#6 - Richard M. Nixon County Park
Phone number: Nixon Park Nature Center (717) 428-1961
GPS address: 5922 Nixon Drive, York, PA, 17403
Hours: Dawn until Dusk
Parking: Upper or lower lot at the end of Nixon Drive
Restrooms: Restrooms are available when the Nature Center is open. Tues-Sat 8:30 am -4:30 pm, Sundays 12-4:30 pm. Restrooms not available Mon.
Safety Reminders: No Pets/ No Hunting permitted here.
Best Birding: Year round, dawn until dusk
Site Description: Nixon Park and the Nixon Nature Center offer unique opportunities to bird watch in all seasons. Most of the park can be viewed well from the Old Field trail. This loop on the Old Field requires hiking up some steep terrain. Birders are rewarded for their hike by an overlook of the wetland, forest, and late succesional field habitats along the 1.5 mile Old Field trail. The wetland has several short paths through it that are worth hiking. Hardwood, Quiet Walk, and Bird Hollow trails are great places for a variety of woodland birds.
For those looking for less hiking, but just as many birds, the nature center has two great locations to view birds. These ADA accessible locations are only available when the nature center is open. The feeders are filled at Nixon Park from November to early April and the nature center provides great climate controlled views of winter feeder birds. At the rear of the building there is a deck with a nectar feeder. The deck has great views of the sensory garden and creek.
It is also noted that in migration the front lawn area and surrounding edges of the parking areas can be hot spots for bird activity. Many days during warbler migration around 10 species of warbler can be found without leaving the nature center parking area or lawn.
A dedicated birder can find more than 100 species in this park within a year. Spring and fall are active times for many birds migrating through Nixon Park. In summer the old field has breeding Indigo Bunting, Common Yellowthroat, Field Sparrow, and, rarely, Blue Grosbeak and Yellow-breasted Chat in migration. In previous winters, all 7 species of woodpecker recorded in York County could be found along the wooded trails. Fall through spring is best to see woodpeckers, and to check the bird feeders for irruptive species like Pine Siskin.
A variety of public programs offered by York County Park naturalists based out of Nixon Park offer opportunities to find specific birds during closed hours such as winter and fall owl walks and spring time wetland walks.
Phone number: Nixon Park Nature Center (717) 428-1961
GPS address: 5922 Nixon Drive, York, PA, 17403
Hours: Dawn until Dusk
Parking: Upper or lower lot at the end of Nixon Drive
Restrooms: Restrooms are available when the Nature Center is open. Tues-Sat 8:30 am -4:30 pm, Sundays 12-4:30 pm. Restrooms not available Mon.
Safety Reminders: No Pets/ No Hunting permitted here.
Best Birding: Year round, dawn until dusk
Site Description: Nixon Park and the Nixon Nature Center offer unique opportunities to bird watch in all seasons. Most of the park can be viewed well from the Old Field trail. This loop on the Old Field requires hiking up some steep terrain. Birders are rewarded for their hike by an overlook of the wetland, forest, and late succesional field habitats along the 1.5 mile Old Field trail. The wetland has several short paths through it that are worth hiking. Hardwood, Quiet Walk, and Bird Hollow trails are great places for a variety of woodland birds.
For those looking for less hiking, but just as many birds, the nature center has two great locations to view birds. These ADA accessible locations are only available when the nature center is open. The feeders are filled at Nixon Park from November to early April and the nature center provides great climate controlled views of winter feeder birds. At the rear of the building there is a deck with a nectar feeder. The deck has great views of the sensory garden and creek.
It is also noted that in migration the front lawn area and surrounding edges of the parking areas can be hot spots for bird activity. Many days during warbler migration around 10 species of warbler can be found without leaving the nature center parking area or lawn.
A dedicated birder can find more than 100 species in this park within a year. Spring and fall are active times for many birds migrating through Nixon Park. In summer the old field has breeding Indigo Bunting, Common Yellowthroat, Field Sparrow, and, rarely, Blue Grosbeak and Yellow-breasted Chat in migration. In previous winters, all 7 species of woodpecker recorded in York County could be found along the wooded trails. Fall through spring is best to see woodpeckers, and to check the bird feeders for irruptive species like Pine Siskin.
A variety of public programs offered by York County Park naturalists based out of Nixon Park offer opportunities to find specific birds during closed hours such as winter and fall owl walks and spring time wetland walks.