Hello Birders -
I know some of you are considering a trip to Sica Hollow SP soon to search for warblers. I was there this afternoon from 4:00 until 7:15 - all in the east end of the park. The road through the park connecting the east and west ends is closed not too far from the east entrance parking area due to the replacement of at least one culvert. It looks like they are ready to lay the gravel bed and drop it in but I don't know how soon the project will be complete (it shouldn't take too long). There are 2 culverts lying there, so another crossing further down the road may follow.
The entire east end (Trail of the Spirits area and road) is open. People can still access the area beyond the road construction by hiking the trails. If hiking the lower trails, be sure to wear wading shoes for the streams. I went on the upper trail which leaves from the east entrance and found a couple of nice pockets of warblers. My bird tally for the visit was 42 species including 9 warbler species. It was very overcast and backlit and I missed ID'ing some of the warblers. At a minimum, I had Ovenbird, Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Am Redstart, Cape May, Northern Parula, Blackburnian, Yellow & Blackpoll.
I'm sure the west side of the park is also open and accessible from the west. You just can't drive through from one end to the other.
The new park management for this district is aggressively trying to raise the usage of Sica Hollow. The entrance hut they're installing is a cast-off from Pelican Lake SP.
Cheryl Vellenga
Sisseton, SD
