Arriving at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, it was clear that winter had taken charge of the refuge. Flocks of horned larks and meadowlarks moved across the frosted fields while smaller groups of crows foraged amidst the brown corn stubble. Kestrels surveyed the scene from roadside powerlines and red-tailed hawks soared overhead, scouting for mice or cottontails on the cold, yellowing grasslands.
As expected, most of the preserve is closed for duck hunting but there were a fair variety of waterfowl on accessible lakes and waterways. Mallards and wood ducks cruised through the flooded timber while shovelers, gadwall and coot gathered in the shallows; pied-billed grebes were especially common, diving amidst the reeds and aquatic vegetation that rimmed the ponds.
This placid scene was disturbed only by the shotgun blasts that rang through the valley. Watching the ducks in the safe zone, one wanted to warn them of danger just to the south; they, of course, were oblivious to the threat and showed no response to the distant explosions. It was, in some ways, a disturbing experience, watching these potential victims that, later in the morning, might venture across the killing fields.
