On an overcast morning last month, with the temperature hovering around 25 degrees, I stopped at the information booth in the Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, paid the $4 vehicle entrance fee and began my drive along the refuge’s 8-mile-long auto-tour route. I had gone only half a mile when I spotted a pair of bald eagles — a mottled juvenile and a white-headed adult — perched atop a snag on the bank of the Arkansas River. So close were they that, looking from my truck window with binoculars, I could see in detail their feathers, hooked beaks and sharp talons. It was an unforgettable sight.
A bit farther down the road, I stopped at an information kiosk and watched a flock of white pelicans floating in the river’s current as they hunted fish for their morning meal. Another eagle passed overhead as I gazed through my spotting scope, and a flock of snow geese soared past and landed in a nearby field.
As I continued my drive through the refuge, I was treated to other memorable sights as well. A herd of deer leaped across the road in front of me, a majestic buck bringing up the rear. A red-tailed hawk soaring overhead suddenly folded its wings and plummeted to the ground to capture a mouse. In a field, I saw a striped skunk rooting in the dirt for bugs and mice, and from an overlook above the old river channel, I used the spotting scope to see up-close the glistening jewel-like colors of mallards and other ducks. For someone like me who enjoys watching wildlife, it was a morning to remember.
If you’re itching for some outdoor adventure this season but don’t want to venture out in the cold, perhaps you, too, would enjoy a drive along one of Arkansas’ national wildlife refuge auto-tour routes. Holla Bend has one of the most popular wildlife drives, but visitors to Big Lake and Wapanocca national wildlife refuges also can view deer, ducks, geese, eagles, songbirds and an astounding variety of other wildlife without leaving the warm security of their vehicles. A drive through one of these refuges is one of the best of all ways to spend a winter day watching and photographing wildlife with family and friends.
Holla Bend
Holla Bend NWR, a 7,057-acre refuge on the Arkansas River south of Russellville, is well-known as one of The Natural State’s best winter birding destinations. Driving through the fields and woodlands
skirting the refuge’s 8-mile auto-tour route, visitors are almost always treated to sights of huge winter goose flocks (Canada, snow, white-fronted and Ross’s), ducks by the thousands (up to 14 species) and views of majestic bald eagles in the trees and in the skies. Other birds often seen or heard include many species of owls and hawks, fish crows, roadrunners (yes, here in Arkansas!), a variety winter sparrows, blackbirds and songbirds, and occasional flocks of wild turkeys. The refuge is a kind of ecological crossroads where both Eastern and Western bird species can be found. For example, along with the more typical Arkansas raptors, Western species such as Swainson’s hawks, golden eagles and prairie falcons have been seen. Among the rarities recorded here are tundra swans, yellow-headed blackbirds and sandhill cranes.
A variety of mammals also live in Holla Bend. White-tailed deer, armadillos and fox squirrels are plentiful and often seen. Also watch for bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, minks and beavers.
Drive slowly, look carefully, and bring your camera, video camera, binoculars and spotting scope.
To reach Holla Bend, from Interstate 40 at Russellville, take exit 81 and drive south on Arkansas 7 for 10 miles to Arkansas 155. Turn left, and drive 4.2 miles to the refuge entrance. The refuge is open year-round from daylight until dark. Stop by the refuge office or entrance information booth to pick up the self-guiding leaflet interpreting selected stops along the route. Checklists of refuge birds and mammals are also available.
A refuge bird list and map are available by visitingwww.fws.gov/hollabend.
Big Lake
Created in 1915, Big Lake is Arkansas’ oldest national wildlife refuge and one of the oldest inland refuges in the nation. Located near Manila just below Missouri’s Bootheel, this 11,038-acre area encompasses a variety of habitats, including wooded swamps, towering stands of virgin cypress trees and the 6,500-acre Big Lake itself.
Driving the refuge’s 10.5-mile auto-tour route is an ideal way to see and photograph the area’s game and nongame wildlife. Big Lake attracts thousands of waterfowl annually, including mallards, gadwalls, teal, canvasbacks, ruddy ducks and Canada geese. Bald eagles and ospreys nest here and are a fairly common sight in winter. Visitors may also see otters, beavers, muskrats, raccoons, deer, owls, hawks and rabbits. The best time to observe wildlife is early morning or at dusk, and the best season for many species is November through March.
Big Lake’s wildlife drive is open year-round (weather and road conditions permitting). To get there from Blytheville, travel west on Arkansas 18 for approximately 15 miles. From Jonesboro, travel east on Arkansas 18 for approximately 35 miles. The headquarters is on the north side of the highway, with directional signs along the route. Go towww.fws.gov/biglake for more information.
Wapanocca
Wapanocca NWR, 4 miles west of the Mississippi River in Crittenden County, is another superb area for viewing winter wildlife. This 5,484-acre refuge encompasses an even mix of freshwater impoundments, bottomland hardwoods and agricultural lands where an enormous menagerie of wildlife makes its home. During winter, watch swamps on both sides of the road for hooded mergansers, mallards, wood ducks, great blue herons and other water birds. Beavers, muskrats, raccoons and otters are common sights as well.
Croplands along the auto tour harbor flocks of geese and horned larks this season, along with several members of the blackbird family (redwings, meadowlarks, grackles and cowbirds). Bobwhites, mourning doves and large flocks of wild turkeys frequently appear. Other animals you might encounter include coyotes, bobcats, mink, opossums, foxes and many songbirds.
The tour includes a stop at an observation platform on the east side of 600-acre Wapanocca Lake for wildlife observation and photography. This is a great place to see eagles and ducks. For more adventurous visitors, there’s also a canoe trail leading through the refuge’s picturesque swamps.
To reach Wapanocca from West Memphis, take Interstate 55 north for about 15 miles to the Turrell/Arkansas 42 exit. The refuge office is 2 miles east on 42, just past the railroad underpass. A refuge bird list and other information are available at www.fws.gov/refuge/wapanocca.