Building Better Birders: Sunrise Guided Birding Hike

Join us at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, October 30th at 7:00 a.m. for Building Better Birders: Sunrise Guided Birding Hike and explore this temporary home for migratory waterbirds and shorebirds. Building Better Birders is a programming series designed to improve the bird identification skills of local citizens & promote a greater interest in citizen science programming. 

Just join us for the hike, or register for a workshop too. You can even spend the entire day learning about shore birds, waterfowl and upland game birds of Iowa!

This is a free program (with paid park admission) that will be conducted by Kelly McKay with the BioEco Research and Monitoring Center, with assistance from Mark Roberts from Clinton County Conservation and Brian Ritter with Nahant Marsh Education Center. This program is open to all ages but is geared toward participants age 12 & over.

Pre-registration is required as space is limited. For questions not answered online please call 712-545-3283. Funding for this workshop was provided by the Resource Enhancement and Protection – Conservation Education Program (REAP – CEP).

This is the first of five Building Better Birders workshops scheduled for Saturday, October 30th at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Attendees may register for all programs or may select the ones that most interest them:

7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. - Sunrise Guided Birding Hike
9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. - Introduction to the Waterfowl & Upland Gamebirds of Iowa
11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. - Mid-Day Guided Observation from the Visitor Center
1:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. - Introduction to the Waterbirds of Iowa
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Afternoon Guided Observation from the Visitor Center

Directions: DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is located at 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa, 51555. From Interstate 29 take Exit 75 for Missouri Valley, Iowa/Blair, Nebraska & turn west & travel approximately 8 miles out of town. The refuge is located on the south side of Highway 30. Follow signs to the Visitor Center.

Please meet at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

Face masks are currently required inside the Visitor Center.

*In the event of cancellation due to inclement weather participants will be notified via the email address provided during registration.

This event is not pet friendly, service animals are always welcome.