Jimmie Davis State Park is on a 300-acre peninsula jutting into Caney Lake in the Caney Creek Reservoir. The lake is the big birding draw here. The lake-edge bird community is rich as well. It includes Wood Duck, Spotted Sandpiper, Great Blue and Little Blue Herons, Great Egret, Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Prothonotary Warbler.
In the fall, winter, and spring, birders should set up spotting scopes on the fishing pier or observation deck to look for waterfowl, grebes, American Coot, gulls and terns, Common Loon, American White Pelican, and other water birds.
The mixed pine-hardwood forest where most of the park is located sustained heavy damage from tornadoes and storms a few years ago. This has resulted in the appearance of grassy and shrubby thickets which hold a large suite of bird life. Stay quiet and keep a low profile around the thickets while looking for shy thicket-dwellers such as White-eyed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Brown Thrasher, along with (in fall/winter/spring) Eastern Towhee, Yellow-breasted Chat, and several sparrow species.
Also, look for birds in the grassy field once you turn off Lakeshore Drive and onto the park’s access road. Field birds such as Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, and Red-winged Blackbird often utilize this area, especially in winter.
Jimmie Davis State Park offers R/V camping, cabins, lodge, and group camp with four dormitories and a dining hall. Other amenities include a visitors center, restrooms, parking, directional and identification signage, picnic areas, playgrounds, nature trails, boat launches, a fishing pier, and an observation deck. A hard-surfaced walking path weaves around the mature mixed pine-hardwoods in the campground. Outdoor recreational opportunities include biking, hiking, camping, fishing, paddling, swimming, and nature photography. The park is handicapped-accessible.
