Brown Pelican
The Flyways

Mississippi Flyway

1 2 Mississippi Flyway map

Coastal Stewardship: Gulf

All along the Gulf Coast, Audubon conserves, restores, protects, and monitors coastal sites for colonial and beach-nesting birds
Rob_Howard_Mississippi_Flyway

A River of Birds

From the headwaters of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

More than 325 bird species make the round-trip each year along the Mississippi Flyway, from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern United States to their wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico and in Central and South America. 

Many of those birds and their critical habitats were profoundly affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill—habitat that will be further eroded by sea-level rise. Audubon knows that only a comprehensive restoration program, and a long-term financial commitment to restoring the Gulf, will keep the flyway hospitable to birds. 

We’ve established a Gulf-wide stewardship plan for the full range of coastal waterbirds, and this year Audubon received the first installment of funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to get those restoration projects started.

We protect Whooping Cranes, Least Terns, Prothonotary Warblers, and many other species at both the north and south ends of their migrations. From Minnesota, where we successfully lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency to stay the permit of a sulfide ore mine, to shorebird stewardship projects in Mississippi, we are there for the birds.

Mississippi Flyway In the News

News

Audubon Takes Minnesota and Wisconsin Policy Makers on Tour of Upper Mississippi

Remaining river floodplain forests provide biodiversity, flood mitigation.
A rosa walking through the grass in a wetland
Water

Supreme Court Decision Threatens Waterways that Birds (and People) Need

The Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency removes crucial protections for wetlands, limiting the Clean Water Act.
Press Room

Audubon Statement on Presidential Veto of Congressional Attempt to Remove Water Protections

"As climate change, drought, and development squeeze our water resources further, we need to protect all remaining waterways."

Conservation Projects in the Mississippi Flyway

Arctic Slope

The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which serves as the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, has long been a high-profile loca- tion in the debate over energy development versus wildlife conservation.
Black-necked_Stilts_Gerrit_Vyn
Water

Mississippi River Delta

Audubon’s policy team and grassroots activists are instrumental in gaining national support for ongoing recovery work in the delta
Coasts

Coastal Stewardship: Gulf

Restoring vital coastal wetlands for colonial and beach-nesting birds
Water

Great Lakes

Millions of birds depend on coastal habitats along the Great Lakes for shelter, rest, and nourishment for their long journeys during migration.