On France’s Caribbean island colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in 1785, Jean Rabin was born the illegitimate son of a French naval officer merchant and slave trader, Jean Audubon, and a French chambermaid, Jeanne Rabin. Jean never knew his mother, who died when he was but a few months old, and later spent his formative years from age 5 to 18 in France as Jean-Jacques Audubon. There, he benefited from a gentleman’s education, learning to ride, dance, play the violin and indulge his curiosities about nature. When his father’s plans for his seafaring career collapsed due to Jean’s seasickness and an aversion to mathematics, he returned to the woods.
With conscription by Napoleon’s military growing ever nearer, his father sent him to America in 1803 with a false passport. Here, Jean anglicized his name and moved to Louisville, “a spot designed by nature to become a place of great importance,” he wrote in 1807. He married Lucy Bakewell in 1808 and struggled with his merchant business. “I seldom passed a day without drawing a bird, or noting something respecting its habits,” he wrote. “I could not bear to give the attention required by my business … and, therefore, my business abandoned me.”
Audubon and his partner packed their remaining stock as he “longed to have a wilder range; [and] this made us remove to Henderson, one hundred and twenty-five miles farther down the fair Ohio.” But commercial business success continued to elude him in several endeavors. One result was a stint in jail for unpaid debt. He and his family departed those difficult days in Henderson 200 years ago in 1819. “Numberless quantities of failures, put all to an end: the Loss of My Darling Daughter affected Me Much; My Wife apparently had Lost her spirits,” Audubon would later write to his sons.
Yet, what remains is a legacy known to all who gaze through binoculars and flip through field guidebooks to identify as many birds as possible on life’s path. In western Kentucky, one of the shortest birding trails in North America—with just three stops—is amplified by the depth and breadth of history.
John James Audubon State Park
Approximately one-half mile south of the Ohio River banks in Henderson are 724 acres of rolling wooded landscapes, where the park’s namesake spent nine years of his early life in America. The John James Audubon State Park was dedicated in 1934, thanks to the tenacity and generosity of local citizens, an early Audubon Society, a Civilian Conservation Corps program, and the sheer determination to preserve the land and the works of one man’s celebration of birds and nature.
“What William Penn is to Philadelphia, John James Audubon is to Henderson, Kentucky,” said Susan Starling Towles, the formidable force who helped found the state’s first Audubon Society. Her work and influence led to the museum’s creation. Towles participated in the park dedication, gave talks and readings about Audubon, and became his strongest advocate until her death in 1954 at the age of 93. One local citizen quipped, “She did everything but bring him back from the dead.”
In addition to a pristine wilderness for birding, boating, camping and fishing, this state park offers a nine-hole golf course, four playgrounds, a tennis court and fully appointed picnic areas. A museum, nature center, gift shop, conference room, theater, wildlife observation room, historic buildings, Discovery & Learning Center and art gallery for local artists create an immersive visitor experience.
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Nine trails and Warbler Road (foot travel only) provide easy-to-moderate hiking access within the park’s nature preserve. The 10th (Eagle Glen) is a pet trail of moderate difficulty near the park entrance. Interpretive signs, Civilian Conservation Corps stone structures, diverse terrain and vistas, and even some solitude accompany hikers. To date, 177 bird species have been recorded here (eBird.org).
As of press time, the campground was closed due to construction on the lake levee. Reservations are required for the six well-appointed cottages in the park.
MUST-SEE
According to the Friends of Audubon, the John James Audubon State Park Museum & Nature Center “is home to one of the largest collections of materials” related to Audubon’s life and work. Included in the 1,000-plus items are original works of art, personal items, letters, manuscripts and some of his taxidermy collection of birds. There is a permanent timeline exhibit with the opportunity to view The Birds of America double elephant folio edition (1827-1838). And the museum gift shop offers items to check off every birder’s shopping list.
The Nature Center is free, with a wildlife observation room, theater, local art gallery and regular educational programs.
NATURE NOTE
Audubon Wetlands, 649 acres of public-private partnership land north of the main park, has a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk, guided hikes and plans for more limited-mobility trails.
Michael
Henderson Sloughs Wildlife Management Area
This wildlife management area includes more than 11,000 acres of sloughs, wetlands, woodlands and ridges in northwestern Henderson and northeastern Union counties. The location welcomes tens of thousands of birds throughout the year and is a top destination for waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds. It holds a designation as Kentucky’s first Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society as well as a Ducks Unlimited high priority area. The winter arrival of migrating snow geese was an event Audubon never missed.
For Henderson and the six satellite units comprising this WMA—Sauerheber/Cape Hills, Grassy Pond/Powell’s Lake, Jenny Hole/Highland—282 species have been recorded (eBird.org).
NATURE NOTE
This area of Ohio River floodplain is a success story of reclamation. Wells and pumps, along with planned crops for food and cover, have largely returned the area to its original healthy wetlands status. Audubon.org reports this location as “the site of one of the most prolific Bald Eagle nests east of the Mississippi River.” Winter bird counts for this area include 15,000 geese and 20,000 ducks.
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Each unit is accessible in varying degrees via state roads, gravel and unimproved roadways, and roadside observation points and towers. Some tracts and marshes are closed November to March and may be limited at other times by weather conditions. Contact the WMA officeat (270) 827-2673 for up-to-date information.
MUST-SEE
Jenny Hole and Highland Creek units: A viewing pier offers excellent visibility, and 1,800 acres with a cypress slough are open for small boating. Primitive camping also is available. This area protects the state’s largest Great Blue Heron rookery.
Higginson-Henry Wildlife Management Area
The third stop on the Audubon birding trail is the 5,450-acre Higginson-Henry WMA southeast of Morganfield in Union County. The rolling hill topography is 81 percent forest, followed by open fields and a small percentage of open water and wetlands. This type of “edge” habitat is greater than the sum of its parts, bringing heightened biological diversity of both flora and fauna.
NATURE NOTE
The Wood Duck is the state’s most successful nesting waterfowl. You can find this highly decorated duck, along with 89 more recorded avian species, at Higginson-Henry WMA (eBird.org).
In addition to birding, fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish and crappie is popular at the 81-acre Mauzy Lake. Motorized boats are limited to 10 hp, which is good for trolling the shoreline and happy news for paddlers.
MUST-SEE
The Lee K. Nelson Wildlife Viewing Area and Outdoor Lab is east of State Route 56, northeast on County Road 1124. It gets fewer visitors than the other areas—perfect for quiet birding in prairie, forest and wetlands habitats. Two parking areas provide easy access to trails.
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The Higginson-Henry WMA offers 23 miles of trails for foot traffic only, with 9 additional miles open to horseback riding. There are primitive camping areas, three boat launches for small craft, and ample parking spots throughout the area for access.
Birding Statewide in Kentucky
“Kentucky offers a variety of habitats from the Cumberland Mountains in the far eastern end of the state to the cypress sloughs and wetlands found along the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers in the western end,” said Jeff Sole, president of the Kentucky Ornithological Society. “Avid birders often locate 50 to 100 species of birds in one day of birding in the Commonwealth.”
In addition to the large number of bird species, Kentucky’s statewide biodiversity also includes 236 species of fish, 75 mammal species, 133 butterfly species, 2,200 species of moths, 55 reptiles and 3,000 species of wild plants.
“Birding is one of the fastest growing outdoor recreation activities in the nation,” Sole said. “Over time, 384 species of birds have been documented in the Bluegrass State. [It] only requires a decent pair of binoculars and a bird book or birding app to get started. There are numerous local birding clubs in most states.
“Here in Kentucky, check out the Kentucky Ornithological Society’s website at birdky.org, and look at eBird.org to find more birding spots.”
Bird Photography by Mike Blevins