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Birdwatching in Arkansas
In April 2005, federal officials announced that an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a bird then considered by many to be extinct, had been confirmed alive in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas. The news brought worldwide attention to the area where the bird had been discovered and brought many people to the state for bird watching. An on-going search is seeking to determine further the bird's status in the Big Woods.
Prior to that announcement, the sight of majestic Bald Eagles found in winter on the state's larger lakes and rivers had been Arkansas's most publicized avian attraction. Among avid birders and bird watching enthusiasts, the state had also been known as a place where the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker could be added to one's life list.
Those attractions, though, represent only a part of the year-round opportunities for watching birds in Arkansas. The list of birds observed in the state, maintained by the Arkansas Audubon Society, contains about 400 species, including rarely seen coastal, oceanic and western birds straying from their normal ranges. Notable recent records include Tufted Duck, Broad-billed Hummingbird and Scott's Oriole. Although six species that once occurred in Arkansas are now extinct or extirpated from the state, more than 310 can be observed regularly in the appropriate season.
Like the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Bachman's Sparrow are permanent residents of the open pinelands of Arkansas. Small numbers of Henslow's Sparrows may be found in prairies in the northern half of the state in summer and in the southern half in winter. Even smaller numbers of Rufous-crowned Sparrows living along south-facing bluffs of certain mountains, most notably Mount Magazine, may represent the eastern-most populations of this species in the world.
In addition to Bald Eagles, winter brings to Arkansas a variety of hawks, owls, sparrows, loons, grebes, gulls, ducks and geese. Major waterfowl concentrations occur along the Mississippi River Flyway in eastern Arkansas, including the largest concentrations of wintering mallards in the country. Short-eared Owl, Harris's Sparrow, Smith's Longspur and Rusty Blackbird are some of the sought-after species that winter in the state every year. This is why winter is a popular time for bird watching trips.
The first returning summer residents and migrants (birds passing through on their way to breeding or wintering grounds) are usually seen from early to mid-March, but the spring migration generally peaks the first week in May. This is also a perfect time for bird watching trips, when the majority of the more than 35 warblers recorded in the state are likely to be present, along with vireos, tanagers, orioles, thrushes and buntings.
Sandpipers, plovers and other shorebirds migrate north through the state in early spring and southward each fall. Requiring shallow water and mudflats for resting and refueling during their long migration, they can be seen on wetlands, fallow agricultural fields and drained fish hatchery ponds throughout the state.
Summer brings the opportunity to see the state's breeding birds, which include the colorful Painted Bunting, the elegant Mississippi Kite and the reclusive Swainson's Warbler. Several species of herons and egrets can be found nesting in colonies called "rookeries." Least Terns nest on sandbars of the Mississippi, Arkansas and Red rivers.
The southward migration in late summer and fall generally yields fewer species than the spring migration, but it is also the time of year when such post-breeding wanderers as Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks and Groove-billed Ani are most likely to stray into the southern reaches of the state.
LOCATIONS
Arkansas has available for birding enthusiasts vast amounts of public lands with generally open access. Such places include national wildlife refuges, state wildlife management areas, state parks, National Park Service lands, state fish hatcheries, state natural areas and three national forests.
Federally owned sites of interest to Arkansas birders include the Holla Bend, Big Lake, Wapanocca, Felsenthal and White River national wildlife refuges, the Buffalo National River and the Arkansas Post National Memorial. Each provides varied habitats making for good birding throughout the year. Visitors centers at those sites can generally provide a map and bird checklist. Brief site descriptions and bird lists for the refuges and the national river are available on-line.
Millwood and Lake Chicot state parks and their surrounding areas are particularly popular among Arkansas birders. The Millwood Lake area has produced sightings of more than 300 bird species, including rarities such as Parasitic Jaeger, Vermilion Flycatcher and Rock Wren. Like Lake Chicot, Millwood is a good spot for winter waterfowl and for seeking out post-breeding wanderers. Hundreds of herons and egrets are seen most years at late summer roosts on Lake Chicot.
Other state parks noteworthy for the variety of birds found on their waters and along their hiking trails include Pinnacle Mountain, DeGray Lake Resort, Village Creek and Devil's Den. Trail guides and park bird lists can be requested at the parks' visitors centers.
Various Arkansas state parks host popular eagle-watching events each winter and other events of interest to birders during the remaining seasons. Information on such events can be found on the state parks' calendar of events.
State fish hatcheries of interest to birders for waterfowl and migrating shorebirds include the C.B. "Charlie" Craig hatchery near Centerton, the Andrew H. Hulsey hatchery near Hot Springs and the Joe Hogan hatchery near Lonoke. Hatchery personnel can direct birders to drained ponds for observation of shorebirds and resident waders.
Prior to that announcement, the sight of majestic Bald Eagles found in winter on the state's larger lakes and rivers had been Arkansas's most publicized avian attraction. Among avid birders and bird watching enthusiasts, the state had also been known as a place where the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker could be added to one's life list.
Those attractions, though, represent only a part of the year-round opportunities for watching birds in Arkansas. The list of birds observed in the state, maintained by the Arkansas Audubon Society, contains about 400 species, including rarely seen coastal, oceanic and western birds straying from their normal ranges. Notable recent records include Tufted Duck, Broad-billed Hummingbird and Scott's Oriole. Although six species that once occurred in Arkansas are now extinct or extirpated from the state, more than 310 can be observed regularly in the appropriate season.
Like the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Bachman's Sparrow are permanent residents of the open pinelands of Arkansas. Small numbers of Henslow's Sparrows may be found in prairies in the northern half of the state in summer and in the southern half in winter. Even smaller numbers of Rufous-crowned Sparrows living along south-facing bluffs of certain mountains, most notably Mount Magazine, may represent the eastern-most populations of this species in the world.
In addition to Bald Eagles, winter brings to Arkansas a variety of hawks, owls, sparrows, loons, grebes, gulls, ducks and geese. Major waterfowl concentrations occur along the Mississippi River Flyway in eastern Arkansas, including the largest concentrations of wintering mallards in the country. Short-eared Owl, Harris's Sparrow, Smith's Longspur and Rusty Blackbird are some of the sought-after species that winter in the state every year. This is why winter is a popular time for bird watching trips.
The first returning summer residents and migrants (birds passing through on their way to breeding or wintering grounds) are usually seen from early to mid-March, but the spring migration generally peaks the first week in May. This is also a perfect time for bird watching trips, when the majority of the more than 35 warblers recorded in the state are likely to be present, along with vireos, tanagers, orioles, thrushes and buntings.
Sandpipers, plovers and other shorebirds migrate north through the state in early spring and southward each fall. Requiring shallow water and mudflats for resting and refueling during their long migration, they can be seen on wetlands, fallow agricultural fields and drained fish hatchery ponds throughout the state.
Summer brings the opportunity to see the state's breeding birds, which include the colorful Painted Bunting, the elegant Mississippi Kite and the reclusive Swainson's Warbler. Several species of herons and egrets can be found nesting in colonies called "rookeries." Least Terns nest on sandbars of the Mississippi, Arkansas and Red rivers.
The southward migration in late summer and fall generally yields fewer species than the spring migration, but it is also the time of year when such post-breeding wanderers as Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks and Groove-billed Ani are most likely to stray into the southern reaches of the state.
LOCATIONS
Arkansas has available for birding enthusiasts vast amounts of public lands with generally open access. Such places include national wildlife refuges, state wildlife management areas, state parks, National Park Service lands, state fish hatcheries, state natural areas and three national forests.
Federally owned sites of interest to Arkansas birders include the Holla Bend, Big Lake, Wapanocca, Felsenthal and White River national wildlife refuges, the Buffalo National River and the Arkansas Post National Memorial. Each provides varied habitats making for good birding throughout the year. Visitors centers at those sites can generally provide a map and bird checklist. Brief site descriptions and bird lists for the refuges and the national river are available on-line.
Millwood and Lake Chicot state parks and their surrounding areas are particularly popular among Arkansas birders. The Millwood Lake area has produced sightings of more than 300 bird species, including rarities such as Parasitic Jaeger, Vermilion Flycatcher and Rock Wren. Like Lake Chicot, Millwood is a good spot for winter waterfowl and for seeking out post-breeding wanderers. Hundreds of herons and egrets are seen most years at late summer roosts on Lake Chicot.
Other state parks noteworthy for the variety of birds found on their waters and along their hiking trails include Pinnacle Mountain, DeGray Lake Resort, Village Creek and Devil's Den. Trail guides and park bird lists can be requested at the parks' visitors centers.
Various Arkansas state parks host popular eagle-watching events each winter and other events of interest to birders during the remaining seasons. Information on such events can be found on the state parks' calendar of events.
State fish hatcheries of interest to birders for waterfowl and migrating shorebirds include the C.B. "Charlie" Craig hatchery near Centerton, the Andrew H. Hulsey hatchery near Hot Springs and the Joe Hogan hatchery near Lonoke. Hatchery personnel can direct birders to drained ponds for observation of shorebirds and resident waders.
