant except in the summer	woody edges
Bobolink Bobolink The Bobolink is a small New World blackbird and the only member of genus Dolichonyx.-Description:Adults are 16–18 cm long with short finch-like bills. They weigh about . Adult males are mostly black, although they do display creamy napes, and white scapulars, lower backs and rumps...	common in spring	fields
Blackbirds and Orioles
Red-winged Blackbird Red-winged Blackbird The Red-winged Blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and...	abundant from spring through autumn	marshes
Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Meadowlark The Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to the Western Meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to South America, where it is also most widespread in the east.-Description:...	common from spring through autumn	fields
Common Grackle Common Grackle The Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a large icterid.-Description:The long adult has a long dark bill, pale yellowish eyes and a long tail; its feathers appear black with purple, green or blue iridescence on the head, and primarily bronze shine in the body plumage...	abundant from spring through autumn	marshes and fields
Brown-headed Cowbird Brown-headed Cowbird The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood parasitic icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or...	common in spring and summer	woods
Baltimore Oriole Baltimore Oriole The Baltimore Oriole is a small icterid blackbird that averages 18 cm long and weighs 34 g. This bird received its name from the fact that the male's colors resemble those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore... or Northern Oriole	common in spring and summer	woods
Finches
Purple Finch Purple Finch The Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae.-Taxonomy:The Purple Finch is one of 24 birds in the genus Carpodacus and is included in the finch...	common in spring and autumn	woods
House Finch House Finch The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus Carpodacus...	abundant all year	urban
American Goldfinch American Goldfinch The American Goldfinch , also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary, is a small North American bird in the finch family...	common all year	woody edges and fields
Weaver Finches
House Sparrow House Sparrow The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...	abundant all year	urban

Where to see birds

For more details about each habitat type, see Habitats of the Indiana Dunes

Habitats of the Indiana Dunes

The Indiana Dunes comprise ten different habitats. Each provides for a unique combination of plants and animals. The range of the Indiana Dunes varies depending your source. The Indiana Lake Michigan Coastal Program uses the river drainage systems along the shoreline. This expands the area from...

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Lake and beaches
There are several points of access to the beaches of Lake Michigan. From east to west, they are: Central Avenue; Lakeview (Beverly Shores); Kemil Road Beach (west end of Beverly Shores); Indiana Dunes State Park (administion fee); Cowles Bog Trail (2.5 miles (4 km) walk with a climb); West Beach (administion fee).

Dunes

Mt. Baldy (steep climb); Indiana Dunes State Park (administion fee); West Beach (administion fee).

Fields
The Calumet Bike Trail traverses the length of the park along the South Shore Tracks, with parking at several points, including the Mineal Springs Road, U.S. 12 in the Pines. The Chellberg Farm off Mineral Springs Road and U.S. 20 has several cultivated fields.

Woods

Indiana Dunes State Park, trails #9 and #10; the Ly-Co-Ki-We horsetrail, U.S. 20; Miller Woods on Lake Street in Gary; and The Bailly/Chellberg trail in Porter

Ponds

Long Lake is easy to reach from West Beach, of Lake/Porter County Line Road. Miller Woods is dotted with ponds.

Marsh

The Great Marsh stretches from Dune Acres (off Mineral Springs Road, east, to East State Park Road (Kemil Rd).

Swamps

The Restoration of the Great Marsh in Beverly Shores along Beverly drive (east and west of Broadway. Trail #2 in the State Park traverses a large area of swamp.

Conifers, wooded edges
These are most difficult as they are scattered throughout the other habitats and do not dominate any single area.

Common Birds of Indiana Dunes

Water birds

Birds of prey

Ground birds

Perching birds

Where to see birds

Recommended reading