OK, Miller Esker isn’t Mt. Everest. Still, it’s a short yet potentially taxing climb along an often-slick grassy trail. If you feel up to it, know that you’re about to surmount an esker – an ice age sand dune that comprises many of the ridges around Slippery Rock. Climb the esker then walk west along its spine. On clear, sunny days scan the mid-morning skies for bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, broad-winged hawks, red-shouldered hawks and turkey vultures ascending on rising thermals. Please note, many times these birds are in the distance, so it helps to know your raptor silhouettes before you go. No raptors in the air? Then use your binoculars to scan the large swap behind the esker’s western edge for woodpeckers, including northern flickers. Or check the nearby undergrowth for eastern peewees, house wrens, gray catbirds, brown thrashers and more.