Fish Creek Natural Area

Fish Creek Natural Area (Googles uses the name: Fish Creek Bluff Preserve)
Maplewood, Ramsey county, MN -- adjacent to Ramsey County's Fish Creek Open Preserve
70 acres; Prairie and Woodland

Park Notes
from the City of Maplewood website: An asphalt trail takes you to the bluff top, through woodlands and restored prairie, on both City and County land. Part of the Mississippi River flyway, the site is frequented by raptors, songbirds, and wildlife species such as fox, coyote, and deer.

There is minimal parking at the trail head but it's on a dead end so one can park along the road. The main loop is just under one mile. The path is wide and paved and we weren't worried about ticks nor bothered by any biting insects. There were some slight hills but I wouldn't consider this a difficult hike at all. There was at least two benches along the trail (with a possible third on a loop we didn't walk) and a port-a-john at the trail head. Noise from the nearby freeway was loud at beginning of trail but diminished as we got further into the park.

Visits
(late) July 2019
There was a nice mix of wildflowers and seed heads and lots of pollinators (butterflies and bees) and insects (dragonflies, damselflies, beetles, and grasshoppers) to observe. It would be hard to hear birds at beginning of trail.
Bird species seen: Bald Eagle, Lark Sparrow, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, House Wren, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee.
Insect species seen: Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee, Carolina Grasshopper, Migratory Grasshopper, Punctured Tiger Beetle, Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, Halloween Pennant Dragonfly, Meadowhawk xx Damselfly, Bluet xx Damselfly, Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Monarch Butterfly, Red Admiral Butterfly, Wooly Bear caterpillar (Isabella Tiger Moth), Clouded/Orange Sulfer Butterfly, long-waisted type wasp not identified

March 30, 2020
It was a bit early for birds but we saw Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, American Robins, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Song Sparrow, and a Bald Eagle soaring across the river basin.

We did turn over some logs in the woody area just south of the paved path and found lots of millipedes and centipedes. A butterfly and two very small moths were briefly spotted (but not identified) as well as a Wooly Bear caterpillar.

Useful links/info
trailhead location: 1487-1507 Henry Ln, Maplewood, MN 55119
City of Maplewood website
Trail Map pdf
eBird hotspot reports

Posted on February 24, 2020 09:59 PM by