Kyker Bottoms
North Side (enlarged)
Legend for Maps
A. Small pond
B. Sandpiper Pool
C. First Permanent Pool/Marsh
D. Second Permanent Pool/Marsh
E. Open Water
1. Gravel/Semi-Gravel Road
2. Wrong Levee (Don't Go Here)
3. Sandpiper Pool Levee
4. Wood Line Path
5. Main Levee
6. Least Bittern Levee
7. Open Water Levee
8. East Woods Road/Path
There are two sides to Kyker--the north side and the south side. They are separated by a stream (Ninemile Creek). Most people who come to Kyker go to the observation deck on Big Gully Road and then walk on the south side. However, the north side is generally much more productive. To get to the north side, go north on Big Gully Road past the observation deck; turn right on Lanier Road just past the bridge. There is a gravel parking area just before you emerge from the woods and get to an area with houses.
[There are three other readily accessible entrances to the refuge that are less frequently used. The south side can also be accessed at two locations on Garland Road. One is at a gravel parking area a little more than a half mile east of Big Gully Road. The other is at an entrance leading to "Evan's Aerie" near the southeast corner of the refuge, about 100 yards southwest of the bridge where Ninemile Creek crosses Garland Road. The back portion of the north side can also be accessed via a road--not open to the public vehicles but accessible on foot--just east of the aforementioned bridge and along the edge of the property at 6943 Garland Road.]
Although there are many good areas at Kyker, my two favorite have been what I refer to as the Sandpiper Pool and the Least Bittern Levee. The Sandpiper Pool, however, is a seasonal pool that is only useful when the water conditions are right. It is dry most of the year. Unfortunately, since 2018, it has become more and more vegetated, with less and less mudflats for shorebirds. Its value as shorebird habitat has been decreasing with each passing year.
From the gravel parking area on Lanier Road, go around the gate and proceed on the gravel/semi-gravel road. At the top of the hill, at the end of the wooded area, there may be a faint road/path to the left which is sometimes overgrown. Skip this for now, and continue on the gravel/semi-gravel road. There should be another road/path to the left after another 100 yards. Skip this one for now, also. As the gravel road leads around the right side of the hill, expect, in warmer weather, common yellowthroats, yellow-breasted chats, indigo buntings, field sparrows, white-eyed vireos, and perhaps prairie warblers. Also, at the right time of the year, listen for bobwhites throughout the Refuge.
Before reaching the far side of the hill, and before reaching a tiny drainage, there will be another road/path to the left. White-crowned sparrows are sometimes seen near here in cooler months, but skip this road for now, too (although in wetter seasons there will be a wet area about fifty yards down this road that may be worth investigating).
After passing around the hill, there will be three levees on the right that will connect with the main levee along the stream. (A fourth levee branches off earlier, before clearing the hill.) The easiest to walk in most seasons is the third of these three--the one by the wood line. [Note: Many of the trees on the Wood Line Path have recently been logged. Only a few remain.] However, the second one leads between the Sandpiper Pool on the east side and a very small pond on the west side. This might be the preferred route in the spring when the water level is right, but in late summer or fall it can be very overgrown and difficult to walk. The first levee of the three is one that is probably best to be skipped or only walked for a short distance, especially late in the summer and fall. Anything on that side of the Refuge, especially the main levee on the west end, will have many beggar's ticks and other plants seeds that will perhaps make you throw your clothes away when you get home. (I did once.)
Some of the birds that I have found on the Sandpiper Pool Levee include great egrets, various sandpipers (including least, pectoral, solitary, spotted, semi-palmated, and western), short-billed dowitchers, semi-palmated plovers, yellowlegs (both greater and lesser), sora, and Wilson's snipe (although the plovers, dowitchers, and the last two sandpipers are somewhat unlikely even during good conditions). If the general area is flooded due to recent rains, the field on the west side of the levee will be one of the best places in the refuge for sora, which can be heard calling in the spring.
Whether taking the Sandpiper Pool Levee or the Wood Line Path, you will eventually reach the main levee. Turn left. You will soon reach an open body of water with wood duck boxes. Expect wood ducks both in this pool and in the next one. Red-winged blackbirds will be plentiful. In cooler months, expect numerous swamp sparrows and, in slightly drier areas, palm warblers.
When reaching the levee (the Least Bittern Levee) between the first and second permanent pools, turn left. This is the heart of the Refuge. Birds that I have found here include least bitterns, willow flycatchers, great egrets, prothonotary warblers, and little blue herons. It is also a good location for blue-gray gnatcatchers, ruby-throated hummingbirds, orchard orioles, and various swallows. In cooler months I have seen sora, Virginia rails, marsh wrens, and numerous species of ducks. There is a good, semi-open viewing area on the western side of the levee at about the midway point. Note: This levee will generally be overgrown and inaccessible from mid to late summer onward.
The next levee to the east (the Open Water Levee) borders a relatively narrow but open body of water. Belted kingfishers are frequently seen here. It is a reasonably good area for waterfowl in the cooler months, with large numbers of green-winged teal being found here more often than one might expect. Ring-necked ducks are also found here in large numbers at times. The shrubs and low vegetation along the levee have been known to yield prothonotary warbler, sora, Virginia rail, marsh wren, and, on one occasion, alder flycatcher.
To the east of this body of water is a road/path (East Woods Road/Path) that runs through a narrow area of woods on its northern end. Along its east side are three entrances to open fields. Although I have found a few birds of interest in this general area (including Lincoln's sparrow, American redstart, prairie warbler, and magnolia warbler), it is mostly useful for filling out a species list with birds not commonly found in the marshy areas (such as northern flicker). One of the paths at the intersection at the east end leads back to Garland Road.
In the upland woods on the north side of the Refuge, one can expect species somewhat typical of the habitat, such as pileated woodpeckers. Other birds of note found here have included red-headed woodpecker, northern parula, yellow-throated warbler, wood thrush, hooded warbler, ovenbird, and, on more than one occasion, Kentucky warbler.
In the cooler months, waterfowl can be abundant in the Refuge. After the Refuge closes for the winter, you can still see waterfowl from the observation deck on Big Gully Road. (A spotting scope is highly recommended.) Slightly less common species including northern pintail, green-winged teal, American black duck, and American wigeon are frequent here. Canvasbacks and snow geese are infrequently seen. Greater white-fronted geese have also been reported here, but are not to be expected in a typical year. Don't overlook the private pond across the road from the observation deck. Redheads and ring-necked ducks seem to like it there.
The area around the observation deck can make a decent stop during warmer months as well. Birds frequently seen here but less often elsewhere in the Refuge include eastern bluebirds and purple martins.
Kyker is also good for night birds. In late spring expect to hear Chuck-will's widows and eastern whip-poor-wills. Earlier in the year you can hear (and perhaps see) American woodcocks, also. Owls that I have heard include screech, barred, and great horned. Although not strictly a night bird, the pre-dawn hours may be one of the better times to hear American bittern. The observation deck on Big Gully Road is a good place to listen for night birds. However, in the last year or so, that area has often been gated off between sunset and sunrise due to complaints about questionable characters using the area at night. The gravel lot on Garland Road is a possible alternative. Near the gate on Lanier Road is also a good location for listening for nightjars.
All of the birds of prey that one would expect in the area can be found in the Refuge at times, including infrequently osprey and bald eagle. Once I even saw a Mississippi kite.
Other birds of note that I have found here, but not mentioned earlier, include numerous warblers (including yellow, cerulean, and Nashville warblers), black-crowned night-heron, winter wren, sedge wren, LeConte's sparrow, vesper sparrow, barn owl, black-billed cuckoo, common gallinule, common merganser, fox sparrow, common nighthawk, king rail, bobolink, summer tanager, Baltimore oriole, olive-sided flycatcher, glossy/white-faced ibis, and sandhill crane. Among the more interesting birds that others have reported (but that I have not yet seen here and probably should not be expected on a typical trip) include grasshopper sparrow, Henslow's sparrow, gray-cheeked thrush, Philadelphia vireo, white ibis, loggerhead shrike, northern saw-whet owl, cattle egret, yellow-crowned night-heron, snowy egret, and whooping crane.
Kyker Bottoms is closed from November 15 to the last day of February. The observation deck on Big Gully Road remains open during this time. (A spotting scope is recommended.)