Connersville, In. — Indiana Audubon’s Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary received dedicated nature preserve status at the Indiana Natural Resources Commission’s bi-monthly meeting this week in Indianapolis. The commission’s approval makes the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary the 287th dedicated nature preserve in the state system.
The Mary Gray preserve, southwest of Connersville, is a 38-acre portion of the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary. The site is included in Alton Lindsey’s “Natural Areas in Indiana.” Research is being conducted at the preserve by bird banding during the spring and fall migration of the Northern Saw-whet owl and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The site also hosts the annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration on August 11. A turtle population research project has also been in progress since 1985.
Owned and managed by The Indiana Audubon Society and located approximately one hour east of Indianapolis, the preserve consists of a high-quality mesic upland forest with a showy spring wildflower display. The forest is dominated by sugar maple and tulip tree. These community types, along with their component flora and fauna, contain many species that are area-sensitive forest-interior plants and animals that depend upon large, unfragmented forest ecosystems.
To learn more about the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary and preserve, or Indiana Audubon and to search for programs near you, visit them on the web at www.indianaaudubon.org.
