Hocking Hills Important Bird Area

Hocking Hills
Important Bird Area

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Entire Year – Spring – Summer – Fall – Winter

Locations

Hocking
Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve
Hocking Hills SP
Hocking Hills SP--Ash Cave
Hocking Hills SP--Campground
Hocking Hills SP--Cantwell Cliffs
Hocking Hills SP--Cedar Falls
Hocking Hills SP--Old Mans Cave
Hocking Hills SP--Rock House
Hocking Hills SP--Whispering Cave and Lodge
Hocking State Forest--Rockclimbing and Rappelling Area

About Hocking Hills Important Bird Area

This IBA includes a region of the state known for its distinctive rough topography of hemlock gorges, sandstone cliffs, rock shelters, and waterfalls. Several state parks and state nature preserves are included in this region, including Cantwell Cliffs, Rock House, Conkle’s Hollow, Crane Hollow, Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls, and Ash Cave. The Hocking State Forest provides over 9,000 acres to the IBA land area.

Distinctive is the regular occurrence of mature hemlock-hardwood forest in ravines. The uplands are a variable mix of mature mixed oak forest, northern-affinity plant species, planted and native pines with some pitch/Virginia pine on trails, successional areas, and small-scale agriculture.

Hemlock ravine specialists are abundant. The hemlock gorges and mature hardwood uplands have an excellent mix of mature forest avifauna – e.g. Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canada Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and Worm-eating Warbler. Pine Warblers are in healthy concentrations, above average for the state. Northern Parulas numbered perhaps 30% of the state population in 1991, though they may have dropped to closer to 25% with expansion to the northwest.

From Hocking Hills Important Bird Area webpage