The only way to reach the island is by boat. Arrive an hour before sunset during July-August to see the birds return to roost from all directions. Stay off the island and keep your distance so as not to disturb the birds.

An estimated 10,000 to 40,000 Purple Martins roost on the north end of the island during fall migration Although numbers are lacking, a local witness, reports observing the roost for at least the last 20 years.  The birds return to roost each night during late July–August. Around dusk they come from all directions and swirl like a loose tornado before settling down, wing-to-wing, for the night.  When all those birds leave the roost each morning en masse, they can be seen on NEXRAD radar. 

Bird Island is an island of Bald Cypress in the middle of Lake Ouachita. It is 1,260 feet long, and about 100 feet at its widest point. Most of the island is covered by Bald Cypress. A small portion is open sandbar with small shrubs. Much of the land beneath or between the trees may be submerged when the water level is up. The nearest boat launch sites are Brady Mountain Use Area and Buckville Use Area.

Lake Ouachita is Arkansas’s largest lake. Because it is surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest there is very little shoreline development. No homes are allowed on the 600 miles of tree-covered shoreline. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains over 1100 campsites and 20 boat ramps on Lake Ouachita. Boating, fishing, scuba diving and island camping are especially popular.