Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge

Posted on 28 Jan 2010

I spent some time with the Exploring Arkansas production crew the other day as they went on a shoot at Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge.  The refuge is about 8 miles south of Dardanelle, Arkansas right on the Arkansas River Valley.  Beautiful area.

When we were visiting the refuge it was a bit windy, so we had some trouble spotting birds.  Apparently, birds aren’t fond of windy weather.  Our initial interest was the Eagle nests the refuge holds.  The refuge actually has both Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles in its sanctuary. It also has two Eagle nests. We spotted both while we were there, but we weren’t able to see any Eagles around them.  However, we did find some young ones later on in the day at a different location.  One thing I found interesting is that Eagles don’t gain their white upper-half until they fully mature.

The refuge also has a viewing tower in the middle of the sanctuary that gives visitors a great 360 view.  You can see open fields where they grow crops to feed the visiting birds.  You can see water areas where ducks and geese tend to visit.  It’s a really lovely addition to the refuge.  You can view some behind the scenes photos on our Flickr account.

You visit the refuge for yourself.  It’s open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m..

Also, be sure to check out Exploring Arkansas in April when the segment will be airing.