With the variety of bird activity underway amidst the Missouri River valley, it seemed appropriate as the Great Backyard Bird Count was underway, to consider again what species occur at different places.
Associated with this interest, an inquiry was submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, asking if the agency had any information on bird occurrence at mitigation sites.
The agency has no information, nor do their partners in land management, which would be the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
According to an ACE representative:
"After visiting with United States Army Corps of Engineers, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission and Iowa Department of Natural Resources biologists I have gathered the following information on your request for bird information on Missouri River Recovery Program sites: ... There were no known recently conducted bird surveys that anyone could provide me."
The Corps of Engineers has bought many thousands of acres, spent millions of dollars of public funds, and yet, they know nothing about the birds present on that property! Nor how their habitat management efforts have been beneficial to the local avifauna.
Obviously there is a myriad of information available, if the agency decided to give some attention to bird occurrence. They have spent tens of millions of dollars, but as for determining one aspect of their responsibility to mitigate impacts on fish and wildlife, documentation of birds has been completely ignored between Ponca State Park and southward to the southeast corner of Nebraska.
The following list indicates bird details associated with this particular extent of the Missouri River. The summary includes only those details since the latter 1880s, with an even more interesting set of facts available for prior decades, especially during early explorations.
The majority of sites given in the following list are public property, and thus readily accessible to bird watching outings. Details on bird occurrence have primarily been derived from a personal database, with other facts from online resources.
This is a personal perspective on status, and subject to change as additional records become available from places where birds surveys continue to occur. Examples of these sorts of sites include Desoto NWR with its seasonal surveys, Carter Lake with the many sightings associated with this birding hotspot, and Squaw Creek NWR, which also conducts regular surveys of waterfowl and seasonal shorebirds.
The following listing starts at Ponca State Park, and extends southward to the Squaw Creek vicinity.
| Site Name | Bird Information | River Mile | Acreage | Site Details |
| Ponca State Park | 151 species, with records dating to 1938 | 753 | 2400 | Dixon County; Nebraska Game and Parks Commission; recognized as an Important Birding Area |
| Upper Dakota Bend | no bird records available | 725 | 21.49 | river mile 724-726; Woodbury County, IA; Iowa Department of Natural Resources |
| Mile Long Island WMA | no bird records available | 234 | Woodbury County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
| Tannery Lake | 19 species | 0 | Woodbury County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
| New Lakes | no bird records available | 0 | Woodbury County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Glovers Point Bend | no bird records available | 1859 | Monona/Woodbury County, IA; ACE | |
Browns Lake SWA / Bigelow County Park | 41 species dating to 1917 | 1158 | Woodbury County, IA; Iowa DNR; Bigelow State Park, with 36 acres, managed by Woodbury County Conservation Board | |
IPS Property SWA | no bird records available | 168 | Woodbury County, IA; Iowa DNR; west of Browns Lake tract | |
Owego Wetlands | no bird records available | 1311 | near Owego on the river floodplain; Woodbury County Conservation Board | |
Snyder-Winnebago Bend | 22 species dating to 1837 | 711 | 3144.57 | Monona/Woodbury counties, IA and Dakota/Thurston counties, NE; ACE |
Ivy Island SWA | no bird records available | 313 | Monona County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Omaha Mission Bend WA | no bird records available | 138 | Monona County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Blackbird/Tieville-Upper and Middle Decatur Bend | 50 species dating to 1919 | 693 | 3861 | r.m. 693.8-697; Thurston and Burt counties, NE and Monona County, IA; ACE and Iowa DNR |
Blencoe Bend SWA | no bird records available | 664 | 0 | r.m. 664; Monona County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Onawa Materials Yards WA | no bird records available | 0 | Monona County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Blue Lake and Lewis and Clark State Park | 44 species dating back to 1921 | 865 | Monona County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Badger Lake SWA | no bird records available | 1109 | Monona County, IA; Iowa DNR; a designated Important Birding Area | |
Louisville Bend and Oxbow/Louisville Bend SWA | 2 species from 1936 and 2006 | 1086 | Monona County, IA; ACE and Iowa DNR | |
Soldier Bend | no bird records available | 660 | 248 | r.m. 660-664; Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Middle Little Sioux/ Fawn Island | no bird records available | 669 | 16.68 | Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Deer Island WA | no bird records available | 285 | Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Little Sioux Bend [Three Rivers] | no bird records available | 669 | 0 | r.m. 669-670; Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Little Sioux Bend | no bird records available | 666 | 190.61 | r.m. 666.8-668.5; Harrison County, IA; ACE |
Bullard Bend | five species noted during 2009 | 663 | 25 | r.m. 663-664; Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Soldier Bend WA | one record from 1931 | 660 | 248 | r.m. 660-664; Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Sandy Point Bend | no bird records available | 656 | 251.6 | r.m. 656-657.5; Harrison County, IA; ACE |
Tyson Bend | three species | 654 | 697.86 | r.m. 654-657; Harrison County, IA; Iowa DNR |
California Bend | three species | 649 | 420 | r.m. 649-5-650.6, Harrison County, IA - IA DNR |
Desoto NWR | 238 species represented from both sides of the river | 642 | 8362 | Washington County, NE and Pottawattamie County, IA; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Wilson Island State Park | 40 species, starting in 1980 | 641 | 544 | Pottawattamie County, IA; Iowa DNR |
Nobles Lake SWA | 31 species, starting in 1979 | 236 | east of De Soto NWR in Pottawattamie County, IA; Iowa DNR | |
Hitchcock Nature Center | at least 126 species , many from hawk watch effort, and raptor banding | 1248 | Pottawattamie County Conservation Board | |
Boyer Chute NWR, including Horseshoe Lake Flats | 180 species at a minimum | 634 | 3350 | Washington County, NE; FWS; an Important Birding Area |
Neale Woods, including Krimlofski Tract | minimum of 198 species | 631 | 600 | Fontenelle Nature Association; an Important Birding Area |
N.P. Dodge Park | 133 species, dating back to 1983 | 628 | 445 | Douglas, NE; Omaha Parks Recreation and Public Property |
Pigeon Creek SWA | 17 species | 627 | Iowa DNR | |
Big Lake Park | 42 species | 620 | 163 | Pottawattamie, IA; Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation |
Blackbird Marsh | 32 species | 620 | 14 | Pottawattamie County Conservation Board |
Narrows River Park | seven species | 619 | 36 | Pottawattamie County Conservation Board |
Riverside Park | no bird records available | 619 | 95 | Pottawattamie, IA; Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation |
Carter Lake / Levi Carter Park | 207 species, dating back to 1886 | 618 | 519.5 | lake 320 ac., park 519.5 acres; Douglas, NE; OPRPP |
Council Bend | three species | 615 | 89 | r.m. 617-618, Pottawattamie, IA; Iowa DNR |
Gibson Bend SWA | 18 species | 612 | Iowa DNR | |
Mandan Park | 65 species | 611 | 71 | Douglas County; City of Omaha park; the flats along the river, designated as Mandan Flats, are also City of Omaha property |
Lake Manawa/Lake Manawa State Park | 239 species, dating back to 1898 | 607 | 1529 | lake 772 ac., park 1529; Iowa DNR |
Fontenelle Forest | 254 species, dating back to 1891 | 603 | 1400 | approx 2000 at both Fontenelle Nature Association tracts |
Gifford Point WMA | 124 species, dating back to 1919 | 604 | 1300 | including Gifford Farm; NGPC, with agland leased |
Heroes Park | no information available | 603 | 30 | Sarpy County; city of Bellevue |
Haworth Park | 112 species | 602 | 153 | Sarpy County; city of Bellevue |
Offutt Base Lake | 144 species | 599 | 113 | Sarpy County; United States Air Force |
Saint Marys Bend/St. Marys Island CA | 109 species | 596 | 2419 | Mills County, IA; ACE |
La Platte Bottoms | 146 species | 595 | 600 | Sarpy, NE; Metropolitan Utilities District; PCS |
Schilling WMA | 218 species | 593 | 1500 | Cass, NE; NGPC |
Gilmore WMA/Tobacco Island | 52 species | 588 | 1609 | Cass County, NE; ACE; managed by NGPC |
Nottleman Island | no bird records available | 583 | 1232 | Mills County, IA; ACE and DNR |
Auldon Bar | six species | 578 | 1329 | Fremont County, IA; ACE |
Van Horn Bend | no bird records available | 576 | 534 | Cass County, NE; ACE |
Copeland Bend [WMA] | no bird records available | 566 | 2788 | Fremont County, IA; ACE and DNR |
Upper / Lower Hamburg Bend | 86 species | 593 | 1896.64 | Atchison County, MO; ACE |
Kansas Bend | ten species | 543 | 1056 | Nemaha/Otoe County, NE; ACE |
Nishnabotna River Mouth [Nishnabotna Conservation Area] | four species | 540 | 2434 | in two tracts; Atchison County, MO; ACE |
Brownville Bend | no bird records available | 533 | 89.96 | Nemaha County, NE; ACE |
Langdon Bend WMA | nine species | 530 | 1667.96 | 1283 or 1308 ac.; Nemaha County, NE; ACE |
Aspinwall Bend | no bird records available | 528 | 309 | Atchison County, NE; ACE |
Deroin Bend CA | no bird records available | 518 | 1082 | Atchison/Holt County, MO; Missouri DNR |
Indian Cave State Park | 157 species | 517 | 3399 | Richardson County, NE; NGPC |
Hemmies Bend / Corning Site | no bird records available | 514 | 2003 | Atchison/Holt County, MO; Missouri DNR |
Thurnau Addition | no bird records available | 510 | 1372 | Holt County, MO; ACE and Missouri DNR |
| H.F. Thurnau Conservation Area | 74 species | 510 | 366 | Holt County, MO; Missouri DNR |
| Rush Bottom Bend Conservation Area | 72 species | 500 | 811.2 | Holt County, MO; Missouri DNR |
Rush Bottom Bend | no bird records available | 500 | 1197 | Holt County, MO; ACE |
Rulo Bluffs | no bird records available; though TNC has kept some records | 495 | 450 | ca. 450 acres; Richardson County, NE; The Nature Conservancy |
Squaw Creek NWR | 249 species | 490 | 7350 | Holt County, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; an Important Birding Area |
| Bean Lake SWA | 24 species | 488 | 416 | Platte County, MO |
| Overall, at least 42,019.76 acres |
Overall, at least 392 species have been seen at places along this portion of the Missouri River floodplain, dating back to 1887 as derived from more than 63,000 individual records.
It is obvious that the Corps of Engineers should give birds some attention along this portion of the Missouri River. It would be appropriate for them to initiate an active effort to promote bird surveys on mitigation properties. They should also be attentive to getting the records included within an online repository of avian information, such as ebirds, so results, both past and present, would be publicly available through online access.
It is a mistake for the agency to continue to ignore bird occurrence at mitigation places.