Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary — Attraction in Lake View Township

This bird sanctuary is my favorite place in the city. It’s easy to miss and not very large, but such a joy to walk through during March-October. Flooded with migrating birds, this nature sanctuary is a beautiful getaway in the middle of the city. So many wildflowers in spring through fall!

I go here nearly every day, and it’s never very crowded. A great short ~1 mile walk around the entire thing, some paths you could take your bike on, and plenty of benches to sit and observe. There’s an observation deck as well on the eastern side near the lakeshore. From there you can see much of the area and there are signs that educate you on different types of birds that visit the sanctuary. I see house sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, northern cardinals, black-capped chickadees, downy and hairy woodpeckers, Cooper’s hawks, mallards, and goldfinches almost year round here very frequently. In the migration of the fall I observed plenty of ruby and golden crowned kinglets, brown creepers, many different kinds of warblers and sooo many other kinds of birds! It’s a birdwatcher’s dream, and this place inspired me to pick up the habit.

It’s always clean, and such a peaceful place to sit and watch or walk around and escape the busy life of the city. Best time to come is early morning because the sun hits the trees and nature just right. It’s also just a 1 min walk to the water from here!

Small, cute, and peaceful nature sanctuary I would...

This is a beautiful spot. The majority of the acre(or so) of land is fenced off as a true preserve, but there’s a lot to do here still. The east/lake side has a great observation deck with benches and a ramp up that appears wheelchair accessible. You can see part of the preserve’s wetland and many trees, birds, underbrush, etc from there. There are multiple nature paths winding around the edges of the preserve that are beautiful and full of flowers, greenery, and generally allowed to be wild and fabulous. The paths have a few benches scattered throughout as well which is really nice! I’d say one every 40 yards or so? I think a standard wheelchair might have trouble on the wood chip/dirt paths depending on the design, but something with wider wheels like a power chair/scooter would probably do ok, and there are a couple peat gravel trails that any wheeled transport should do ok on. Note that bicycles are not allowed on the...

A wonderful place to see extraordinary birds. Montrose bird sanctuary had been our go-to place, but the rowdy crowds, blasting music, poor parking and dogs had us looking for something better. Jarvis has plenty of parking, none of the noise, and far more unique species. Our only complaint is the people who bring their dogs down the short trails. Why? Plenty of places all around. Dogs aren't interested in the birds and just scare them away. We saw Indigo Buntings, Orioles, Downy Woodpeckers, many species of warblers, chickadees, nutchatches, goldfinches, and many more. More birds, quiet and fewer people. Just please don't bring your dog on the...