Howard County Bird Club
Meadowbrook Park Detailed Information
This park is conveniently located between Columbia and Elliott City, is easily accessible, and has a fine paved path system. It is worth frequent visits to check the wetlands.
Habitat: Multiple ponds, most created when MD 100 was built, are linked by patches of cattails along a stream. There are shrubby edges as well as mature deciduous streamside trees. Despite the extensive areas of sports fields and mown grass, attractive habitats exist, although some are small.
Layout: The paved path has two loops (east and west) connected by an area of active recreational facilities. Except when teams are using ballfields within each loop, most people tend to cluster around the huge tot lot, the courts, or the two picnic pavilions. This central area of activity is adjacent to a park-and-ride lot. The west loop, adjacent to Meadowbrook’s parking lots, has the largest cattail marsh in the park as well as several productive ponds. The hawkwatch knoll is also located in this loop overlooking US 29.
Best Time to Visit: Migration offers the most possibilities, although summer may attract wandering waterbirds and shorebirds, and winter can be good for sparrows. There are few people in the park in early morning; in late summer, dusk may be good for marsh birds and flyovers. Mid-morning to mid-afternoon is best for hawkwatching spring and fall (there is a good view of the sky). Because most of the ponds lie south of the path, the sun can be a problem when looking for water and marsh birds.
Birding: This park is best known for its wetlands. Several extensive patches of cattails, seven ponds (not all
easily visible), and a narrow stream follow the southern border of the park with one additional pond (P 3) north of the path in the west area. Mixed deciduous woods with both understory and taller vegetation surround the ponds. This combination provides the best birding opportunities year-round, especially since the paved path system allows a view of much of the habitat. A few deer trails go into floodplain or streamside areas, but be aware that ticks are numerous. Warblers and other passerines should be looked for during spring and fall migration.
In the west area, the large cattail marsh, with its adjacent ponds (P 1, P 2) and scrub, is one of the most productive portions of the park. A variety of sparrows can usually be found here, and several times it has attracted an Orange-crowned Warbler. The high knoll, marked by a huge rock, is used for occasional hawkwatches and provides an excellent view of much of the sky. Almost all the expected hawks have been seen here in migration. Red-shouldered Hawks often nest along the stream. The knoll is also a good lookout point for almost any migrant or wanderer such as loons, herons, egrets, cormorants, gulls and, once, a Red-headed Woodpecker. Water levels in the ponds fluctuate depending on precipitation; occasionally small mudflats are present attracting shorebirds and marsh birds. During warmer months, a Green Heron can usually be spotted, along with a Belted Kingfisher. Little Blue Heron (P 1) and Sora (P 1, P 6) have both been tallied in this part of the park. The scrubby hillside below the hilltop pavilion has attracted Vesper Sparrows more than once. Along the path below the hawkwatch knoll, Warbling Vireos usually sing during late spring and summer. On or near the bridge that connects to the central area, look for birds near the stream and in the scrubby vegetation, especially during migration (Wilson’s Warblers have been seen). Note that much of the scrubby vegetation below the pavilion and below the hawkwatch knoll has been replaced with deciduous and coniferous saplings.
The east loop is sometimes less “birdy” than the west, but White-crowned Sparrows have been found in fall and winter; Great Egrets favor the ponds (P 7, P 8) at this end of the park; and an occasional duck (other than a Mallard) may show up. The easternmost section has a few short deer trails into the narrow floodplain. There is low, scrubby vegetation along the south side of the sound barrier along MD 100 that can be attractive in fall
both for sparrows and for late butterflies. While most of the birds on the park list have been seen in the wooded or wetland areas, the more developed portions of Meadowbrook should also be checked. Although the tot lot is used
year-round in favorable weather and the playing fields are popular spring, summer, and fall, there is a minimum overlap with birding activities. Willow Flycatchers have nested near the pond (P 6) directly behind the tot lot. Eastern Bluebirds, various sparrows, and House Finches perch on the fences surrounding the ballfields. When the fields are not in use, look for an assortment of blackbirds, sparrows, finches, and even an occasional migrant Palm Warbler on the turf or in the fences. Gulls and hawks perch on the tall parking lot lights.
Highlights: The combination of multiple ponds, extensive cattail marshes, and open sky is unusual in this county. Because of its wetland environment, Meadowbrook Park is attractive not only to birds but to dragonflies, butterflies, and frogs as well.
Handicapped Access: The central and eastern sections of the paved path are relatively flat. In the west there are a few steep sections, but these can be avoided.