Finding Birds in Guilford County: Bog and Bicentennial Gardens

The Bog Garden is a small artificial wetland along a creek that feeds into an artificial lake in a residential section adjacent to a shopping center. That description doesn’t sound nearly as charming as this site actually is. Add to this the formal Bicentennial Garden across the street, and you have a place where a birder can pass a pleasant morning or afternoon. Both sites are administered by the City Beautiful department of the City of Greensboro. Call 336-373-2199 for information.
          Access to these sites is on Hobbs Road off Friendly Avenue to the south or Cornwallis Drive to the north. One route is to start from the corner of Friendly Avenue and Holden Road, go east 0.2 mile to the first traffic light, turn left (north) 0.4 mile to the next intersection with Northline, continue straight another 0.1 mile to the intersection with Starmount Farms Drive. A parking lot is available at the entrance to the Bicentennial Garden on the left, and there is additional street parking on Starmount Farms Drive next to the Bog Garden. There are toilets and a water fountain in the Bicentennial Garden; there are no facilities in the Bog Garden.
          Of the two sites, the Bog Garden tends to have the most interesting birds. It is not a true bog. A low wet area may have existed here naturally at some point in the distant past, but it was greatly enhanced by the creation of a small lake just to the east which backed up the creek and made the low lying creek side permanently wet. Several years ago a local citizen spearheaded an effort to turn this "waste" area into a garden. Since then, many exotic and some native species of ferns, wildflowers, and trees have been planted, and the city has constructed a 1/2 mile elevated boardwalk through the garden. At about the halfway point in the loop, there is a small platform with benches that overlooks the lake. Several short unpaved trails lead off the boardwalk at various points to allow exploration of the higher areas. There also is a short path across the dam to the east of the garden that runs north to south between Starmount Farms Drive and Northline Drive and gives a good view of the lake.
          The Bog Garden provides good birding throughout the year, especially for such a small site. In addition to Canada Geese and Mallards, Wood Ducks usually are there all year. In winter the lake often hosts a nice selection of duck species including Ring-necked Ducks and sometimes Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers. Winter Wrens, both Kinglets, and dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers can be found in the trees and shrubs along the boardwalk in winter, sometimes at eye level, and Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees, and Tufted Titmice are common all year. Great Blue Herons are common, and Green herons are believed to nest here. The willows attract Yellow Warblers and American Redstarts in spring. Brown-headed Nuthatches have nested at eye level next to the boardwalk in some summers. Both Barred Owls and Eastern Screech-owls have been seen in the park, the latter nesting for several years in a nearby nest box.
          The entrance to the Bicentennial Garden is across the street and about 100 yards north of the Bog Garden. Nearly a mile of paved walking paths provide nice views of the formal plantings, which are particularly beautiful in spring and summer. The mature trees and understory of shrubs provide good habitat for Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds and Brown Thrashers, and typical open area birds such as American Robins and Northern Mockingbirds are common.
          Hamilton Lakes, described elsewhere in this guide, is near the Bog Garden site and would be a nice additional stop if you wish to continue birding.

Read about our previous field trips to the Bog Garden!

2001 2002 2003