Grab your raincoat, buy some sturdy walking shoes, pack up your car, and visit Missouri’s Little Dixie Highway of the Great River Road for some of the best birding in the country. Passing near a gigantic wildlife refuge complex and hugging the Mississippi River, you’ll see a huge range of wildlife and waterfowl on this byway.
While exploring this important birding passage, visit the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex. This important conservation area encompasses five different refuges and spans over 45,000 acres of land along the Mississippi River. Keep an eye out for American Bald Eagles because the wildlife refuge complex lands are home to one of the largest populations in the lower 48 states. Visit from October to early spring for best viewing, and don’t forget to bring along a bird watching checklist.
Stroll along the lapping waters of the Mississippi with a camera in hand, and enjoy the majesty of thousands of migrating birds in flight. Around 40 percent of North American waterfowl pass through the Mississippi River flight corridor every year. Your odds of snapping a picture of pintail, shoveler, Canadian Geese, and blue-winged teal couldn’t be better on this byway.
Be sure to stop at the Ted Shanks Conservation Area at the confluence of the Mississippi and Salt Rivers. You will see a variety of habitats, from bottomland hardwood forests to marshes and wetlands. This diverse landscape attracts rare birds like King Rails, American Bitterns, Common Moorhens, and Trumpeter Swans. While there, learn about wildlife conservation and what you can do to protect these unique species.
From rare birds and haunting marshes to bottomland forests and huge wildlife refuge complexes, the Little Dixie Highway promises a peaceful, nature-filled weekend getaway.
