Birding spots · Missouri

Best Birding Spots in Buchanan County, Missouri

Lake Contrary leads Buchanan County's birding spots with 200 species reported, best in spring. 19 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Lake Contrary	200	879	53	178	106	105
Lewis and Clark State Park	185	485	63	141	97	121
Muskrat Lake	166	1,018	39	139	98	94
Horseshoe Lake	163	664	34	136	89	86
Belcher Branch Lake Conservation Area	138	182	39	113	45	58
Bluffwoods Conservation Area	113	253	30	99	37	66
Corby Grove	104	210	20	96	38	49
Northwest Parkway	102	292	16	96	30	29
Youngdahl (Mark) Urban Conservation Area	96	199	28	80	26	50
Jentell Brees Access	90	151	30	66	50	21
Northwest Regional Office	87	87	12	78	0	50
Browning Lake	85	65	21	64	2	6
Krug Park	80	81	9	62	20	28
Old Mud Lake	79	93	21	61	8	7
Mo Western State College (Everyday Pond #6)	72	57	19	52	0	35
Saint Joseph (French Bottom Access)	67	56	16	55	27	3
Birding spot near Edgerton	114	191	27	90	60	25
Birding spot near St. Joseph	89	437	47	60	28	60
Birding spot near St. Joseph (southeast)	89	145	27	50	34	59