About the Area
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 cut through the interior of the area, meeting up in the middle, and proceeding west to the state park. A good place to start is the trail leading west from Parking Lot B. It follows a ridgeline and enters a woodland, cuts through a small valley, and eventually leads into the state park. The birding is good year-round. In the spring and summer, look for Yellow-breasted Chat, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Least Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, and a variety of wood warblers. Tanagers, orioles, and grosbeaks are also regulars. In winter, look for Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Cooper’s Hawk. The grassy areas bring in winter sparrows like American Tree, Fox, Song, and White-throated. There are no amenities on the area, so plan ahead.
From Kirksville, take State Hwy H south. Turn right onto Rainbow Basin Trail, which ends in the parking lot for the Thousand Hills Hiking Trail.
Kirksville, home of Truman State University, is the largest town in the northeast region. Kirksville has many nice options for food and lodging, and plenty of things to do after your day of birding. Try looking through a super-sized spotting scope at the Del and Norma Robison Planetarium. History buffs in your group will enjoy visiting the Adair County Historical Society.
Adjacent to Big Creek is Thousand Hills State Park, which hosts the large Forest Lake surrounded by woodland. To the south is Sugar Creek Conservation Area, a large forested park dotted with streams, ponds, and old fields. The Chariton River access points are also decent places to look for migratory waterbirds and soaring raptors.