Kinder Farm Park

Address:

1001 Kinder Farm Park Road, Millersville, MD 21108
http://www.kinderfarmpark.org

198 as of 06-27-23. CLICK HERE to view the ebird hotspot information.
Yes, this can be a good place to witness the American woodcock mating display at nightfall in early March. I will take you there on the walk (seen farther down this page).
This is also a good place to see/hear red shouldered hawks. They nest here.
Yes, there are paved parking lots throughout the park.
Yes, there are bathroom facilities. Locations marked on the park map.
Yes, click here to view.
Yes, $6 per vehicle, but on the walk we are taking is in an area of the park where there is no fee.
It is open 7 days a week 7am to dusk. Visitor Center: 9am – 4pm, Monday- Friday; 10am – 3pm, Saturday & Sunday.
Yes, the park can be very crowed during sports events.
The park is on a flight path so the sound of commercial aircraft can sometimes interfere with hearing the birds.
Like any birding location - be cautious of ticks. It is best to stay on the trails and avoid walking through tall grasses.
A scope is typically not necessary at this location.
Mixed - Dirt, grass (well mowed in most places), mulch, gravel and paved.
Bottomland deciduous, conifers, hedgerows, farmyard, hay meadows, pasture, grass field, shrubby meadows, freshwater pond.
CLICK HERE to access the Maryland Ornithological Society’s Birder’s Guide to MD & DC.

I want to thank Linda V. for taking me on this bird walk and sharing her extensive knowledge about birding at this location.

The following is a list of bird species you may see by season. Note that some of these species may also be seen into the following season.

Spring - Mar-May
- Wood Duck
- White-eyed Vireo
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Indigo Bunting
- Blue Grosbeak
Summer - Jun-Jul
- Cattle Egret
- Barn Swallow
- Chimney Swift
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Orchard Oriole
- Great-crested Flycatcher
Fall - Aug-Nov
- American Redstart
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Cedar Waxwing
- Magnolia Warbler
Winter - Dec-Feb
- White-throated Sparrow
- Winter Wren
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Hermit Thrush
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Fox Sparrow
Year-round
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Downy Woodpecker
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- Eastern Bluebird

Bird Walk

I’ll take you on a virtual bird walk so that you can become a little familiar with the location.

Using the Kinder Farm Park map (select map to enlarge) I have marked the beginning of the walk in Green, then in Black, it is approximately 2.35 miles.

Note: You can also move through (using the arrows) the following bird walk from your cell phone (depending on service) to help guide you during the walk.

Start - Upon entering the park take your first left to the Athletic Complex.
Follow the sign to the Sports Complex. Cattail Pond is on the right along the road, during the winter you may see mergansers here. Follow the road to the end parking lot (you will pass sports fields).
Once parked look back at this tree. In the fall you may see a merlin perched in the morning & evening. (Note: In the spring/summer you may want to walk back on the road we came in from and take a left just past the green building. Hidden Pond is back there and you may see wood ducks.)
We will begin our walk at the gravel path/road right off the parking lot on your right.
Follow the road to the right, it will open up to a garden area. In the winter/spring you will likely see goldfinches, fox sparrows and song sparrows. In the summer you may see orioles, blue grosbeaks & indigo buntings.
When you get to the field follow the fence to the left. In the spring into summer you may see cattle egret in the field. On the road and shrubbery you are likely to see sparrows in the winter.
We'll follow the fence line to the right. This area in the winter is great for sparrows - fox sparrows, white-throated sparrows, song sparrows and field sparrows. As the path bears to the left you are likely to see a fox sparrow at this corner.
At the end of the fence line you will come to an intersection - we are going straight on Wildflower Trail. At this intersection you may see indigo buntings in the summer and ruby crowned kinglets in the fall.
This area is good for sparrows in the winter.
Continue to follow the Wildflower Trail to the right, it will open up to a field on your left. You may see towhees year round and look for indigo buntings on the tree tops singing in the spring/summer.
Around the middle to the end of the field area is where you may witness the mating display of the American woodcocks around nightfall in early March.
You will come upon a paved path - let's go right. Along here you may hear/see white-eyed vireo in the summer.
We will only be on the paved path for a few steps, you will notice a gravel path on your left - let's take that.
This path is good during fall into late winter. There may be hermit thrush and fox sparrows. Year round you may see eastern towhees. If you're lucky in the summer you may see a northern bobwhite.
We will come to an intersection - go right.
Soon after the intersection we will come to a fork, continue straight (slight left). This area can be active with gray catbirds, mostly in the summer. You may also see white-eyed vireos or white-throated sparrows in the winter. Linda has witnessed over 3,000 American robins passing through in the fall at sunset in this area.
You come upon Bunks Pond on your right. This is a good place for green herons in the summer, pine warblers in the spring and in the winter red-breasted nuthatches and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. If you're lucky you may hear a barred owl in the winter.
At the end of the path you will come upon a paved path, we will go to the right, but the area right before the turn is good for hermit thrush and yellow-bellied sapsuckers in the winter.
You will notice a chimney swift tower on your left. This was recently constructed, but has not yet had activity. You are likely to see eastern blue birds perched around the field. There are 65 bluebird boxes throughout the park. You may also see eastern kingbirds in the spring/summer in this area.
The path will turn into a road, at the intersection we will go left and pass the River Birch Pavilion. There may be pine warblers in the pines of the parking lot in the spring.
Just past the pavilion you will notice a paved path that goes right - let's take that.
The path comes to a "T", we'll go right. There are bathroom facilities here. We are entering the farm area.
We'll come to an intersection, we want to bear right going in front of the Cattle Barn. In this area you will see house sparrows, house finches, rock pigeons and maybe fish crows year round. You may also see barn swallows in the spring/summer, they nest here.
We are going to pass the Cattle Barn and keeping the field to our right we'll walk along the fence line and go straight toward the sport field (between the two fences).
We will come upon a "T", we'll go right. This will take you back to the parking lot where we parked. After passing the field their will be a wooded area on your right, not usually much activity here.