Most birding is done from the boat ramps - both the one in the main park and the one at the end of Hayes Dr.

Important Bird Area.

In the days before Lake Red Rock was completed, Elk Rock was the home to nesting Cerulean Warblers and mysterious caves for exploring. It now primarily provides access to gulls and other water birds, but you never know what surprises the woodlands might hold.

The entire area is important as a resting area for large concentrations of migrating waterfowl, gulls, and shorebirds. The area is also critical as a wintering area for large numbers of Bald Eagles. Nesting birds include Bobolink, Cerulean Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, Wood Thrush, and in some years Kentucky Warbler.

The Red Rock Dam is about five miles southwest of Pella; the refuge area extends northwest beyond Runnells in Polk County to near Hartford in Warren County.