Office Area: At the refuge office you will find informative leaflets and maps. There are also several bird mounts and other natural curiosities.

From the office door, walk 300 feet due west to the Woods Aisle Nature Trail Kiosk. From there, proceed on the marked trail, following the direction arrows. This area is a regenerating forest with many large hardwoods and pines. By footbridge cross Cool Branch. Be sure to look for Wood ducks, Great Blue Herons and other water birds in the stream. If you are visiting in the late spring and early summer, this is a good area for Summer Tanagers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos and a variety of warblers such as the Myrtle and Yellow. As you approach the grassy field scan for Wild Turkeys and Northern Bobwhites. You can cross the field and follow a fire lane that passes an old cemetery on the left. Within 150 yards you will be on H.W. 165 next to the refuge entrance. However, if you do not care for diversions, continue along the trail. There are an abundance of Carolina Wrens, Carolina Chickadees, Brown Creepers and other woodland species. In March the wild plums are blooming and in April the-wild azaleas give the area a burst of color.

Returning to the headquarters parking lot be sure to glass the hay field in front of the office for Eastern Meadowlarks, Cattle Egrets, Wild Turkeys and white-tailed deer. Check the agricultural fields to the south for more Wild Turkeys, Field, Song and Chipping Sparrows.

Returning to your car, follow the dirt road in front of the Refuge office north, passing the maintenance shop. In the shop area there are many Blue Birds using nest boxes, fence lines, trees and equipment for perch points. Between March and June the Purple Martins are actively using the gourd nests. The butcherbird, or Loggerhead Shrike can be seen in this area and at times there are insects irnpal6d on the fence or shrubs.

GATES: In the Houston, Kennedy and Upland Units the roads are closed to vehicle traffic from October 31 until March 1 in order to prevent disturbance of waterfowl by vehicles.

Uplands And Goose Pen Area (65 acres): In your car, follow the tour route for 0.5 miles to the second left turn. This area will be marked Summer Tour Route. Drive the 1.5 miles by the impoundments that are planted in wildlife foods, such as corn, millet and Egyptian Wheat. During the winter the area is flooded. This attracts thousands of Mallards, American Black Ducks, American Wigeons, Buffleheads, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintails.

As you go south on the tour route, be sure to notice bird activity in and around the cultivated and old fields. American Kestrels, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, and Broad-winged Hawks use the areas during the fall and winter. During the winter, birds actively feed in the fallow peanut, corn and sorghum fields Mourning Doves, Common Ground-doves Chipping, Song and White-crowned Sparrows forage along the road edges. Especially after the peanut harvest, Canada Geese (both the resident flock and migratory birds), Snow Geese, Mallards, Wood Ducks, Ring-billed Gulls and occasionally Northern Pintails will feed here along with a few Sandhill Cranes. In January Water Pipits and Homed Larks may be seen. After the ground is wet with small puddles, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gulls, Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets forage here.
Note: The Julian Dusi Observation Platform has been constructed in this area. Look for the sign.

Observation Tower: Continue south 0.2 miles and turn left at the observation tower sign and go east 0.5 miles toward the observation tower. (The Winter Tour Route continues to the right, before the Houston Unit gate.) Turn left at the direction sign and go 0. I miles to the observation area parking lot. This platform overlooks an impoundment of the Houston Unit. In the background you can see the river and the hills of Georgia. In the foreground, look for Wood Ducks, American Coots, Purple Gallinules, Common Moorhens, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Louisiana herons, Little Blue Herons, Northern Green Herons, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Eastern Kingbirds and others. During the spring and early summer, scan for Wood Ducks, Common Mergansers, Great Crested Flycatchers, Carolina Wrens and occasionally Eastern Screech Owls using the Wood Duck boxes.

Houston Unit (200 acres): From the observation tower entrance, turn left and go east down into the Houston Unit. Follow the main road around the unit for 0.2 miles until you reach the inlet pumping facility. From this point look toward the river and shoreline. When the lake level is low you will be able to see waterfowl, Double-crested Cormorants and shorebirds. Occasionally White Pelicans can be seen here. Continue along the main levee for 1.5 miles to the outlet pump station. Look south. Again, if the lake levels are low, there will be an abundance of exposed mudflats, sandbars and islands. Commons Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, American Coots, Pied-billed Grebes and waterfowl can be seen here as can Bonaparte's Gull and Forster's Tem. Osprey nest in the platforms about 300 yards southeast of the pump facility. Looking north into the impoundment scan for Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeons, Mallards, and other waterfowl feeding or loafing. In the willows along the far shoreline, look for Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Wood Storks.

Continue for .5 miles to the south gate and out of the unit. Stay on the main roads, bearing to the left as you return, and travel the 2.4 miles through the uplands to the refuge office. Notice American Bobwhite, Eastern Meadowlarks, American Wild Turkeys, Song, Chipping, Field and White-throated Sparrows and Bobolink feeding in the agricultural fields. Of special interest are the Ring-billed Gulls, Canada Geese, Snow Geese and Mallards and Sandhill Cranes that use the harvested-peanut fields.

Leaving the Refuge entrance turn left on old Ala. 165 (First Avenue) and travel west 1.0 miles to the Lake Point State Park sewage lagoon on the left.

Sewage Ponds (5 acres): During the winter, waterfowl that use this area include Wood Ducks, Buffleheads, Northern Shovelers and Mallards. Sometimes Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup and Hooded Mergansers may be seen here. Springtime attracts Spotted Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Barn Swallows. Hundreds of Wood Ducks are banded here in the summer.

As you leave the sewage ponds continue east 0.4 miles and turn left on the dirt road to the Davis-Clark Unit. Be cautious here because there is no entrance sign.

About 0. 3 miles east from the parking area on the left side of the road, and about I 00 yards on a path going into the woods, is a state champion sugarberry tree. The tree is not marked, but its' size makes it obvious.

Lake Point Marina and Lake:

Leaving the Davis-Clark Unit turn left on Fifth Street and enter the Lake Point State Park complex. Around the marina are Canada Geese, Double- Crested Cormorants, Ring-billed Gulls and wading birds. Sometimes a Short-eared Owl may be seen in the fields close to the marina and parking area. The best time to see this species is at dawn.

If you care to go directly to the Kennedy Unit, turn right on Fifth Street and then a quick left on First Avenue (old Ala. 165) and drive east about 0.6 miles to the intersection of U.S. 43 1. Turn left over the Cowikee Creek Causeway and travel south 1.4 miles to the Kennedy Unit sign and turn left.

Kennedy Unit (450 acres): The total distance is 2 miles to the end of the levee, and you must return the same way. Briskly walking it will take you from 2 to 4 hours. If you are able to drive into the unit there is a small turnaround about 1.8 miles from the gate. This unit consists of a mixture of hardwood and pine riparian habitats for the first mile of the levee and then leads into marsh vegetation along the second mile. Bird activity is high along the levees and canals and within the plume and wool grass stands of the unit. King and Sora Rails are routinely observed here from December until February, as are Mallards, American Black Ducks, Northern Pintails, Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeons and others. The Sedge Wren is common as are Least and American Bitterns in summer. Be sure to bird the lakeside of the levees, especially if the water level is low and sandbars and islands are exposed. During the winter, American Wigeons, Gadwalls, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks, along with Northern Pintails and Northern Shovelers raft up along exposed areas. On the sandbars D@ Lesser Yellowlegs and Killdeer can be seen feeding or sunning. Occasionally, White Pelicans may be observed. Bald Eagles have been recorded nesting in Georgia east of the unit.

The levee ends at a fence separating the refuge property from private land. Do not cross the fence without permission from the landowner. At this point you should regress the two miles out of the unit back to U.S. 43 1. Turn left and travel south 7.4 miles to the second traffic light. Turn left on Barbour Street (U.S. 82) and go east 3.3 miles over the causeway into Georgia. Turn left on Ga. 39 and go 0.8 miles to where Ga. 39 turns left and Ga. 27 continues straight. Turn left on Ga. 39 and travel 8 miles to the Bradley Unit sign on the left.

Bradley Unit (700 acres): This is the refuges largest unit consisting of about 400 acres of flooded impoundments and 300 acres of agriculture fields, wooded areas and 6.6 miles of

levees. There are two locked gates to pass before you enter the unit Special arrangements must be made to obtain a gate key to enter the unit by vehicle. Contact the refuge office for details. Otherwise you may enter the unit on foot. Allow three to four hours to hike the levees. Bring plenty of drinking water and insect repellent.

It is 0.5 miles from the gate on Ga. 39 to the gate at the Bradley Unit check station. At times you may see Sandhill Cranes or Wild Turkeys feeding in the agriculture fields. Bluebirds and Loggerhead Shrikes commonly perch on the power wires. When you arrive at the check station, turn right and travel one mile to the heron and egret rookery. As you travel look for Wood Ducks, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and Anhingas in the flooded timber and marsh land. Also be observant of the alligators. There are several 12 foot long males and several nests along the levees between May and July.

Look for waterfowl, Double-crested Cormorants, Common Moorhens, American Coots and Pied-billed Grebes in the impoundments and in the lake.

Return to Ga. 39 through the two gates. To return to Eufaula, Alabama, turn right retracing the route to the unit or to go to Florence Marina State Park in Georgia, turn left and travel 7.0 miles.

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