Birding Trail

Missouri River Country’s Birding Trail

Come encounter the diverse song, color and bird species of Montana’s Missouri River Country. From the expansive prairie, to the marshes and reservoirs, to the hills of the badlands, to the woodlands of the river breaks, a rewarding experience awaits you. Western meadowlarks with their golden-colored throats serenade travelers along roadways, and the shy and endangered piping plovers hide in the pothole regions of Missouri River Country’s northeast corner.

American white pelicans, taking off from some of the world’s largest breeding colonies, soar in military fashion over rivers and lakes. Curlews and great blue herons hunt the shorelines, hawks and grouse make their living amid the sagebrush and grass-covered prairie. While owls patrol the night sky, eagles command the day.

You can listen to the soulful call of a loon or the tap of a woodpecker, catch the brilliant flash of a lazuli bunting or, if you are very lucky, spot a rare hummingbird appearance.

There is much to delight and captivate both the amateur and the veteran birder; so grab your binoculars and get ready to discover the myriad of winged-folk who inhabit the amazing landscape along the Birding Trail of Missouri River Country.

Information on each featured stop can be found at:

www.missouririvermt.com/birdwatching

Nelson’s Sharp-Tailed Sparrow | Rick Bohn, USF&WS Yellowheaded Blackbird at Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge | Rick and Susie Graetz