After wintering on beaches, bays and marshes along the Gulf of Mexico, waterfowl and shorebirds stream northward from late February to mid May, heading for breeding grounds across the Great Plains and Arctic tundra. En route, they follow the branching streams of the vast Mississippi watershed; like a tree of water, the major rivers and their numerous tributaries guide these travelers northward, offering nutritious rest stops along the way.
Snow geese and swans lead the exodus, moving across the Heartland in late February and early March. The migrations of Canadian geese and most ducks peak in March while flocks of coot, blue-winged teal, shovelers, white pelicans and shorebirds dominate the waterways in April. May brings the late shorebirds, waders and tardy migrants such as black terns.
This morning, at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, southwest of Columbia, the Missouri River was in flood stage and shallow pools covered much of the refuge. American coot, blue-winged teal, shovelers and lesser scaup dominated the scene but a wide variety of waterfowl graced the floodplain. Highlights included the first cormorants of the season, a flock of ruddy ducks on one of the deeper pools and a group of lesser golden plovers in a barren field. Noisy chorus frogs, squadrons of tree swallows, a lone beaver and a pair of immature bald eagles rounded out the morning show.
