DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge

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DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is part of a network of refuges devoted to preserving and restoring increasingly scarce habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. The refuge is comprised of 8,358 acres in Iowa and Nebraska and lies in the Missouri River Valley floodplain on a former meander of the Missouri River.

Each year, especially during the fall, spectacular flights of up to 500,000 ducks and geese mark the changing seasons along this traditional waterfowl flyway.

Once an oxbow of the Missouri River, DeSoto provides a crucial resting and feeding spot for migratory waterfowl as the flee the snow covered lands of their Arctic nesting grounds.

Filming this spectacle can be hit and miss. The drive South is fueled by Winter storms that cover their feeding grounds with snow and freeze their ponds and lakes. The largest concentration usually takes place in Fall around November and December. Flocks of 20,000 or more birds can arrive in a single day. They’ll stay at DeSoto until the Winter storms push them farther South until they reach their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast.

As of this post, the flocks have yet to arrive.

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