Spring is here and it’s the perfect time for birdwatching along the Great River Road, thanks to its location along the Mississippi Flyway, the migration route followed by 40% of North America’s waterfowl and shorebirds.
- In Louisiana, visit the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve, outside of New Orleans. Here, in the Barataria Preserve, you’ll find more than 200 species of birds, from herons, egrets and ibis to prothonotary warblers and painted buntings. The scenery is breathtaking here with canals, forests and swamps.
- Charles, Arkansas is home to the White River National Wildlife Refuge. Over 300 lakes and ponds, the Bottomland Hardwood Forest and the White River make an ideal home for migrating birds. You’ll see bald eagles, wood ducks, prothonotary warblers and many kinds of birds native to the south.
- A little farther north at the Mississippi River Visitor Center in Rock Island, Illinois, you’ll find a bald eagle hot spot. This location is best in late winter and very early spring, when the eagles gather near the open water to feed.
- At the midway point of the Wisconsin Great River Road is Onalaska, home to protected woodlands and wetlands perfect for migrating birds. Drop into the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge and look for raptors and rare birds. Or stop by the Onalaska Spillway and see the white pelicans that make their way through the area each spring. Don’t miss the two eagle nests here as well.
- At the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota you can meet real bald and golden eagles, climb in a nest or see how your strength stacks up against the national bird’s. Admission is very modest and if you plan your trip at the right time you can even take an eagle viewing field trip to see these majestic birds in the wild.
