The Ferguson Bay Trail in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge is an interesting walk almost any time of the year, as it provides dry footing through an area of marshes, ponds, sloughs, flooded forests and other moist soil units managed for a variety of wildlife. But during the peak migration seasons of March through April and September through early November, this day hike offers an impressive view of waterfowl, especially Canada geese. At the height of migration, some 25,000 geese and 40,000 ducks gather on the refuge.

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1953 and contains more than 9,800 acres of marsh, bottomland hardwood forest, and grasslands. It was authorized by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act “...for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds.” Additional purposes designated under the Refuge Recreation Act are “…incidental fish and wildlife-oriented recreational development, the protection of natural resources, and the conservation of endangered and threatened species.”

The refuge’s mission is to preserve and manage an undeveloped expanse of floodplain forest, marshes, rivers, and associated habitats within an agricultural and urban landscape through habitat management, encouraging public stewardship, educational programs, and private land activities.

Shiawassee Refuge is designated as a United States Important Bird Area for its global significance to migratory waterfowl.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike on the Ferguson Bayou Trail.