Birding Trail Lookup

The 3M Flat Branch-Hinkson Creek Wetlands was a massive collaboration among many conservation organizations aimed at creating an urban wildlife area and transforming a former wastewater treatment facility into a functional wetland. Wetland plants immediately began to colonize the area following the

This 78-acre area lies along Cedar Creek northeast of Columbia. The site originally consisted entirely of coal strip mines but was reclaimed during the 1990s by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Areas were regraded, limed, fertilized, and seeded with native grasses and trees. Columbia

Bear Creek Trail can be accessed from several locations throughout Columbia, providing visitors with opportunities to explore a variety of habitats along the Bear Creek corridor. In addition to the trailhead at Cosmo Park, other access points include trailheads at Creasy Springs Road, Garth Nature

Alley Spring is the seventh-largest spring in Missouri, in terms of discharge volume. The spring conduit extends 3,000 feet underground, reaching 155 feet below the surface. The cool waters of the spring branch leading to the Jack’s Fork River are home to a great diversity of Ozark fishes. Visitors

Atlanta Conservation Area is a mosaic of gently rolling oak-hickory forest, woodland edge, and grassland. The area also contains three ephemeral marshes, several natural oxbow lakes, and a few dozen small ponds. The East Fork of the Little Chariton River runs through the northwest portion of the

The Audubon Center at Riverlands is located in the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, a 3,700-acre refuge of floodplain habitat on the Mississippi River just 4.2 miles north of its confluence with the Missouri River. The sanctuary is designated as an “Important Bird Area” and recognized as a top

This 70-acre sanctuary is nestled in a habitat-rich valley within the city limits of Rolla. The property was purchased in 2001, and within its boundary you will find a remnant prairie with Indian grass that grows over seven feet high. There is also a small dolomite glade, a savanna, five acres of

There are few places on the St. Louis Birding Trail that offer the habitat diversity of the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. The area is nearly 7,000 acres and has more than 30 lakes of varying sizes that attract all species of waterfowl, wading birds, rails, bittern, terns, and

The various trailheads offer different birding opportunities, so be sure to try them all. The Cosmo Park trail section is a graveled trail that runs for 1.5 miles through the woodlands in the north section of Como Park until it reaches the N Creasy Spring Rd trailhead. Just before the trail enters

Bee Hollow is a small 271-acre area of wooded hillside, wetland, and old field. The wooded hillsides are actually spoil ridges left behind by past coal mining. Look for a whole host of woodpeckers, including red-headed, pileated, and hairy. Also keep an eye out for vireos in the woodlands and their

Bennett Springs is a beautiful area with many activities and habitats to explore. The Nature Center offers a variety of nature programs and features exhibits exploring Missouri’s Springs and the surrounding habitats at Bennett. Bennett Spring feeds into the Niangua River, which flows through the

Big Buffalo Creek is dominated by forest, with patches of grassland, old fields, wetlands, and ponds. Currently, the area is managed for the long-term health and sustainability of the diverse forest resources. As you hike through these rugged hills, you will see various forest management activities

Next door to Thousand Hills State Park, Big Creek Conservation Area is a beautiful area of forest and woodland interspersed with savanna openings. Management practices, including cropping, timber management, and prescribed burning are used to improve wildlife habitat — and it shows. Two long trails

Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge is a series of 14 refuges protecting sections of habitat along the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis. The Refuge gets its name from the nickname of the Missouri River, based on murky sedimentation constantly being moved because of the fast flow of

Big Oak Tree State Park offers a glimpse of what southeast Missouri would have looked like to the first explorers. You will notice first that the canopy above your head is much higher than what you’re used to seeing. The oak and hickory trees form a canopy that averages more than 120 feet in height

Big Spring discharges the greatest volume of water of any spring in Missouri and is among the largest springs in the U.S.! It supports an impressive diversity of native fishes, and the surrounding woodland offers excellent birding. The Nature Conservancy considers Big Spring, and in connection to

Big Sugar Creek State Park offers a glimpse into the natural landscape of southwest Missouri that early settlers would have encountered. Between forested ridges and hills are oak-savanna habitats, and the Big Sugar Creek runs along the southern portion of the park. The ruins of a single-room school

Binder Community Lake provides the birders of Jefferson City with excellent waterfowl and shorebird viewing opportunities. Binder Park Road, which follows the western shoreline, has multiple parking lots for ease of access to the water. A small marsh is located on the northern tip of the lake

Blind Pony Lake Conservation Area is a 2200-acre expanse of prairie and forest in Saline County. There are no designated trails on the property, but visitors can walk along the firebreaks separating the fields and forests. Blind Pony Lake can be viewed from a gravel road that leads to the boat ramp

Bluffwoods Conservation Area is located just nine miles south of St. Joseph in the Missouri River loess hills in southwestern Buchanan County. Bluffwoods was acquired in the mid-1970s for the purpose of providing a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities and to maintain a portion of the

Bois D’Arc (pronounced “bo-dark”) is a large area of varied habitats, including cropland, old field, woodland, wetland, non-prairie grassland, and many scattered glades. Bois D’Arc translates to “arc of wood” and was named as such because Native Americans used the area’s trees for the wood for

The once-existing 160 acres of cropland has been converted to native prairie plantings and most of the timber has been removed. The current management efforts are to provide both nesting and brood-rearing cover for prairie chickens and bobwhite quail. High-quality grasslands are important habitat

The Burr Oak Woods Nature Center offers hands-on displays and exhibits of the forest and aquatic habitats found at the conservation area, including a 3000 gallon aquarium filled with native fish species. Visitors can participate in interpretive and environmental education programs led by the center

The library is a warm-up stop for birders on winter outings around Blue Springs Lake and Lake Jacomo. The feeders consistently bring in yellow-bellied sapsucker, purple finch, and Harris’s sparrow, as well as the occasional fox and white-crowned sparrow. The library has a restroom and two viewing

The main feature of Bushwhacker is the 157-acre Bushwhacker Lake. Many shorebirds, ducks, geese, pelicans, and swans like to stop by this small lake during migration. An unusual diversity of herons have also been spotted here, including American bittern, little blue heron, white ibis, and cattle