This area in southeast Minnesota comprises the Mississippi River Valley from the Hwy 63 bridge in Red Wing (Goodhue County) to Reads Landing (Wabasha County). The northern (eastern) boundary is the MN/WI state line. On the south (west) this IBA runs along Hwy 61 out of Red Wing to Wacouta, and then jogs south to include the Perched Valley WMA and Frontenac State Park. Hwy 61 is the boundary through Lake City then County Roads 4 and 10 to Reads Landing.

The site is easily accessed by U.S. Highway 61 as well as the Mississippi River for the entire length of the area. It lies within Pool 4 of the Mississippi River and includes all of Lake Pepin, Perched Valley WMA near Wacouta, Frontenac State Park, Bald Eagle SNA and Hok Si La Park.

This area is one of the most notable and significant birding areas in the State of Minnesota. The Frontenac area is known throughout the birding community as one of the main and most famous areas in the state to view the May migration of warblers and other neotropical migrants. Frontenac State Park contains the second highest species count among Minnesota¡¦s 71 State Parks. Frontenac Point was a concentration site for shorebirds in the first half of the 20th Century until water level control on the river and the concentration of recreational boaters caused a decline in shorebird habitat. Frontenac Point is the subject of one of the most beautiful dioramas at the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota. Lake Pepin, which is basically a widening of the Mississippi River contained between beautiful bluffs, provides magnificent vistas of the surrounding countryside and is one of the most scenic areas in Minnesota.

The widening of the Mississippi River Valley at Lake Pepin and the adjoining bluffs provides some of the best bird habitat in the State of Minnesota, especially for migrant birds. Frontenac State Park regularly records between 20 and 30 species of migrant warblers and the total number of species recorded there is 263, the second highest for a Minnesota State Park. This list includes 81 Species of Greatest Conservation Need from Minnesota¡¦s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (12). Vireos, flycatchers, sparrows, orioles, tanagers and thrushes are recorded in abundance every year, and the prairie grasslands of the park provide excellent habitat for Henslow¡¦s and Grasshopper Sparrows. Hok-si-la Park is also noted as an important migratory stopover for songbirds in both spring and fall. Bald Eagles nest, migrate, and winter within this IBA. Many portions of the river remain open, even during the severest of winters, providing winter feeding sites for the eagles. This area contains the largest northerly (outside Alaska) concentration of wintering Bald Eagles in the United States.Two to three hundred eagles use this IBA on a daily basis from November to March. Colville Park in Red Wing on the north end of the IBA, and Read¡¦s landing on the south end of the IBA are both noted for attracting wintering eagles. The highest concentration of migrating Common Mergansers in the workd occurs on Lake Pepin during the month of November. Counts of 20-70,000 occur each year, with the highest recorded count of 70,000 occuring on 26 November 1995. Large concentrations of other species of waterfowl, Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls are found with the flocks of mergansers. Unusual species seen in the area include Pomerine Jaeger in Nov. 1996, and a White-winged Scoter in 2006.