Stretching along the Mississippi River, in southeast Iowa, the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge protects a swath of swamp forest and floodplain wetlands, vital habitats that have long been threatened by logging, river containment and agriculture. Home to a wide variety of aquatic plants and animals, the refuge is also an important staging area for migrant waterfowl, including ducks, geese, American white pelicans, cormorants and shorebirds.
Anyone who has visited riparian wildlife preserves during early-mid spring knows that flooding may restrict access; such was the case this week, when large areas of the 6600 acre refuge were underwater. Nevertheless, my limited tours of the Big Woods and Louisa tracts turned up and excellent variety of wildlife; highlights at the swamp forest were red-headed and pileated woodpeckers, chorus frogs, double-crested cormorants and a huge number of aquatic turtles, basking in the warm, April sun. At the Louisa tract, a pair of adult bald eagles sat side by side on a not-so-stout tree branch, as love-struck as a couple of mourning doves. Yellow-rumped warblers and warbling vireos foraged near the headquarters building, where an overlook provides a broad view of the braided wetlands; a large flock of white pelicans had gathered in one arm of these shallows while pairs of Canada geese claimed nest sites along the edge of the marsh.
The access road to the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge (marked by a sign) cuts east from Highway 61, about 2 miles north of Wapello (about a mile north of the Iowa River bridge); visitors may explore the preserve from dawn to dusk.
