Radnor Lake
Shelby Park and Bottoms
The Warner Parks
Beaman Park
Old Hickory Lake
 

Radnor Lake

    Unequivocally the premier birding spot in Nashville, Radnor Lake State Natural Area provides a diversity of natural habitats ranging from the lake, to streams and sloughs. It even has some of the highest hills in the Nashville Basin.  The lake attracts thousand of ducks each winter and the surrounding woods teem with neotropical migrants during spring and fall migration. A checklist of Radnor birds can be found on the Friends of Radnor Lake Home Page.

    The 85-acre lake for which the site is named was impounded in 1914 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company to furnish water for steam engines and livestock at nearby Radnor Yards.  Originally intended to provide private hunting and fishing for L & N officials and their guests, it was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1923, at the request of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.  An effort began to save the lake as a state natural area in 1962, when it was threatened by development after its purchase by a construction firm.   In 1973, the Tennessee Department of  Environment and Conservation, with the financial assistance of the Federal Government and thousands of concerned citizens, purchased 759 acres of the Radnor site as the first official state natural area. An additional 130 acres, "the Hall tract", was purchased in 1979. Other additions have been purchased or donated through the years, bringing the total acreage to over 1100 acres.

    The Hall Track includes the Jeffries Environmental Center which houses the Ann T. Tarbell Library, which was established as a memorial to longtime NTOS member, Ann Tarbell, as tribute to her diligent efforts to save Radnor Lake. The library contains Ann's private birding library which was donated by her family. Her husband, Stanley Tarbell also established a trust fund for bird periodicals for the library. Everyone is encouraged to stop by and peruse this excellent collection of birding materials.

  For more information on Radnor, including a map of the park and trails, trail descriptions, and access fees, see Radnor Lake's Home Page.

DIRECTIONS (see map)
    Radnor is located on the south side of the city, on Otter Creek Road between Granny White Pike and Franklin Pike, both of which can be accessed from Harding Place, which exits off I-65. A Visitors' Center is located at the entrance nearest Granny White Pike. Otter Creek Road is closed to traffic at Radnor Lake, so use Harding Place to get to the Granny White side of the lake.

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Shelby Park and Bottoms

    Though Radnor Lake still ranks No. 1 among Nashville birders, Shelby Bottoms with its mixture of hardwood forests and open fields, is quickly establishing itself as a top birding spot. One of the true jewels of Metro’s Park and Greenway system, this 810 acre park offers 5 miles of paved multi-use trails and another 5 miles of primitive hiking trails. Along the trails, visitors can enjoy boardwalks, scenic overlooks, interpretive stations and seven rustic bridges. The area is well known as a haven for migrating birds and other wildlife. Several ponds provide shorebirds, waders and other waterfowl a resting place during migration. In the fall, the many large field produce a wide variety of sparrows and other field species, while the woods are good for neo-tropical migrants during both spring and fall. Shelby Park is also good birding. Black-crown Night Heron can frequently be seen on the lake, as well as Great Blue Heron, Phoebes (which nest under the bridge to the island), swallows and an occasional Greater White-fronted, Snow or Ross' Goose. The many large, old trees throughout the park are good for migrants. A pair of Red-tailed Hawks have nested near the ball fields for several years. More information on birding Shelby Park and Bottoms can be found here.

HISTORY OF SHELBY PARK AND BOTTOMS
    Shelby park, one of the oldest parks in the city, was originally operated as a private amusement park, until it went bankrupt in 1903. The park board purchased the land in 1909, and the park was opened to the public on July 4, 1912. Shelby Bottoms was opened to the public on October 25, 1997, as part of Metro's Greenway system.

DIRECTIONS (see map)
    For Mission Hill in Shelby Park - From I-65/I-24: Exit onto Shelby Avenue going east (away from town). Continue on Shelby Ave to a 4-way stop at 19th Street. Turn left at the stop sign and right at the second street (Lillian Street). The parking lot next to the Community Center is at the end of the block. The trail head is on the left. To get to Windmill Hill, take Shelby Ave east to 19th. Turn right and continue on 19th to a "T" intersection at Electric Ave. Turn left on Electric Ave. Windmill Hill will be on your left just after entering the park.

For Shelby Bottoms - From I-65/I-24: Exit onto Shelby Avenue going east (away from town). Turn right onto South 5th Street, left on Davidson Street. Follow Davidson until you come to the park entrance, then follow the signs to Shelby Bottoms. The main entrance and Nature Center are under the train trestles. A second entrance is located at the end of Forest Green Drive, which is just off Welcome. To get their exit the park at Riverside Drive (see map). Turn left on Riverside and follow it until the first light at Porter Street. Take a right at Porter. Stay on Porter until a "T" intersection with Rosebank Avenue. Turn left on Rosebank, then take the first right (Welcome Lane) and the first left (Forrest Green Drive). The parking lot and trail heads are at the end of Forest. 

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Warner Parks
    Combined, Percy Warner Park and Edwin Warner Park constitute one of the largest municipally operated parks in the United States, covering 2,681 acres of of wooded hills and valleys. Warner Parks boasts many structures built in the 1930's by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  These features include seven limestone entrances, two stone bridges, miles of dry-stacked stone retainer walls, a steeplechase course, picnic shelters, scenic drives, overlooks, hiking trails, and bridle paths. The Parks contain a short section of the historic Natchez Trace, part of a vast and ancient network of trails originally used by the early Native Americans. Europeans settling in the Southeast found this trail to lead between what are now Natchez, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee. For more information on the Warner Parks visit their Home Page.
    A beautiful new Nature Center offers a wide range of  environmental education programs, educator training workshops, outdoor recreation programs and other special activities for people of all ages, all free of charge. As part of their programs, the Nature Center promotes, and serves as a resource for organic gardening and native plant landscaping. The facilities include includes the Milbrey Warner Waller Library complete with an extensive collection of natural history titles, a working organic garden, a wildflower garden, twelve miles of hiking trails, the Frist teaching pond, and grounds that are landscaped with native plants. For more information see: the Natue Center home page. The Nature Center also runs several bird related programs, including Feeder Watch and a MAPS project in bird banding. For more information on these programs see their bird page.

DIRECTIONS (see map)
    The Warner Parks are located at the corner of Hwy 100 and Old Hickory Blvd. From I-65, south of the city, take the Old Hickory Blvd exit and go west. Old Hickory meets Hwy 100 at a "T" intersection. Turn left and the Nature Center will be on the left. From I-40, west of the city, take the Old Hickory Blvd exit and go east. Old Hickory meets Hwy 100 at a "T" intersection. Turn left and the Nature Center will be on the right.

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Beaman Park
     This wild and rugged land is a unique treasure in Nashville's park system. Beaman Park lies on the Highland Rim, just outside of the Nashville Basin, in the northwest edge of Davidson County. Its terrain features steep, forested slopes, with drier ridge tops and elevations just under 1000 feet. Deep hollows contain pristine springs and streams. Most of the park is drained by Little Marrowbone Creek on the north and Bull Run Creek on the south. The vegetation is incredibly diverse. Oak/hardwood forests dominate the mid to upper slopes while mixed alluvial hardwoods lie in the creek bottoms. A rare community type, known as woodland barrens, occurs and contains post oak trees and native perennial grasses. And there are many delicate bluff communities. Wildflowers abound here, especially in spring, with such beauties as dwarf larkspur, wild geranium, shooting stars, fire pinks, and even the rare lady's slipper orchid. Beaman Park is home to countless other species of wildlife as well. Deer, bobcat, fox, coyote, raccoons, flying squirrels, and bats are some of the mammals here. Dense forests provide shelter for many birds including woodpeckers, thrushes, wrens, warblers, owls and hawks. Beaman Park is a rich, fertile, living laboratory and the potential is great for many new discoveries.

HISTORY OF BEAMAN PARK
    The area was once known as Paradise Ridge, and while the beauty of the land might inspire one to envision paradise, the name actually comes from two early settlers, the Paradise brothers.  In the 1970s the 1500-acre parcel that is now Beaman Park was purchased by a group of doctors, known as the Blueberry Hill Partners, who used the land as a hunting preserve. In 1996, the Partners graciously sold their preserve to the Metro Nashville government for roughly half of its appraised value. The land purchase was made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Sally Beaman in honor of her husband, Alvin G. Beaman, a prominent Nashville businessman and civic leader who served on the Park Board from 1955 to 1963. This wonderful park represents the largest single gift of land in the history of the Metro Nashville Parks Department.

DIRECTIONS
    Beaman Park is best accessible from Eatons Creek Road in western Davidson County. Take Briley Parkway to Exit 24, Ashland City Highway/State Route 12. From Briley, head south on S.R. 12, away from Ashland City. Turn left at the flashing caution sign onto Eatons Creek Road. Go four miles. Cross Old Hickory Boulevard and in less than a mile turn left onto Little Marrowbone Road. The park entrance is a half-mile farther on the left on 4111 Little Marrowbone Road.

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Old Hickory Lake
(see  a map of lake from the Corps of Engineers, general map of the main birding areas, a blowup of the dam area, )
    Old Hickory Lake lies north of Nashville on the Cumberland River. Birding is best in the fall, winter, and spring. There are many access points, but most birding is done on the south side near the dam and along Drakes Creek on the north side. On the south side near the dam, is a swimming beach and  a gravel penisula, known to birders as Snow Bunting Penisula due to the presence of 2 Snow Bunting during the winter of 1969-70. Strangely enough, 30 years later, a Snow Bunting was present for a few days on this same penisula, thus reinforcing the site's name.

    The dam area can be reached by taking the Old Hickory Blvd exit from I-65 north of the city. (Rt. 45). Head south on Rt 45 across Gallatin Road and continue across the Cumberland River. Take the second left after crossing the bridge. This is Bridgeway Ave. Turn left onto Ensley Ave and continue to Swinging Bridge Road. Take a left at Swinging Bridge Road, then take the first right (Burnett Road). Follow this road down to a gravel area which juts out into the lake. This is Snow Bunting Penisula. A large part of the lake can be scanned from this point, frequently yielding cormorants, gebes, ducks, herons and gulls. To get to the dam, go back to Swinging Bridge Road, turn right and go to the next street on the right (CInder Road). Follow this back to the water. A large parking area next to the beach provides another access point for scanning the lake. The road to the left leads to the dam. Bear left and continue down to the river below the dam. Black-crowned Night Heron are frequently seen along the bank and in the trees on either side of the river. Gulls are generally present near the spillway. The Nature Trail is also located here.

    To get to the north side, retrace your route back to Old Hickory Blvd. Turning left on Old Hickory (Rt.45) go back to I-65 and head north. Take  Vietnam Veteran's Blvd exit. This is also a limited access highway. Continue on this to the exit for New Shackle Island Road and turn south to Gallatin Road (US 31). Take Gallatin Road towards Hendersonville to Drake's Creek, which will be on the right. The lake can be scanned from behind Mallards Restaurant on the corner of Gallatin Road and Saunders Ferry Road. There are several access points along Sauders Ferry Road which provide good water views. Sauders Ferry Park is located at the end of the penisula. Continue on around the penisula by way of Curtis Cross Road and Walton Ferry Road. There are several access points off Walton Ferry Road, including an environmental area which has several large fields which are good for sparrows in the winter.

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