When submitting eBird observations for Red Rock Reservoir, it is most helpful to start a new checklist for each hotspot within the area. Use this hotspot for checklists of birds observed on or in the vicinity of the reservoir itself, or when you have a checklist that includes multiple locations, or if there is no other hotspot or personal location appropriate for your sightings.

Important Bird Area.
Red Rock Reservoir is a large area encompassing many of the other areas listed here. Although the dam and several recreation areas fall under the purview of the Army Corps of Engineers, other areas are managed by the state or county.

Various areas can be accessed by making a loop around the lake from north of Knoxville east to near Pella and back to Knoxville.

Although a variety of habitats are found around the lake, most birders go there for water-related species. There are a number of different vantage points around the lake and each one gives the observer a little different perspective.

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.