Celebrating the fall migration
Mid-October through mid-November is an amazing time to see water birds on the Upper Mississippi River! As staff and volunteers share estimates of bird counts on the river, we'll update this page to share the news.
When do the birds arrive?
Dabbling ducks and American white pelicans arrive first in late summer and early fall. Diving ducks usually start getting here in mid-to-late October. Tundra swans typically show up in late October or early November. The weather greatly influences when the birds arrive, how long they will stay, and how concentrated they are on the river. Cold temperatures north of the refuge push birds to move south and arrive here on the river. If it's a warm fall, we'll likely see a slower migration. Many birds will stay until it gets cold enough for the Mississippi River to freeze over. When the Mississippi River freezes quickly, we see birds more concentrated in areas where there is still open water. When it freezes more slowly, we still see large numbers of birds, but they may be more spread out over open water. The peak of the tundra swan migration is typically the second or third week of November.
Why do they come here?
The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge lies within the Mississippi Flyway, which is like a superhighway in the sky for birds! As one of the largest bodies of water in the Midwest, the Mississippi River takes longer to freeze than smaller rivers or ponds. It is also easy for birds to see from high above! The refuge offers high quality food sources for wildlife and shelter from the elements.
Recent bird sightings
There are many excellent places to see birds along the river! The following locations are some of the most popular walk-in or drive-in locations where refuge staff and volunteers are regularly able to visit to estimate bird numbers. Things are starting to freeze over but there are still a few places you can see birds. These sites are visible on the refuge Pool Maps. NOTE: These sites are not all updated on the same dates so some are more current then others.
Waterfowl are starting to arrive in numbers! Please feel free to share your sightings with us as well. You can email your sightings to us at uppermississippiriver@fws.gov.
Pool 5 - Weaver Bottoms
The best place to see swans in the Weaver Bottoms area is from 116th Avenue/service road adjacent to MN Highway 61 near St. Mary's Cemetery. This location is about 17 miles north of Winona, MN.
Updated 11/20/2024
200 Swans
600 duck close in. Lots of Ringed-neck duck, Mallard and Northern Pintail. Also saw American Widgeon, Gadwall, and Northern Shoveler.
25 Canada Geese
6 Bald Eagles all hanging out on the same beaver lodge
2000 diving ducks farther out
Lake Onalaska Overlook
The Lake Onalaska Overlook is located at W7687 County Road ZB, Onalaska, WI, 54650. There's a small parking lot across the street from the overlook, or it's about a half mile walk from the La Crosse District Visitor Center. The Visitor Center has a large parking lot suitable for bus parking.
Updated 11/9/24
Puddle ducks: ~1,000: some gadwall, American wigeon, northern pintail and mallards
Divers: 10,000+ Mostly canvasback and ring-necked ducks, some buffleheads
Pelicans could be seen across the river on the other side
Unfortunately the ducks were all further out on the river and can best be seen with a spotting scope.
There were some cool songbirds still enjoying the overlook! American tree sparrows, American goldfinches, cedar waxwings, mourning doves, house finches and black-capped chickadees.
Pool 8 - various locations on Lower Pool 8
There are several safe places to pull off of Hwy 35 in WI to see the vast number of divers that use Lower Pool 8, with several of them spaced periodically on the west (southbound) side of the highway. On the east side of the highway, Bergen Bluffs scenic overlook provides a somewhat elevated view of the lower pool while Old Settler's Overlook provides a view from the top of the bluff. Sometimes the birds are close to the shore but oftentimes binoculars or a spotting scope are needed to view them when they're not close to the shore, especially when viewing from Old Settlers Overlook.
Update: 11/20/24 Swans are building on the River! There are about 4,000 swans on Lower Pool 8, however, they've been less predictable this year as far as where they're spending time. We do still expect more swans will be coming but are unable to accurately predict when that will be. The Prairie Pothole Region will have below freezing temperatures mid-week this week, perhaps that will bring more birds to the River.
Pool 8 - Brownsville Overlook
The Brownsville Overlook is located about three miles south of Brownsville, MN off of MN Hwy 26. There are two spotting scopes available at this overlook. Binoculars are helpful, but birds can usually be viewed from the overlook deck even if you don't have a pair.
11/20/24
Dabblers: About 350-400 mallards, northern pintails, gadwall, and American wigeon with a few wood ducks and green-winged teal
Divers: 10-20 diving ducks, a mix of hooded mergansers and ring-necked ducks
Tundra Swans: 40 in front of overlook and around 150 north of overlook (there are a lot of swans in the area but are spread in different locations, they have been closer to the Hwy 26 Overlook lately)
Pelicans: 80-100 north of overlook
5-10 American coot
4 bald eagles
Pool 8 - Hwy 26 Overlook
The Hwy 26 Overlook is located about 3.5 miles south of Brownsville, MN off of MN Hwy 26. Binoculars are helpful but birds can often be seen from the deck without them.
Updated 11/18/2024
Dabblers: 2,000-4,000 gadwall, northern pintail, American wigeon, mallard, green-winged teal, northern shoveler, wood duck
Divers: 2,000-4,000 ring-necked duck, bufflehead, lesser scaup, hooded merganser
Canada geese: 2000-4000
Swans: 1,500-2,500
Pool 8 - Shady Maple Overlook
Update11/20/24
The Shady Maple Overlook is located a few miles south of La Crosse on Hwy 35, just south of Goose Island Park.
Puddle ducks - ~8,000 gadwall, northern pintail, American wigeon, mallard, wood duck, green-winged teal, northern shovelers, American black ducks
American white pelicans - 300
Swans: 300 tundra swans
Great Blue Heron - 1
Pool 8 - Reno Bottoms Canoe Access
The Reno Bottoms Canoe Access is located off HWY 26, just east of Reno, Minnesota. This canoe access is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and has a small gravel parking lot. Please be cautious crossing the railroad tracks. Visitors can walk out on a narrow dike/spillway that stretches several miles across the river. Please note that in high water conditions, water flows over the spillway and it's not safe to cross. We count birds close to first hundred yards of the spillway that visitors will be able to see with binoculars, but huge rafts of diving ducks are visible if you take a walk further down the spillway.
Updated 11/9/24
Dabblers - 2,000-4,000 gadwall, American wigeon, mallard, northern shoveler
Divers - 1,000-2,000 ring-necked duck, bufflehead, canvasbacks, lesser scaup, hooded merganser, ruddy duck. On November 9th there was a little bit of water running over the spillway but I crossed it with waterproof boots. Going beyond the spillway to the first corner of the dam, I was able to see 40,000-60,000 divers out in the open impounded part of Pool 8.
Canada geese - 100-200
American pelican - 20-40
Pied-billed grebe - 5-10
Bald eagle - 15-20
Lower Pool 9 - Various Locations
There are several safe viewing locations where Hwy 35 runs along the Wisconsin side of Lower Pool 9. One is called the Leitner Creek Overlook on Google Maps and it is directly across from Leitner Hollow Road, a little less than ½ mile north of the entrance road to the lock and dam. Another location, a little more than ½ mile upstream from the Leitner Creek Overlook, is a highway wayside area with a historical marker about log and lumber rafting on the Mississippi River during the 1800s and early 1900s. Finally, Depot Road is a short, elevated road above the Lynxville boat launch. It has ample pull-off space and is mostly travelled by vehicles pulling boat trailers and sometimes railroad crews. All of these areas provide opportunities to safely park and get out of your vehicle to view the massive flocks of diving ducks using Lower Pool 9 during migration. Sometimes binoculars are sufficient to scan the tens of thousands of ducks in the open impounded area of the pool, other times a spotting scope is the best equipment to use.
Pool 9 - Red Oak Road
Birds can be seen from Red Oak Road, approximately 2.5 miles north of Harpers Ferry, Iowa in Allamakee County. To get there, follow X-52/Great River Road north from Harpers Ferry. Turn right, as X-52 curves left, onto Red Oak Road. Follow the narrow Red Oak Road upriver about 1.5 miles, and look for a cove where the swans gather.
Updated 11/18/2024
Dabblers: 1,500-2,000 mallards, gadwall, northern pintail, green-winged teal, northern shoveler, American wigeon.
Divers: 1,000-1,5000 ring-necked duck, canvasback, lesser scaup, bufflehead, hooded merganser
Canada geese: 50-100
White-fronted geese: One flock of 18 circled the area a couple of different times, and another flock of about 25 circled the area once. They may have landed out of view farther upstream in the Harpers Slough Closed Area.
Swans: 80-100
Lower Pool 11 -Grant River Recreation Area
The Grant River Recreation Area is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site located southeast of Potosi, Wisconsin (https://maps.app.goo.gl/x6TnVkhdrk87t7gGA). The site offers camping, picnicking, a boat launch, and restrooms, but in the fall there's not much use of it compared to the summer. It overlooks the refuge's Lower Pool 11 No Open Water Hunting Zone which tends to hold lots of diving ducks in the fall, sometimes in the tens of thousands. Because there's not much going on at the recreation area in the fall, the waterfowl can sometimes be found relatively close to the shore and viewing them is fairly easy from the mowed shorelines.
Updated 11/18/2024
20,000-30,000 ducks were using the Lower Pool 11 No Open Water Hunting Zone, most of them being diving ducks and most of them easily viewed from the shore with binoculars. Some were close enough you didn't even need binoculars. Canvasbacks were the most abundant duck by far, but there were also lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, and bufflehead. Some puddle ducks were also paddling around with the divers - gadwalls, American wigeon, and mallards.
Pool 13 - Spring Lake public use site
This public use site can be accessed by starting at the intersection of Hwy 52 and Hwy 84 in Savanna, IL, then travelling south on Hwy 84 for about 3 miles. Note that this site is about 1 mile south of the Frog Pond public use site. Both the Spring Lake site and Frog Pond site are on the west side of Hwy 84. If travelling north on Hwy 84, it is about 5 miles north of Thomson, IL, and about 1 mile north of Airport Road.
Right at the Spring Lake parking lot there is a set of permanently mounted spotting scopes looking over Lower Spring Lake, as well as a dike separating Lower Spring Lake to the south and Upper Spring Lake to the North. Both areas have a lot of emergent aquatic vegetation that obscures the views of a lot of waterbirds that are using these areas. In spite of that, a lot of waterbirds are visible in areas of open water. Also, there is an elevated wildlife observation deck located a little less than ½ mile north of the Spring Lake parking lot. It can be accessed by walking north on the public use trail located on top of a dike serving as the eastern boundary of Upper Spring Lake.
Updated 11/15/24
- Dabblers, divers, and American coots: 10,000-20,000 ring-necked duck, gadwall, northern pintail, bufflehead, American wigeon, mallard, wood duck, green-winged teal
- Canada geese: 300-500
- Swans: 50-100
- Pied billed grebe
- Great blue heron
Pool 13 - Ingersoll Wetlands Learning Center wildlife observation site
This site is right across the road from the refuge's Savanna District office, which also house the refuge's Ingersoll Wetlands Learning Center at 6870 Riverview Rd, Thomson, IL 61285.
Updated 11.15.24
- Dabblers: 75-200 mallards, gadwall
- Canada geese: 75-200
Lower Pool 13 - Potters Marsh
Potters Marsh and Lower Pool 13 are good viewing sites accessed by driving south on Hwy 84 from Thomsen, IL, then turning right (west) on Lock Road. Lock Road runs along the south side of Potters Marsh and terminates at a boat landing and elevated parking lot overlooking lower Pool 13.
Updated 11.15.24
Most of the birds were outside of Potters Marsh proper and in the open impounded area of Lower Pool 13, but there were plenty within the marsh that can be easily seen from the road. Another good location to see the thousands of birds is the parking lot at the lock and then walk out along the dike away from the lock to get closer to the birds.
Dabblers, divers, and American coots; 15,000-25,000 gadwall, canvasback, ring-necked ducks, lesser scaup, northern pintail, bufflehead, mallards, wood ducks, American wigeon.
Voluntary Waterfowl Avoidance Areas
There are few places quite like the refuge to experience the fall migration! Boaters enjoying the river can help keep this a great place for people and wildlife by watching out for special Voluntary Waterfowl Avoidance Areas during the peak of the migration. From October 15 through mid-November, all boaters are asked to avoid these "refuges within the refuge" to give waterfowl a place to rest without being startled off the water. Voluntary Waterfowl Avoidance Areas are marked with either orange-and-white buoys on the water or orange-and-blue Special Regulation Signs posted along area boundaries. These locations are also shown on the refuge Pool Maps. Making this change for about a month of our lives can make a big difference for theirs! Thanks for being part of our conservation community and for playing a role in their survival!
