About the Area
Long Branch is popular with local birders, and for good reason. With over 200 species observed at the park, it’s no wonder it’s visited so often. Birders don’t have all the fun, as the park also offers camping, hiking, fishing, boating, and swimming. Long Branch is a mosaic of forest, woodland, savanna, prairie, and native grassland. The park offers a 160-acre remnant prairie with a trail leading through its interior. Long Branch Lake brings in dabbling ducks, diving ducks, geese, and swans. American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, and a variety of gulls and terns can also be seen. Common Loon and a few different species of grebe join them. Set up a spotting scope to view Sanderling, Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Osprey and Bald Eagles are common as well. Snowy Owl and Short-eared Owl have been spotted in the winter on occasion. Hiking through the woods, you might find Pileated, Hairy, and Red-headed Woodpecker. Kentucky Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, and many more warblers show up in the summer, joined by a variety of thrushes, flycatchers, and vireos. The prairie and grassland areas attract Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, Dickcissel, and Blue Grosbeak. One of the better birding trails is the Bee Trace Trail, which leads through forest, woodland, prairie, and the Chariton River Hills Natural Area. The Little Chariton Prairie Trail leads through restored native grassland, while the Lakeview Trail provides the best birding along the shore of the lake.
A few miles west of Macon. Take US-36 W and take the Long Branch Lake Rd exit. Take an immediate left onto Visitor Center Rd, and follow it to the marina parking lot.
For dining and lodging, look to Macon, between Moberly and Kirksville along US-63.
The area is also not without other prime birding locations. Check out Bee Hollow Conservation Area a few miles east of the reservoir. Bee Hollow is filled with sloughs and oxbow lakes, so you will be more likely to see herons, egrets, rails, and bitterns on this area. Thomas Hill Reservoir is just south of US-36, only a short distance from Long Branch State Park. The reservoir is a great place to pick up any shorebirds or waterfowl you don’t encounter at Long Branch Lake, but save time to explore the woodland and restored native grassland areas surrounding the reservoir.