Migratory Birds Along the Lower Mississippi Great River Road

Driving the Lower Mississippi Great River Road will capture your imagination and take you back to nature with its abundant national wildlife refuges, national forests, and national parks. Passing through the Mississippi Delta lands and the Mississippi Flyway, this byway offers you the chance to see hundreds of migrating songbirds and native waterfowl.

Clarks Creek Natural Area (MS) [1]

Stop in to St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge and enjoy year-round birding activities. Don’t miss the April migration of pelicans to the refuge. In May, steer clear of alligators as you look for herons, Mississippi Kites, and Black-necked Stilts. Catch a glimpse of the refuge’s many wintering Bald Eagles as early as October, and keep a pair of binoculars handy in December for nesting Great Horned Owls.

Spend a chilly autumn day walking, boating, or driving through Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It covers 38,601 acres of rehabilitated bottomland forests, sloughs, and bayous, and it houses over 200 different species of neotropical migratory songbirds. Keep a camera ready for sightings of the Black-crowned Night Heron, American Widgeon, Great Egret, and Least Bittern.

Bridge over the Mississippi River (MS) [2]

Just east of the byway, take time to explore Delta National Forest and discover birds native to Mississippi like the Downy Woodpecker. Located on the Mississippi Flyway, this forest provides habitat for migratory neotropical songbirds, such as the Summer Tanager and Prothonotary Warblers. See for yourself the huge variety of birds protected by the natural swamps, bayous, and bottomland forests that dominate the Mississippi Delta.

Take pleasure in the year-round adventures that await you on the Lower Mississippi Great River Road Byway. With landscapes ranging from well-preserved bottomland hardwood forests to marshy bayous and birds spanning American Bald Eagles to migrating pelicans, this byway promises to fulfill your need for true nature.