You can learn about birds and then hike in wetlands searching for them when you spend a day at the Audubon Center at the Riverlands.
Visiting the Audubon Center
In the center, you can learn about what birds eat such as from a forest, prairie, or the nearby Mississippi and Missouri rivers and wetlands.
Exhibits are on different varieties of birds and what they eat, the Mississippi flyway, other wildlife, and river ecology.
An area in the center by large windows is for kids with books, kid-sized chairs, and an orange bean bag.
Outside the Center
A mile of short looped paved trails is outside the center along Ellis Bay on the Mississippi River. Signs along the trails help you learn about birds.
Along the route, I saw a constructed eagle’s nest. An average eagle nest is 4-5 feet in diameter and 2-4 feet deep.
You can follow trail signs on the path to read a new nature-based picture book each month.
Purple Martin gourd nests have been built. These attract Purple Martins because they like to nest in groups.
Also, here I came across mulberry trees with berries ripening which birds eat.
I came to a trail that crossed Riverlands Way road, which connects to Two Pecan Pond Trail.
TWO PECAN POND TRAIL
I crossed the road and headed into a wide mowed path through tall grass.
A field of daises was to my right.
Birds were up high in shrubs tweeting to each other.
The trail joins a narrow gravel road passing by more fields and I made a left onto it.
It crosses back over Riverlands Way. Once over the road, the trail goes to the right to the main parking area for the Two Pecan Pond Trail. I went to the left since I connected to the trail from the visitor’s center.
Final Thoughts
This is an easy level 1.1-mile loop trail that I combined with the short walk I did around the center. This is a better trail to do in the spring or fall when it is not as hot. In the summer the walk around fields is fully exposed to the heat of the sun.
HERON POND TRAIL
The full name is the Paul E. Bauer Memorial Trail at Heron Pond. The parking lot is on the left side of the road up from the Two Pecan Trail parking lot. The trail starts on the right.
Starting the Trail
It is a mowed field 1.7-mile loop trail.
Along the trail, I saw thistles and daisies and many other flowers blooming in the prairie fields.
Next, I came closer to the Heron Pond.
In the distance, I saw white egrets in the pond. I must have startled them because they headed up into the shrubs away from me.
Back of the Trail
Looking out over the pond and swamp made this a scenic walk. The trail turns and the back and goes by a second parking lot. I heard roosters crowing. A farm nearby seemed to have a lot of chickens.
A paved walkway leads to a sculpted Heron Pond Avian Observatory.
My son would like it with its trapezoid seating and windows. A large tree was nearby.
The walk now went along the levee in gravel. Looking out over a section of the pond I saw a grove of trees in the distance.
Going to the Left
After crossing a wide waterway, the trail went to the west.
Lastly, you go through a grass field without much to see except the parking lot in the distance.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed the walk along the pond and checking out the observatory the most. If I had my kid with me I might walk out to the observatory and back instead of doing the full loop.
OTHER TRAILS
Teal Pond
A .5-mile trail one way from a parking area on Wise Road before reaching the Audubon Center.
DETAILS
Drive: From Clayton take I-170 N to I-270 E. From I-270 E, Exit MO-367 N toward Alton, IL. MO-367 N becomes US-67 N. Before the Clark bridge and Mississippi River, you will see signs for Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
Turn right at the Sanctuary sign and proceed .8 miles to the Audubon Center with the large glass bay windows on the left. Parking for Heron Pond is at the first parking lot on the left and Heron Pond Trail sign is by the trailhead.
Hours: Audubon Center Hours 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Tuesday- Saturday, Closed Sunday and Monday. Trails are Sunrise to Sunset (Can be closed if flooded or for bird migration).
Admission: Free
Address: Audubon Center — 301 Riverlands Way, West Alton, MO 63386
An Audubon Center trail can also be found on Ellis Island. I talk about this experience in a previous blog.
RIVERLANDS MIGRATORY BIRD SANCTUARY AT AUDUBON CENTER
See a wide variety of birds as you walk along trails in the Mississippi River bottomland at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
NEARBY HIKES
Fort Belle Fontaine
The grounds of a former 19th-century U.S. Military installation and ruins of a popular summer retreat in the 1930s can be explored at Fort Belle Fontaine County Park in North St. Louis County.
Horseshoe Lake State Park
Walking among the green stalks of a cornfield and admiring the lakeside flowers were part of our adventure on Walker’s Island at Horseshoe Lake State Park.
