Wildlife Viewing

Reelfoot Lake also attracts hundreds of thousands of wintering ducks and geese of the Mississippi Flyway, including mallards, gadwall, American pigeons, and pintails. Shorebird species to watch for include the semipalmated plover, marbled godwit, and pectoral sandpiper--scan the mudflats in spring and early fall. Breeding colonies of great blue herons and great egrets become active in spring.

Reputed "Turtle Capital of the World," Reelfoot Lake also features thousands of sliders, stinkpots, and mud and map turtles.

 

Eagle viewing is best from December through February. Eagle tours are offered daily at Reelfoot State Park from December through February. Pontoon boat tours are offered spring through fall--check with visitor center for details.

White-tailed deer and wild turkeys may be seen year-round; shorebirds spring and fall; graceful Mississippi kites soar May through August. Birding is excellent year-round. Migratory blackburnian warblers appear in May; watch for dickcissels in fields, Swainson's and cerulean warblers in forest in summer. Breeding moorhens and rarely-seen purple gallinules inhabit marshes in summer. Winter waterfowl are best observed with a spotting scope.