American White Pelican and Sandhill are present for much of the year.

Nesting here are Northern Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Pied-billed Grebe, Least Bittern, Common Gallinule, Bell’s Vireo, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Prothonotary Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow, Dickcissel, Bobolink, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Squaw Creek isn’t only a winter destination, by any means. Several viewing platforms have been erected at good observation points. Take the 12.5-mile auto tour route to see waterfowl, wading birds, and eagles. Joseph and just minutes west of Interstate 29. In winter, too, birders may find Golden Eagle (rare but somewhat regular), Northern Harrier, Rough-legged Hawk, Short-eared Owl, Lapland Longspur, and many species of sparrow including Harris’s.Įasily accessed, Squaw Creek sits 30 miles northwest of St. Many other species of waterfowl winter at the refuge, including Greater White-fronted Goose, Ross’s Goose, Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, and more than 15 species of dabbling and diving ducks. The refuge is also known for its winter congregation of Bald Eagles, once logging a record 476 individuals. Hundreds of thousands of snow geese settle on the water in fall and early spring. Squaw Creek describes its main wetland as “a sea of white” during peak waterfowl migration. Louis trail, which leads to many, if not all, of the state’s 412 bird species-with more to come. Two of its six legs have been completed-including the St. The Great Missouri Birding Trail will eventually act as a guide to sites throughout the state. The rich woods of the Ozark Plateau, crisscrossed by lovely hiking trails and canoe streams, harbor forest species such as the Broad-winged Hawk, Chuck-will’s-widow, Acadian Flycatcher, and Worm-eating Warbler. In the winter, birders head for spots along the Mississippi River to watch for rare gulls, and to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge to observe thousands of migrant Snow Geese and hundreds of Bald Eagles. Protected areas include vast tracts of diverse habitat: bald-cypress bottomland swamp in the southeast, high-quality tallgrass prairie in the west, pine-oak-hickory forests on the Ozark Plateau, and waterfowl-rich wetlands throughout the state. Swainson’s Hawk, Greater Roadrunner, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and Painted Bunting nest here, as do Northern Harrier, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Bobolink. It transitions from southern and eastern environments to those of the Midwest, with a corresponding range of breeding birds.

Missouri represents an ornithological crossroads.

Mingo national wildlife refuge