Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park–Wet Prairie Teal and Harrier Trails

Tips for birding the Teal and Harrier Trails in the Wet Prairie Restoration
I could go to this hotspot any month of the year and be rewarded with plenty of birds, but Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park in Franklin County is especially good in October. The Wet Prairie Teal and Harrier Trails are one of the best places in central Ohio to find a rare “orange sparrow” – that is, a Nelson’s or LeConte’s Sparrow which are sneaky and rare through Ohio in migration in the spring and in the fall in late September and early October. You’re also likely to find large flocks of thousands of staging blackbirds, including Rusty Blackbirds. These can often be difficult to track down in Ohio, but are rather frequent at Battelle during certain parts of the year. Even in October, the Battelle wetlands could be a decent shot for some late-migrant shorebirds, or early-migrant waterfowl and Short-eared Owls!
From Kandace Glanville, Ohio Ornithological Society

About the Teal and Harrier Trails in the Wet Prairie Restoration
The Teal and Harrier Trails are connected trails through prairies and wetlands in the Wet Prairie Restoration. The trails provide a 3-mile, moderate hike on grass.

About Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
Battelle Darby Creek is the largest Metro Park with more than 7,000 acres of prairies, fields and forests, and more than 20 miles of riparian forest along the Big and Little Darby Creeks. The Darby creeks are noted nationally for their tremendous diversity and abundance of both aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals.

Designated state and national scenic rivers, the creeks are home to around 100 species of fish, five of which are endangered in Ohio. Forty-four species of freshwater mussels live in these waters, eight of which are on the Ohio endangered list.

Metro Parks has restored about 500 acres of wetlands, 500 acres of wet prairies and more than 500 acres of lush flowering prairies using only seeds native to the Darby Plains. The entrance road to the Indian Ridge Picnic Area is a great place to enjoy the splendor of such beauties as purple coneflower, royal catchfly, prairie dock, big bluestem and other wildflowers and grasses.

The park features more than 18 miles of trails and several scenic areas for picnicking.
From Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park webpage

Restrooms at locations identified on Battelle Darby Metro Park map.