Important Bird Area.
Nearly 1,500 acre wildlife complex containing some of Iowa's most rugged/rolling recessional glacial moraine. Extremely varied habitats, including a lake, large marshes, small potholes, hanging bogs, native prairie and other grasslands and mixed oak woodlands. From morainal hills south of Little Swan Lake are spectacular views of this glaciated countryside extending to Jackson, MN, on the north horizon.
Located in NE corner of county. From the junction of US Highway 71 and Iowa Highway 9, between the towns of Superior and Spirit Lake, turn north on Co. Highway N-16 and continue about 2 2/3 mi. to the public access road into the center of this complex, on the north sore of Little Swan Lake. Or, continue north on N-16 another 2/3 mile, then turn east on 120th Street and go 3/4 to reach the public access to Christopherson Slough, on the north side of the road.
Shallow lakes, large wetlands ringed with cattails, native prairie, restored prairie, other grasslands, croplands, oak woodlands, brush on some hillsides. Hosts a great diversity of birds, from most kinds of nesting and migrating waterfowl, grebes, and summering pelicans, to grassland species like Clay-colored Sparrows, Horned Larks, and meadowlarks, to forest birds, including most migratory warbler species. An unreported Black-headed Grosbeak was observed here in the 1980s.
This is a public hunting area.