Birdwatchers from across the state travel to the lake during fall and winter to see large concentrations of ducks and gulls. Among the thousands of wintering waterbirds are Ring-necked Ducks, both scaup, Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, Common Loons, Pied-billed Grebes, American White Pelicans, Ring-billed Gulls, Bonaparte’s Gulls, Franklin’s Gulls, and Least Terns. Add to that rarities like Tufted Duck, all three scoters, Pacific Loon, Western Grebe, Brown Pelican, Little Gull, Sabine’s Gull, California Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and Sooty Tern.

Lake Dardanelle (34,300 acres) was formed by a dam on the Arkansas River. It is managed as a navigable waterway by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The 240-acre Lake Dardanelle State Park, managed by Arkansas State Parks, offers various recreational opportunities. Much of the area is interspersed by river channels of the Arkansas & Piney Rivers and the Illinois Bayou. Shoreline, island, and upland habitats vary from pine to hardwood forest. The dam, state park, Piney Point, and Delaware Recreation Area are among the often used viewing areas.