ST. LOUIS BIRDING LOCATIONS

There are a number of reliable birding sites within 50 miles of the St. Louis City limits. Although this list is by no means complete, it contains many of the best sites in the area. These locations and many more are detailed in Birds of the St. Louis Area: Where and When to Find Them.

Baldwin Lake:

Take I-270 across the Jefferson Barracks Bridge to Illinois
Take Hwy 3 South to Redbud
Go East on Hwy 154 to Balwin, IL.
Follow signs in town to Lake Baldwin
Meet at parking area inside gate

B.K. Leach

From I-70 in Stl Charles County, MO, take Hwy 79 north through Winfield and into Foley. About 4.5 to 5 miles north of Foley, turn right on County Road M with a sign to B.K. Leach on Hwy 79. Follow M until you see a sign for B.K. Leach and a road turning right. Wait for the group at this intersection on the road to Leach.


Busch Conservation Area:

Busch C.A. is a 6987 acre site in St. Charles County managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. This area is good for birding all year long, containing a variety of habitats offering good locations for Waterfowl, Shorebirds, Raptors, Sparrows, Warblers, and other migrating Passerines. Maps of the site are available just inside the gate. Best birding locations include the Fallen Oak trail feeders, the Archery range trail to Dardeene Creek, The Busch Hiking Trail, Lake 33, Shorebird area, Lake 34, and Lake 35.

Take Highway 94 South from US 40
Go 1 mile to Hwy D, turn right
Go about 1.5 miles to the Busch entrance on the right
Pass through the gate
Turn left at the "T" to Hampton Lake
Turn right into parking lot
Meet in the parking lot

Carlyle Lake:

Take I-64 East across the Poplar STret Bridge
Exit I-64 at Hwy 50 East (toward Carlyle)
Follow 50 to Hwy 127, and turn left at the junction
Turn right into McDonalds - meet in the parking lot

Castlewood State Park:

Castlewood state park is comprised of 1778 acres along both sides of the Meramec River. The park includes floodplain, upland woods, river bluffs, gravel bars, and the river itself. Enough woodland habitat variety exists that this park is a wonderful location for migrating and nesting warblers and other passerines, riverside specialties, and a very interesting blend of raptor species. The best areas in this park are the River trail and the Grotpeter trail. This area is best in spring and summer.

Take Big Bend road West from I-270 for about 6 miles
Turn left on Ries Road
Follow Ries Road to it's termination
Turn left into the Park
Park in the lot on the right side of the road, just before the stream

Clarence Cannon NWR:

Take Highway 79 North from I-70 to Annada, MO
Turn at the sign on the South side of Annada
Follow the signs to the headquarters

Columbia Bottoms:

Take Riverview Blvd North from I-270
2.8 miles to Columbia Bottoms
Go 1.7 miles and meet at the River Access parking lot

Forest Park/Kennedy Forest:

Forest Park covers nearly 1300 acres of downtown St. Louis. Fifty acres of woods at the southwest corner of Forest park is known as Kennedy Forest. This area serves as an effective migrant trap in the spring. The woods and trails along Valley and Government drives can yield excellent varieties of warblers and passerines during early May.

Heading west on I-64 (Hwy 40) in St. Louis City, exit at Clayton Road.
At the light, turn right onto Skinker Blvd
and then right again within 100 yards onto Wells Drive.
Follow Wells around to the right and the MO Dept. of Conservation Kennedy Forest Trailhead Sign will be on left in about ½ mile. Park at the Trailhead Parking Area.

Forest 44/Tyson Research Ctr:

Take I-44 West from I-270, 3.5 miles to Hwy 141
Travel south on 141 to Meramec Station Road (first stoplight)
Turn right and follow Meramec Station Road west to Hillsboro Road
Turn left on Hillsboro for .4 mile to the parking area on the right.

Horseshoe Lake:

Horseshoe Lake is an Oxbow Lake in Southern Illinois formed from a stranded bend of the Mississippi River. Both sides of Horseshoe Lake offer good birding in season. The side of the lake bordered by Route 111 contains Horseshoe Lake State Park. Each year in July or August, the South end of Horseshoe Lake is drained to allow grasses to grow in time for Fall Waterfowl migration. This makes for some of the best shorebird viewing (from a paved causeway crossing the lake) in the St. Louis area until the grass gets too high. The State Park is also one of the best locations for Grebes, and other less common waterfowl. The other side of the lake is a good location for wintering waterfowl, gulls, and a good assortment of sparrows. Just west of route 203 where Bend Road goes east, is Eagle Park Lake. This is another good location for waterfowl, and a good breeding location for some of the less common waterfowl species like Common Moorhens.

Take I-70 East across the Poplar Street Bridge
Exit at Hwy 111 (exit 6) and turn left
Go about 2 miles to the State Park entrance (on the left)
Meet at first parking lot on right

To reach the other side of Horseshoe Lake
Take the route 203 exit from I-70
go left two stoplights to Bend Road
Turn Right on Bend road, and travel along the side of the lake to the end of the road.

Little Creve Coeur Lake (LCCL):

From the intersection of I-270 and Olive, take Olive west for 2.0 miles
to the intersection of Olive and Creve Coeur Mill Rd (white Royal Bank
Building on corner).   Take a right on Creve Coeur Mill Rd and go exactly
1.3 miles to the road over the railroad tracks leading to Seeger Golf Driving Range.
Turn left and go in here all the way to the red barns in the back.   Park in
front of either one just so you do not block any doors.  The marsh/lake of
LCCL or LCCM is just over the ridge behind the barns.

 

Powder Valley Nature Center:

The nature center at Powder valley offers a number of interesting and informative displays, and great views of a nice range of feeders. The 120-acre site contains three trails offering good views of upland forest habitat.

Take I-44 East from I-270
Go 1/2 mile and take Watson road exit
Turn left at first traffic light onto Geyer Rd
Go 1/4 mile then turn left on Craigwold Rd
Follow Craigwold for about 1.5 miles to the Powder Valley entrance on the right.

Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area:

The best location for viewing seasonal waterfowl, gulls, terns and shorebirds in the St. Louis has to be the Riverlands Environmental Demonstration area near West Alton Missouri. The Mississippi River pools, prairie, and wetlands near the Melvin Price Dam are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. During the coldest part of winter when the river freezes over, Bald Eagles line the banks just below the dam taking advantage of the open water and upwelling currents here at lock and dam # 26R.

Take Hwy 367 North from I-270 across the Missouri River
Turn right on the last road before the Mississippi River (at a Fisca gas station)
Go east past the gas station, and turn right on the gravel road to the Teal Pond parking lot.

Shaw Nature Reserve:

Shaw Arboretum is 2400-acres of oak-hickory forests, fields, prairie, wetlands, glades, and riparian areas managed by the Missouri Botanical Society. The variety of habitats makes it one of the best St. Louis locations for birding year around. The $3 access fee is always money well spent! Check in at the visitor's center just inside the gate to see where the best birds are being seen. The Arboretum has been a good location for Henslow's sparrows, sedge wrens, Crossbills, Red-shouldered hawk, Blue Grosbeak, Prairie Warbler, and Lark Sparrow.

Take I-44 west from I-270 to Gray Summit (Hwy 100)
Cross over I-44 on 100.
Follow 100 one block to entrance ($3/per person fee)

Tower Grove Park:

One of the best migrant traps in St. Louis is Tower Grove Park. During migration, this location will give you about all of the warblers, thrushes, and other passerines you will be able to find anywhere in the area. The best areas in the park are from the Northwest end (The Gaddy Bird Garden) east to the Horse stables, and near the Cypress circle at the East end of the park.

I-44 or I-64 to South Kingshighway
Left on Magnolia, then turn East
Park on the road and walk to the brushy area (Gaddy Bird Garden) at the Northwest corner of the park

Two-Rivers NWR:

Take Route 100 North from Alton, IL
Go through Grafton, IL
Meet in the Gilbert Lake parking lot just north of the Bussels Ferry