New Audubon Center at Riverlands is the latest high-flying attraction in the Gateway City

ST. LOUIS - October 10, 2011 - Those who enjoy a little "fowl" play will have plenty to chirp about during a visit to St. Louis.  The Audubon Center at Riverlands, set to open on October 15, is the latest bird-centric attraction to feather St. Louis' nest.

The $3.3 million bird-watching center is located in the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary just north of Downtown St. Louis near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.  The area is known as the Mississippi flyway, a major migratory route for more than 300 species of birds including pelicans, seagulls, American bald eagles, trumpeter swans and more.

Nature lovers can view birds and other wildlife that reside in Riverlands from inside the 3,500-square-foot Audubon Center or stroll the surrounding prairies and wetlands for up-close animal encounters.  The Audubon Center features floor-to-ceiling windows that offer great views of the river and sky.  Recorded bird songs provide a pleasant sound track for visitors inside the Center.

In addition to great viewing spots, the center features interactive displays about the great

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migration, classrooms for wildlife lectures and an information counter where visitors can ask the experts about the animals they see.  Admission is free.

Bird lovers have plenty to tweet about in St. Louis.  Here's a list of other avian attractions sure to please birders of all ages:

1.)                Stroll through the 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage, the world's largest walk-through aviary, located in the Bird Garden section of the Saint Louis Zoo.

2.)                Get a bird's eye view of St. Louis from the top of the Gateway Arch, 630 feet over the Mississippi River.

3.)                Bird watch from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, originally Route 66's Mississippi River crossing and now the world's longest pedestrian bridge. The site is especially active during "Eagle Days" each January when hundreds of bald eagles feed along the river.

4.)                See the Bird Man, a stone carving of a man with wings unearthed at Cahokia Mounds - an ancient Indian civilization and United Nations World Heritage Site.

5.)                Take a tour of Busch Stadium, home of the legendary St. Louis Cardinals, to learn about the Redbirds' 100-plus years of baseball history in St. Louis.

6.)                Learn how to create an outdoor paradise that will attract birds and butterflies at the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at the Missouri Botanical Garden and at the Butterfly House in Faust Park.

7.)                See a bird behavior demonstration at Grant's Farm, the animal preserve attraction.

8.)                Bring your clubs along and make a birdie on one of St. Louis top public golf courses.

9.)                Meet new feathered friends and learn about the remarkable rescue and rehab work done for birds of prey at the World Bird Sanctuary.

10.)            Tour the headquarters of the world's largest brewer - Anheuser-Busch - and count the eagles carved into the brewery's historic buildings.

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