Delta National Wildlife Refuge

Delta National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Nearest city	Venice, Louisiana
Coordinates	29°15′00″N 89°12′00″W / 29.25000°N 89.20000°W / 29.25000; -89.20000Coordinates: 29°15′00″N 89°12′00″W / 29.25000°N 89.20000°W / 29.25000; -89.20000
Area	49,000 acres (200 km2)
Established	1935
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Delta National Wildlife Refuge

The Delta National Wildlife Refuge is located 10 miles (16 km) east of Venice, Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The area formed when a breach in the natural levee of the Mississippi River occurred in 1862 approximately 100 miles (160 km) below New Orleans, Louisiana. The 48,000-acre (190 km²) refuge was purchased in 1935 with the primary purpose to provide sanctuary and habitat to wintering waterfowl. Access is by boat only.

Delta NWR supports a wide variety of wildlife species. Tens of thousands of wintering waterfowl take advantage of the rich food resources found in the delta. Large numbers of other bird species can be found on the refuge, with numbers peaking during the spring and fall migrations. Large numbers of wading birds nest on the refuge, and thousands of shorebirds can be found on tidal mudflats and deltaic splays. Numerous furbearers and game mammals are year-round residents, and the marshes and waterways provide year-round and seasonal habitat for a diversity of fish and shellfish species.

Thousands of shorebirds use the refuge as a wintering area and also as a resting and staging area during migration. Commonly observed species include greater and lesser yellowlegs, long-billed dowitchers, dunlins, western sandpipers, Wilson's plovers, killdeer and willets.

Raptors are a common sight on Delta NWR. The most commonly observed species include American kestrels, northern harriers, red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures. Black vultures, Cooper's hawks, merlins, red-shouldered hawks and sharp-shinned hawks have also been seen on the refuge. Ospreys are common winter visitors to the refuge.