When Hoosiers need a break from phone screens and notification pings, there are plenty of opportunities to spend some time in the fresh air and see native wildlife in natural habitats.

You can spot Bald Eagles at Eagle Creek Park and maybe some coyotes at Fort Harrison State Park.

Here are some of the best places to visit to spot native wildlife in Indianapolis, or close by.

Fort Ben is bustling with wildlife

Fort Harrison State Park, in Lawrence, is a great birding spot with trails that wrap around Delaware Lake or trace the banks of Fall Creek.

Emilie Sweet, a naturalist at Fort Ben, said there are a variety of bird species that stop by the park, especially during migration season, which is in April and May in the spring and September and October in the fall.

While the park is a must-visit for birders, there also is a large white tail deer population that is best spotted during early morning hours, Sweet said.

There are also coyotes at the park, though Sweet said these aren’t as common to see, but there are mink, beaver and muskrats that can be seen along Fall Creek and near Duck Pond.

Herpers can find aquatic turtles basking on logs near different snake species that call Fort Ben home.

Visit Fort Harrison State Park at: 6000 N. Post Road, Indianapolis, IN 46216

Wildlife finds a home in Indy Parks

Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest city parks in the country as with trails through the woods and along the reservoir, wildlife is abundant.

Birders will enjoy scoping out trails, fields and meadows at Holliday Park, Marott Woods Nature Preserve, Southeastway Park and Riverside Park.

Alex Cortwright, with Indy Parks, said the Fall Creek and 30^th Park has the Fall Creek Greenway that cuts through it, and wildlife enjoys using that trail, too.

Bit of a drive: Want to see some of Indiana’s best wildlife? Take this expert advice and go west.

Wildlife spotting within a short drive from Indy

Out near Anderson, northeast of Indy, Mounds State Park offers excellent bird-watching opportunities as it’s on the Indiana Birding Trail.

Kelley Morgan, naturalist at Mounds, said even folks not wanting to hike the trails can take shelter at the wildlife observation area inside the park’s nature center. Birds and other wildlife can be spotted here from the comfort of the center’s couches.

There’s also a honey bee hive at the center. The park works with local veterans to help combat PTSD, and they tend the hives.

While no Bald Eagles are nesting at the park now, Morgan said some visit the park daily. There is also habitat to support great blue herons, green herons, egrets, kingfishers and many different songbirds.

If anyone is around the park during dusk, Morgan said there are screech and barred owls that call out as the sun is setting.

Much like Fort Ben, Mounds is surrounded by development but still sees its fair share of mammals. Deer, red fox and coyotes can be spotted traipsing around the park.

Visit Mounds State Park at: 4306 Mounds Road, Anderson, IN 46017

How to be responsible when viewing wildlife

While witnessing soaring eagles and spotting the white tails of deer is an experience, these are wild animals and must be treated with respect.

Hoosiers visiting these parks also are visiting the homes of these animals and should stay on marked trails and leave no trace of the visit.

Don’t disturb the wildlife’s natural habitat, Sweet said. Minimizing human interference is important to keep the park’s animal populations safe and healthy.

Do not try to touch wildlife unless they are in danger. Sweet said moving a turtle out of the road is fine, but don’t try picking them up out of the creek or other natural areas.

Ethan Plumier, with Indiana Department of Natural Resources, has six main tips for ethical wildlife viewing:

• Give wildlife space: The best relationship with wildlife is a long-distance one
• Keep it clean: Don’t litter and pick up trash
• Keep your hands to yourself
• Keep your snacks to yourself: wildlife can find their own food
• Keep pets at home or leashed
• Lead by example: help others become wildlife watchers

Tips for seeing wildlife in Indy

Strategies for viewing wildlife will depend on the species Hoosiers hope to spot, Plumier said. Bird spotting can be done from a car with binoculars but there are other ways to spot some off the roads.

One place Plumier recommends heading is where habitats transition. This can be from woods into a wetland or a field. These edges are a highway for wildlife and have everything an animal needs from food to safety.

“Just plop down along the edge of the woods and see what’s moving,” Plumier said. “Go as deep as you want, sit down, be quiet and see what happens.”

Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk

IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

INDIANAPOLIS — With more than 1,000 classes to choose from, it’s difficult for Mark Williams to pick a favorite.

“There are so many options that I personally still have not yet tried,” Williams said.

Williams is the president and CEO of the Indianapolis Art Center, an organization that’s been helping Hoosiers think more creatively for 90 years. But even Williams is finding new ways to grow his creativity.

“I recently went into the woods studio and made a charcuterie board for my wife,” Williams said. “I’m pretty proud I still have all my fingers.”

Creating pride and a sense of ownership is what the Indy Art Center is all about.

“Every time that comes out at home, it’s a story,” Williams said. “It’s a memory and it cost me far less than going to Crate and Barrel or Target. I think people appreciate those little things that add human value to life.”

And it’s nearly impossible to put a value on the impact the Indy Art Center has in central Indiana.

“What we’re really doing is not just arts education,” Williams said. “It is not just creative place making and quality of life, we are squarely in the business of economic development.”

Williams says that while most people don’t think of art as a means of economic development, it’s the skills behind the craft that truly unlock an individual’s potential.

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“The things that the arts export, curiosity, creativity and imagination, those are the core problem solving skills that every hiring manager is looking for,” Williams said. “Those cannot be taught. They’ve got to be nurtured and nurtured through the arts.”

It’s a mission the Indy Art Center is working to spread throughout the community with youth, senior and veteran outreach programs.

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“Making sure there’s accessibility to the arts is critical to the health of the community and to the health of workforce development,” Williams said. “It’s a critically important role that we play in engaging youth and steering them towards pathways of critical and creative thinking. We’re getting them off social media [and] we’re engaging and stimulating the brain, mind, and the imagination.”

It’s engagement in the arts that’s reaching more than 200,000 people every year, according to Williams.

“We’re playing a small role in inspiring people to think more creatively,” Williams said.

Click here for a complete list of classes available at the Indianapolis Art Center.

INDIANAPOLIS — A deadly shooting on the near south side of Indianapolis marks a deadly milestone.

Less than halfway through the year, the city has now reached 100 total homicides.

Answering a knock at the back door of a home in the 2200 block of south Meridian around 7 o’clock Thursday morning, witnesses claim a man inside the home told someone outside to go away.

That request was quickly met with gunfire.

The shooter fled while the 30-year-old victim died on scene. That death bought the total number of homicides in 2024 in Indianapolis to 100 and counting.

“A hundred homicides is a hundred too many. Any loss of life we take seriously. That’s a hundred families that are missing loved ones and dealing with the aftermath,” said IMPD Sgt. Anthony Patterson.

While they sympathize with every victim, IMPD insists total violent crime is down by double digits compared to last year.

IMPD reports aggravated assaults are down 34 percent year to year. Robbery cases are down 19%. Criminal homicides are down 17%. Total violent crime has fallen by 28% compared to 2023.

“We have noticed a steady decrease in our numbers. Violent crimes, homicides and non-fatal shootings are all down, but there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Patterson.

The numbers show,100 homicides on this same date is lower than the last four years, although the figure is still significantly higher compared the years prior to the pandemic.

By comparison there were 113 homicides on the same date in 2023,107 in 2022, 119 in 2021,106 in 2020, 72 in 2019 and 76 in 2018.

“We’ve got to continue to do better. We have a ton of work to do across the board,” said reverend David Greene with the concerned clergy.

Greene said homicides can’t be prevented by IMPD alone because issues like poverty, housing instability and easy access to illegal firearms, which drives a lot of violence.

“We still need innovative programs we need to support and ultimately we have to address the core issues. If we don’t do that, things won’t change,” said Greene.

IMPD points out more than 20 of this year’s homicides have been deemed non-criminal. Those include officer involved shootings, cases of self-defense and other killings that can be justified under the law.

Anyone with information about the Meridian shooting should call IMPD Detective Christopher Edwards at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317.327.3475 or e-mail the detective at Christopher.Edwards@indy.gov. 

Alternatively, they can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317.262.8477 or (TIPS) to remain anonymous.