Public Access Birding Sites in Overton County, Tennessee
If you have information about other public access birding sites in this county, please send details to me at this e-mail address:
Overton County covers an area of 1126 km2 (434.8 mi2). A map of the county—with the two sites described below coded on it—is available via the following link:
The premier birding site in Overton Co., TN, is Standing Stone State Park (SSSP), located about ten miles northwest of Livingston. Several routes to the park may be taken by those wishing to make a visit. From Cookeville go north on North Washington (aka Hilham Rd./Rt. 136) about twenty miles to the stop sign at Rt. 85 in Hilham; continue straight for several more miles, and you will enter the park. From Livingston, go west on Rt. 85 about six miles to the intersection with Hilham Rd. (Rt. 136); then go right (north) to the park. From Celina, go south on Rt. 52 into Overton Co. and look for a sign pointing to the park about two miles after crossing the county line; follow the signs from there. A checklist of birds found in the park may be viewed by clicking on the red word at the beginning of this sentence.
A loop trail of five miles skirts the edge of the lake in the park; this trail offers good woodland birding at most times of the year, but it is most productive in spring and early summer. The lake harbors occasional small flocks of ducks during migration and winter. The Cooper Mountain Trail, an 8-mile loop, connects at two points to the lake loop; this trail offers about the same variety of woodland species as found along the lake loop, but it is a bit more secluded than the lake loop. A network of secondary and gravel roads starts in the park and works out into the contiguous Standing Stone State Forest; birding along these roads can be productive.
Dillon Pond (DILP) in Livingston is a recently developed site that offers opportunities for brief periods of birding. The pond (sometimes also referred to as Winningham Pond) is located in the northeast corner of the intersection of Rt. 52 and Bypass 111 in Livingston. Go northeast on Bypass 111 from the intersection and in about 0.25 miles turn left into the parking lot for the State Farm building; park behind the building at the far end of the parking area, and you will be situated near the walking path and an observation deck that looks out over the pond.
There is an asphalt walking path around the pond that takes about 20-30 minutes to negotiate at a brisk pace and makes for a good hour's birding walk, especially early in the morning. The pond occasionally hosts herons during migration and ducks during winter. Woodland birds occur in the strips of woods around the edge of the pond.
Note: Recently (beginning in 2003), the shoreline of Dillon Pond has been systematically stripped of its vegetation by misguided "development" of the park; it is less attractive to birds as a direct result of this form of change and may one day be all but totally unattractive to birds as a result.
Also Note: a check-list of bird species known to have occurred in Overton County may be accessed via this link:
https://birdsandbutterfliesoftheuppercumberlandregion.com/OvertonTNCheck-list.htm
Send details about any birds you record in these parks—or any public access site in Overton Co.—to me at this e-mail address: sstedman@tntech.edu.
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