Finding Birds in Guilford County © 2018 Dennis Burnette
IV-A3. Bur-Mil Park
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5834 Bur-Mil Club Road, Greensboro, NC 27410
336-641-2020 http://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/county-parks/bur-mil-park Administrator: Guilford County Parks, 301 West market Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 336-641-7275 http://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/county-park Hours of operation: Bur-Mil Park is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Generally, the trails are open until sunset. Facilities within the park, such as swimming pool, golf shop, wildlife education center, and clubhouse, operate on different schedules so the office should be contacted for those hours of operation. The park is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.
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Directions
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GPS coordinates: N 36° 09.698’ W 079° 52.222’
Directions: Bur-Mil Park is in the northern part of Greensboro just off Battleground Avenue/US 220. To reach Bur-Mil from I-40/I-85, it is necessary to get on Wendover Avenue first. If coming from the south or east, first head north on US 29 and then take the Wendover Avenue exit west toward the city center, or if coming from the west on I-40, take the Wendover Avenue exit and head east toward the city center. Once on Wendover Avenue, take the Battleground Avenue north/Westover Terrace exit and drive north away from Greensboro’s central business district. At about 6.2 miles, turn right (east) on Owl’s Roost Road and proceed about 0.4 mile to the park entrance. |
Description
Bur-Mil is so named because originally the property was owned by Burlington Industries, which operated it as a recreation facility for Burlington Mills employees. Although most of the easily accessible areas of this 250-acre property are dedicated to a golf course, driving range, par 3 course, pool, and clubhouse, the park also has picnic shelters, a wildlife education building, a fishing pond, a pier, and 4.5 miles of trails, and offers views of the western end of Lake Brandt. Birding is fair-to-good year-round, but it is particularly good in fall and spring.
Just before the entrance is a spot on the road edge just big enough to pull off the pavement where it would be worth pausing to look and listen in the pines and nearby deciduous forest edge for birds. (Since the park doesn’t open until 8:00 a.m., this is a good place to start for early risers.) Species that are possible here include Pine Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker all year; Wood Thrush, Orchard Oriole, and Summer Tanager in summer; and in fall and winter, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler and the occasional Brown Creeper.
After entering the park, immediately turn left into the swimming pool parking lot and drive all the way to the woodland edge. Surprisingly, sometimes there are a quite a few birds here in the tangle of shrubs. A birder can stay in the vehicle and use it as a blind, creeping slowly along the edge of the parking lot for a hundred feet or so before returning to the entry road.
Along the entry road watch and listen for American and Fish Crows, Common Grackles, flocks of American Goldfinches, and Chipping Sparrows, sometimes in large flocks in winter. Around the clubhouse watch for Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in winter, and House Finches, Eastern Phoebes, Blue Jays, Brown Thrashers, and Northern Mockingbirds all year.
Circle to the right past the clubhouse and drive all the way to the last parking area. A small fishing pond down the hill on the left almost always has Mallards and Canada Geese, and occasionally has Wood Ducks if there are no anglers around. The trees around the pond may be alive with many species of birds, particularly in spring during migration. Baltimore Orioles have nested in the trees here and up the hill back toward the clubhouse.
From the parking area, walk down to the fishing pier for a panoramic view of the west end of Lake Brandt. This spot is almost directly across from the Strawberry Road access to Lake Brandt described elsewhere in this guide. While it isn’t always birdy here, it is possible to see a few ducks, an occasional loon or grebe, and gulls on the water or flying by. If you want to see a birdier part of the lake, walk back off the pier to the trail and turn right (northwest). This is a part of Owl’s Roost Trail. In about a half mile the trail leaves the park and comes out of the woods onto a narrow causeway and bridge that was once the site of an old train route. This will take you across the lake to the Strawberry Road access. Rather than come out of the woods, a hiker also could turn left (west) onto the Big Loop Trail, which is about 3.5 miles in length.
Just before the entrance is a spot on the road edge just big enough to pull off the pavement where it would be worth pausing to look and listen in the pines and nearby deciduous forest edge for birds. (Since the park doesn’t open until 8:00 a.m., this is a good place to start for early risers.) Species that are possible here include Pine Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker all year; Wood Thrush, Orchard Oriole, and Summer Tanager in summer; and in fall and winter, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler and the occasional Brown Creeper.
After entering the park, immediately turn left into the swimming pool parking lot and drive all the way to the woodland edge. Surprisingly, sometimes there are a quite a few birds here in the tangle of shrubs. A birder can stay in the vehicle and use it as a blind, creeping slowly along the edge of the parking lot for a hundred feet or so before returning to the entry road.
Along the entry road watch and listen for American and Fish Crows, Common Grackles, flocks of American Goldfinches, and Chipping Sparrows, sometimes in large flocks in winter. Around the clubhouse watch for Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in winter, and House Finches, Eastern Phoebes, Blue Jays, Brown Thrashers, and Northern Mockingbirds all year.
Circle to the right past the clubhouse and drive all the way to the last parking area. A small fishing pond down the hill on the left almost always has Mallards and Canada Geese, and occasionally has Wood Ducks if there are no anglers around. The trees around the pond may be alive with many species of birds, particularly in spring during migration. Baltimore Orioles have nested in the trees here and up the hill back toward the clubhouse.
From the parking area, walk down to the fishing pier for a panoramic view of the west end of Lake Brandt. This spot is almost directly across from the Strawberry Road access to Lake Brandt described elsewhere in this guide. While it isn’t always birdy here, it is possible to see a few ducks, an occasional loon or grebe, and gulls on the water or flying by. If you want to see a birdier part of the lake, walk back off the pier to the trail and turn right (northwest). This is a part of Owl’s Roost Trail. In about a half mile the trail leaves the park and comes out of the woods onto a narrow causeway and bridge that was once the site of an old train route. This will take you across the lake to the Strawberry Road access. Rather than come out of the woods, a hiker also could turn left (west) onto the Big Loop Trail, which is about 3.5 miles in length.
At the fishing pier a hiker also could turn right and continue bearing right at the trail fork onto the Little Loop Trail to the southeast. It is about 1 mile long. After a few hundred yards, there is a small pond on the left (east) side of the trail to check for birds. Be careful to continue bearing right to stay on the Little Loop Trail. Taking the left fork will take the hiker out of the park on what used to be named the Lake Brandt Greenway and now is called the A&Y Greenway.
Next to the parking lot is a wildlife education center with a few displays of mounted critters and occasionally a live snake or some other creature. Behind the center one can enter a paved trail that it part of the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway. This is a paved trail that leads to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Parkdescribed elsewhere in this guide. The trail provides a good view of the lake from the Weaver Bridge. Keep in mind that this is a linear trail that will require the birder to return along the same route unless he or she wants to detour onto some of the other unpaved trails in the park to return to the parking lot.
Next to the parking lot is a wildlife education center with a few displays of mounted critters and occasionally a live snake or some other creature. Behind the center one can enter a paved trail that it part of the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway. This is a paved trail that leads to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Parkdescribed elsewhere in this guide. The trail provides a good view of the lake from the Weaver Bridge. Keep in mind that this is a linear trail that will require the birder to return along the same route unless he or she wants to detour onto some of the other unpaved trails in the park to return to the parking lot.
Click the image to open a site map in a new window.
The following are trail descriptions from the Guilford County website:
“Owl’s Roost Trail (4.34 miles) – The Owl’s Roost Trail has been designated as part of the North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Designed for mountain bikers and hikers, the trail is accessible east of the fishing pier at Lake Brandt and from the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway just north of the Weaver Bridge. The trail follows the shore along the peninsula. Mountain bikers can enjoy riding on more than 1.3 miles of fire lanes. Parking is available by the Lake Brandt fishing pier and along Strawberry Road. Cyclists are requested to use caution, watch for pedestrians, and avoid riding after rainfall when the trails are muddy to help reduce trail erosion.
“Big Loop Trail (2.06 miles) – Big Loop Trail is accessible next to shelter #4, by the driving range parking lot, next to the large playground in the first parking lot, and from the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway.
“Little Loop Trail (0.8 mile) – The Little Loop Trail is accessed from Atlantic-Yadkin [A&Y] Greenway just past the pond near shelter #8. The trail starts up a wooded hill and loops around to end on the Greenway.
“Atlantic-Yadkin [A&Y] Greenway–Pedestrians can access the Atlantic-Yadkin [A&Y] Greenway next to the Wildlife Education Center. The Greenway is a paved trail that leads to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. There is a great view of Lake Brandt from the H. Michael Weaver Bridge. Many different native plants, wild flowers, pines, and mixed hardwoods make this trail quite scenic. If you wish to take a detour off of the paved Greenway, you can venture onto one of the unpaved Watershed Trails. Both the Nathanael Greene Trail and the Owl’s Roost Trail intersect the Greenway.”
Finding Birds in Guilford County © 2018 Dennis Burnette
“Owl’s Roost Trail (4.34 miles) – The Owl’s Roost Trail has been designated as part of the North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Designed for mountain bikers and hikers, the trail is accessible east of the fishing pier at Lake Brandt and from the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway just north of the Weaver Bridge. The trail follows the shore along the peninsula. Mountain bikers can enjoy riding on more than 1.3 miles of fire lanes. Parking is available by the Lake Brandt fishing pier and along Strawberry Road. Cyclists are requested to use caution, watch for pedestrians, and avoid riding after rainfall when the trails are muddy to help reduce trail erosion.
“Big Loop Trail (2.06 miles) – Big Loop Trail is accessible next to shelter #4, by the driving range parking lot, next to the large playground in the first parking lot, and from the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway.
“Little Loop Trail (0.8 mile) – The Little Loop Trail is accessed from Atlantic-Yadkin [A&Y] Greenway just past the pond near shelter #8. The trail starts up a wooded hill and loops around to end on the Greenway.
“Atlantic-Yadkin [A&Y] Greenway–Pedestrians can access the Atlantic-Yadkin [A&Y] Greenway next to the Wildlife Education Center. The Greenway is a paved trail that leads to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. There is a great view of Lake Brandt from the H. Michael Weaver Bridge. Many different native plants, wild flowers, pines, and mixed hardwoods make this trail quite scenic. If you wish to take a detour off of the paved Greenway, you can venture onto one of the unpaved Watershed Trails. Both the Nathanael Greene Trail and the Owl’s Roost Trail intersect the Greenway.”
Finding Birds in Guilford County © 2018 Dennis Burnette