The most beautiful place in minnesota is agassiz wildlife. Pools, marshes, grasslands and woodlands provide a home for sandhill cranes, nelsons sharptailed and le contes sparrows. Canada border and 50 miles east of the mnnd border. An excellent visitors center provides a great overview. Wrap up your birding excursion nearly fully circling the valley with a stop at the monte vista national wildlife refuge. Established in 1937 in marshall county, this 61,500acre refuge is a great place to find shorebirds during migration, especially when the pools are in drawdown low water levels. With an outstanding selection, easytouse search tools and descriptive hotel profiles, youll find agassiz national wildlife refuge hotel deals in a wink. Agassiz national wildlife refuge iba audubon important. Agassiz national wildlife refuge, a minnesota national. Anna lived at agassiz national wildlife refuge during the field season. Arctic national wildlife refuge archives wilderness. Construction of a geographic information system for. Agassiz national wildlife refuge chris and ed travel.
It is the only tower in minnesota with the flying blue goose displayed on the cab. Birding friends of kootenai national wildlife refuge. This is a national wildlife refuge nwr which has been bought and paid for with money from the sales of federal duck stamps. Ask scheefer about agassiz national wildlife refuge. Birding at bitter lake national wildlife refuge, new mexico. We enjoyed great weather, fun rafting, great birding, and fine camaraderie.
How to purchase great texas wildlife trail maps are available by mailin order form. Kootenai national wildlife refuge knwr is a wonderful spot for birding, especially during the spring and fall waterfowl migration seasons. Birding along alviso slough trail at don edwards national. To reach the refuge from us1 in titusville, go east on sr406 across the indian river lagoon. She knew of several visitors to the refuge looking for yellow rails. Niagara springs wildlife management area idaho birding trail. Merritt island national wildlife refuge is a mecca for birding during the winter. Birding in state parks and recreation areas calendar of events. Bear island wildlife along with donnelley wma, is part of the ace basin ashepoo, combahee and edisto three rivers which form the basin in st. The refuge was renamed agassiz national wildlife refuge in 1961, but its fundamental purpose remained unchanged.
This refuge is wonderful for birders of all levels, since this birding hotspot includes a 4mile long wildlife drive where dozens of. A list of national wildlife refuges i have visited over the years, some before i began birding. It was established as a breeding grounds for migratory birds. The shiawassee national wildlife refuge is a 9,870. The agassiz national wildlife refuge occupies 61,449 acres in eastern marshall county in the northwest corner of minnesota. Black phoebe at yolo wildlife area photos by larry jordan after visiting my favorite burrowing owl colony i told you about last week, i headed just a few miles east on i80 to the vic fazio yolo wildlife area. Idaho birding trail exploring idahos avians skip to the main content area of this page. From russell lakes state wildlife area, travel highway 285 south for approximately 30 miles through the town of monte vista to the refuge. The name comes from the swissamerican naturalist for whom glacial lake agassiz was named. And winter is the time to go to avoid the mosquitoes. We left thief river falls and headed out to agassiz national wildlife refuge, our third wildlife refuge in three days. The pecos river flows through all three tracts of the refuge with an additional 750 acres of artificial impoundment and associated wetlands, bitter lake playa and numerous sinkholes.
Ive always enjoyed meredosia national wildlife refuge in central illinois it doesnt deserve a spot on this list because at most 10 people bird there a month, but it was the nearest one to me and one of my favorite places to bird. My recent hike along the alviso slough trail at the don edwards national wildlife refuge included many bird sightings. Ankeny nwr marion county, oregon located near the confluence of the willamette and santiam rivers, ankeny national wildlife refuge was established in 1965 as part of the willamette valley national wildlife refuge complex. Agassiz is 60,000 acres of wetland, shrubland, forests and grasslands. The refuge lies within lower pecos valley subsection of the great plains physiographic province. How to purchase great texas wildlife trails wildlife. The refuge offers a changing but always spectacular wildlife scene for visitors, who make the trip to this 61,500acre sanctuary not. Many of agassizs pools are either dense monotypic stands. The refuge is situated within the prairie, aspen parkland and northern forest ecotone, an area of interspersed habitat types that attract. Parks directory of the united states national wildlife refuges address. The space coasts best known great florida birding trail. Aware is a group of volunteers that care for orphaned, injured and distressed wildlife and. Where wildlife reigns supreme enjoy the natural splendor of montana s 21 national wildlife refuges. This 16,000 acre wildlife area has undergone 3,700.
Situated in the basin of ancient lake agassiz, a glacial lake 700 miles long and 200 miles wide that was created when the ice cap melted 10,000 years ago, agassiz nwr is now part of the wetlands that remained after the lake gradually drained into the great lakes. Agassiz national wildlife refuge is located in northwest minnesota. Fish and wildlife service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve americas fish, wildlife, and plants. Merritt island national wildlife refuge compiled by. The refuge, originally named mud lake migratory waterfowl refuge, was established in 1937 primarily for waterfowl production and maintenance. Get a birds eye view of agassiz national wildlife refuge from the headquarters lookout tower. The national wildlife refuge system protects wildlife and wildlife habitat on more than 150 million acres of land and water from the caribbean to the. Commonly observed long legged waders include great blue heron, tricolored herons, greenbacked herons, wood storks, roseate spoonbills, great egrets, and snowy egrets. Bird checklists for state parks and recreation areas.
The paper presents gis data for the agassiz national wildlife refuge. Ottawa national wildlife refuge the refuge includes over 9,000 acres, not all of which is open to the public. Packs of wolves, moose, waterfowl, and 294 species of birds make this refuge a wildlife wonderland. Aspen parkland in northwestern minnesota located approximately 70 miles south of the u. Highlights of the tour will include agassiz national wildlife refuge considered, by some, to be minnesotas finest refuge, where during this time of year it is possible to see 5 species of grebes 6 if the occasional clarks grebe is present. After leaving the big bog, i headed west towards agassiz national wildlife refugebut first i had to get around upper and lower red lakethe largest inland lake in minnesota. Stay upwind, be prepared, be quiet and patient, and photograph in the golden light of dawn and twilight. This nwr that is located in nw corner of minnesota near middle river, mn. The space coasts best known birding and wildlife sites.
I was anticipating this, and planned to take my time completing the 9mile loop trail so that i could enjoy the bird life as well as the walk. Cattail management is one of the primary challenges in managing wildlife impoundments. Watch for northern parula, prothonotary warbler, prairie warbler, yellowthroated warbler, kentucky warbler, indigo bunting, scarlet tanager, summer tanager, wood duck, wood storks, and the northern bobwhite. See the latest activities, events, and conservation work at agassiz national wildlife refuge. The national wildlife refuge system is one of shining stars of united states conservation history, and the refuges in this system offer some worldclass nature experiences. Bitter lake national wildlife refuge audubon important. Top 25 national wildlife refuges for birding 10,000 birds. One of the places where we often went for family activities and school functions was bitter lake national wildlife refuge, located along the pecos river just outside of roswell. Here are ten places for the traveling naturalist to explore this summer. Located in the heart of the refuge it provides a panoramic view of the marshes and woodlands which offer some of the best wildlife viewing in the state. Aware association for wild animal rehabilitation and. Scan the duck flocks carefully in the river along the causeway. Agassiz national wildlife refuge article about agassiz. These wetlands and tamarack bogs have recorded 280 species.
Funding information research supported by cooperative agreement usdi1434hq97ru01566 wo 49 between the university of minnesota and the u. Aware association for wild animal rehabilitation and education inc. Desert wildlife area, also known as the south columbia basin wildlife area desert unit, is a series of wetlands and riparian habitats interspersed with developed agricultural fields, sand dunes, and shrubsteppe. This story is featured in montana outdoors marchapril 2011 issue. Top 25 national wildlife refuges for birding january 30, 2018 by jason crotty 6 comments there are more than 550 national wildlife refuges in the united states, with at least one in every state and one within an hour drive of almost every major american city. It was a clear and cold march morning when i stood in the lee metcalf national wildlife refuge nwr parking lot shivering beside the other students in my university of montana ornithology class. Birding the pee dee national wildlife refuge in spring and summer can be extremely rewarding. Orbitz makes it easy to find the best agassiz national wildlife refuge hotel deals for your trip. Ottawa national wildlife refuge ohio department of. Sanibel is a haven for beachlovers, but its also home to one of the best national wildlife refuges for birding, the j. Find out information about agassiz national wildlife refuge.
Agassiz is a huge refuge61,000 acres, half of which is wetlands. Packs of wolves, moose, waterfowl, and 294 species of birds make this refuge a wildlife wonderland the refuge, originally named mud lake migratory waterfowl refuge, was established in 1937 primarily. Lessons in how not to scare the animals away are taught at an early age. The agassiz national wildlife refuge is 61,500 acres of pure paradise in northwestern minnesota. Agassiz national wildlife refugewater quality overview1948.
Packs of wolves, moose, waterfowl, and 280 species of birds make this refuge a wildlife wonderland. Refuge staff continue to focus habitat management efforts on waterfowl ducks and geese and other migratory birds, as well as resident wildlife e. Marc epstein, and gary popotnik, refuge biologists us fish and wildlife service merritt island national wildlife refuge updated october 23, 2002. Facebookagassiz national wildlife refuge originally named mud lake migratory waterfowl refuge, the area is known for the waterfowl you can spot and that are bred there. It is located in the central portion of the lower peninsula of the u. Weve just returned from the arctic national wildlife refuge on our annual search for grayheaded chickadees, north americas most elusive songbird. Like so many great conservation ideas, the national wildlife refuge began under president theodore roosevelt. Knwrs permanent and seasonal wetlands are an important stopover for tundra swans and other migrating waterfowl. Agassiz national wildlife refuge middle river 2020 all. If youd like to see wildlife au natural, here are some suggestions where to find them. Agassiz national wildlife refuge bird watchers digest. They were daytime visitors, however, so most likely.
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