Merry Lea to offer birding trip to south-central Indiana in May;
Registration deadline April 20

WOLF LAKE, Ind. – McCormick’s Creek State Park and nearby sites in south-central Indiana are this year’s destination for the Midwest Birding Expedition offered by Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College. The group will leave from the Merry Lea Farmstead on Friday, May 9 at 8 a.m. and return Monday, May 12 by 6 p.m.

Birders will travel by van and lodge at Canyon Inn at McCormick’s Creek State Park. The park is located along the White River in south-central Indiana, 14 miles northwest of Bloomington. Unique limestone formations, waterfalls and cliffs provide a scenic backdrop for birding.

In addition, the group will visit a number of nearby birding hot spots, including Lake Monroe, Lake Lemon and Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Lake Monroe is the site of a successful bald eagle reintroduction program and a great place to spot bald and golden eagles. Lake Lemon attracts 32 species of shorebirds, including eight species of herons and egrets. Terns and swallows will be migrating through as well. Goose Pond is an exciting 8,000-acre wetland restoration in process. A recent Christmas bird count revealed American bitterns, a king rail, a prairie falcon, merlins, short-eared owls, marsh wrens, eight Le Conte’s sparrows and dickcissels.

Both beginning and veteran birders will appreciate this trip. Paul McAfee of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lisa Zinn of Wolf Lake, Ind., will lead the group. McAfee has tracked birds as far a field as Belize and the Galapagos Islands, but his real passion is the welfare of local species. He has helped with various citizen science projects such as Project Feederwatch, Project Tanager, Christmas Bird Counts and Breeding Bird Atlas. Zinn is an environmental educator at Merry Lea and a licensed bird bander. She particularly enjoys warblers and forest species.

The trip costs $275, which includes three nights’ lodging (double occupancy), transportation, trail time with birding guides and two evening meals. A private room is an additional $100. For a registration form and schedule, e-mail jenniferhs@goshen.eduor call (260) 799-5869. The registration deadline is April 20.

Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center is a 1,189-acre nature preserve owned and operated by Goshen College, Goshen, Ind. It is located in central Noble County, just south of Wolf Lake, Ind. Merry Lea offers a wide variety of public programs, including hikes, a nature photography workshop, a BioBlitz and the annual NatureFest. E-mail jenniferhs@goshen.edu to receive notice of upcoming events.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.