From the Claiborne Lake Dam Site West Park entrance, continue 0.2 miles east to the primitive camping area at Claiborne Lake Dam Site West Park; park and bird the edges of the mixed pine and hardwood forest. Great Crested Flycatchers, White-eyed Vireos, Northern Parulas, Summer Tanagers, Indigo Buntings, and Orchard Orioles are common summer residents. Check the lawn area for Common Ground Doves, and watch for Swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites either foraging just above the tree tops or soaring at high altitude. Spring and fall witness the passage of numerous migrants including Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Winter birds include a variety of woodpeckers and sparrows.

Continue 0.1 miles to the pavilion and restroom or 0.2 miles to the parking area next to the spillway. The sandbars downstream from the spillway attract large numbers of wading birds in any season. Shorebirds use them for stopovers during spring and especially fall migration. Solitary and Spotted sandpipers are regulars. Small flocks of Caspian Terns often feed below the spillway during migration and Forster's Terns winter here along with large flocks of Double-crested Cormorants. Watch the large field between the pavilion and the spillway for Loggerhead Shrikes and Eastern Bluebirds year-round, and sparrows and pipits in the winter.

Directions: From the intersection of Claiborne Lake Road and Clarke Road 39, go 2.5 miles south on Clarke 39 to 11 Mile Post Road. Go straight on 11 Mile Post Road for 0.4 miles; turn left (east) on West Bank Road, and go 0.8 miles to the park entrance.

Or from US Highway 84 at Gosport (mile marker 58.3), turn north on Gosport Road/Clarke County Road 39 and go 3.6 miles. Turn right on 11 Mile Post Road and go 0.4 miles. Turn left (east) on West Bank Road, and go 0.8 miles to the park entrance.

Contact Claiborne Lake Dam Site West Park

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Claiborne Lake Dam Site West Park is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.

Listed in:

• Ecotourism