Pickwick Landing Marina has been on off-season hours since mid-September. It's open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On the water, the quiet months are starting. Up at the Pickwick Dam parking area, the busiest part of the year for birds is just getting going.
Tennessee State Parks says birders have identified more than 200 species across all of Pickwick Landing State Park. At the Pickwick Dam parking area alone, the count is over 180. One paved overlook on the dam has turned up almost as many species as all of the park's trails, coves and woods combined. Most of us drive past it on the way to somewhere else. In winter, it's worth stopping.
A Parking Lot in the State Record Book
What sets the dam apart is the rare birds people have found there. In February 1996, a photographed Ivory Gull stayed at Pickwick Dam from the 10th through the 21st. That's an Arctic species, and according to the Tennessee Bird Records Committee's report in The Migrant, the Tennessee Ornithological Society's journal, it was the state's first record and moved the species onto Tennessee's confirmed list. The Tennessee Birding Trail notes that it's still the only Ivory Gull ever recorded in Tennessee.
The dam keeps adding rarities. The American Birding Association's winter 2016–2017 report lists a first-cycle Iceland Gull of the Thayer's type at Pickwick Dam on December 19. The report calls it about the eighth record for the state. Another Thayer's-type gull appeared there on December 29, according to the ABA's winter 2022–2023 report. The Tennessee Birding Trail's list of Pickwick rarities also includes California, Glaucous, Laughing and Sabine's gulls.
Then there was the strangest week in the site's history. When Hurricane Katrina pushed inland in 2005, birds that belong over open ocean ended up on Pickwick: a Black Skimmer, a Sooty Tern, a South Polar Skua and a Band-rumped Storm-Petrel. All of them are exceptionally rare in Tennessee. The December and February dates on these records explain why serious birders treat this spot as a cold-weather stop.
October Already Showed What's Coming
You don't need a rarity to enjoy a winter stop at the dam. The common birds come in big numbers, and Tennessee State Parks describes the scene on the reservoir this way:
"Hundreds to thousands of ring-billed gulls and American coots are a common sight. Common loons, pied-billed and horned grebes are also commonly seen."
That's from the park's Pickwick Landing birding page, which calls the park one of the best in West Tennessee for winter birding.
The season looks like it's already starting. Reports to the eBird Pickwick Dam hotspot over the last few weeks of October 2026 include:
- October 11: 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- October 15: 3 American White Pelicans
- October 22: 1 Bald Eagle
- October 23: 8 Ring-billed Gulls, 1 American Herring Gull, 2 Common Loons, 60 Double-crested Cormorants and 47 Great Blue Herons, all on one morning checklist
Each number is one dated report, not a season total. Eight Ring-billed Gulls on October 23 is a long way from the "hundreds to thousands" the park says are common in winter. The loons and Lesser Black-backed Gulls are arriving, and the big gull flocks haven't built up yet. If you start going in early November, you'll see the gull numbers climb week by week instead of showing up in January to a full house.
Two Directions From One Overlook
The dam works so well because one stop gives you two kinds of water. Tennessee State Parks suggests scanning the lake side of the dam for waterfowl and gulls, then looking below the dam for gulls and Great Blue Herons. That lower stretch is where the park says rare gulls have been reported. The Tennessee Birding Trail adds that gulls roost on the dam pylons and recommends checking below the dam for winter gulls and other waterbirds. When you've finished with the water, the TVA campground just west of the dam is, in the park's words, "great for songbirds."
The dam is the anchor, and the rest of the park fills out a winter morning. You can do it in this order, starting at the dam:
- Pickwick Dam parking area. Scan above and below the dam, check the pylons, then walk over to the TVA campground for songbirds.
- Lake Trail. It's short and paved, with views of the dam, and it runs through lawns, planted pines and woodland edge. Featured birds include Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird and Brown-headed Nuthatch. The park also calls it one of the best places in West Tennessee to find Brown-headed Nuthatches year-round.
- Cove Behind the Lodge. The park recommends a spotting scope here and lists Bufflehead, Mallard, Ruddy Duck and Common Loon.
- Island Loop Trail. This 2.8-mile loop has two lake overlooks and interpretive panels on nature and history.
- Bruton Branch. It's separate from the main part of the park, and the park says it's "worth visiting especially in winter" for its wide lake views. Look for loons, Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, and Ring-billed Gulls.
Bald Eagles and American Coots are on the Tennessee Birding Trail's year-round list for Pickwick Landing. The same profile says a Golden Eagle is possible in winter. Keep an eye on the shoreline trees between stops as well as the water.
Colbert Ferry, Across the Line
If you want the same lake from a different angle, Colbert Ferry on the Natchez Trace Parkway is a short drive into Alabama. The Alabama Birding Trails profile calls it a free winter stop with open views of the reservoir. Look for diving ducks, Double-crested Cormorants and Common Loons on the water, plus Bald Eagles perched along the shore. A wooded beaver pond there gives you a second kind of habitat to check. The National Park Service also lists Colbert Ferry as a Tennessee River birding stop for ducks, grebes, herons, anhingas, kingfishers and shorebirds.
Put the dam and Colbert Ferry together and you can cover the Tennessee and Alabama sides of the same water in one morning.
Dates for the Calendar
A few scheduled programs line up well with the season.
Raptor Feedings, Wednesday, November 11 and Thursday, November 12, 1 to 2 p.m., Pickwick Landing State Park. Both are on the park's event calendar. The park's description of the program says visitors meet an interpretive ranger at the hawk enclosure, near the aviaries to the left of the Visitor Center. The ranger talks about the park's animal ambassadors and their wild relatives while the birds are fed. The park asks that pets stay out of sight and that strollers be kept to a minimum near the aviary, since both can make the birds nervous. These are the park's resident raptors, not a wild eagle watch. It's a good way to see the birds up close before trying to pick them out along the shoreline.
Christmas Hike Along the River, Saturday, December 12, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Tennessee RiverLine's sixth annual Christmas hike is a ranger-led walk on the 2.8-mile Island Loop Trail. Hikers meet near the trailhead in the cabin area. A member of the RiverLine's Local Leadership Team will greet the group, and the listing recommends warm clothes, comfortable closed-toed shoes and water. The two lake overlooks on that loop give you a good chance to scan the water in mid-December.
Eagle Viewing Van Tours, January 2027, Land Between the Lakes. If you'd like a guided eagle trip, it's a longer drive. Naturalists lead van tours from Golden Pond Visitor Center in Kentucky, starting January 9, 2027, from 1 to 4 p.m. They search bays, shorelines and roosts for wintering eagles. The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway's event calendar lists more tour dates on January 10, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 30 and 31.
Park calendars can change, so check the event pages before you go. If you're stopping by the marina on the way, it's closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
When we're not showing homes, we're out on this lake too, and the winter months are a good time to see what lake ownership looks like after the boats come out. If you spot something unusual off the dam this winter, or you're thinking about a place with a view of these coves, the team at Crye-Leike Pickwick would love to hear from you. Contact Us.
