The farmlands of the American West attract a wide variety of raptors and winter is perhaps the best season to observe them. Buteos and large owls are easier to spot in the barren woodlands and the demands of this harsh season ensure that both prey and hunters are especially active. In addition, the songbird flocks of winter provide tempting targets for accipiters and falcons.
Having convinced myself of these facts, I set out on this bright, frigid day on a circuit through the farmlands that surround Columbia. Red-tailed hawks, as expected, were common and American kestrels were spaced along the rural power lines but other raptors did not cooperate with my well-conceived plan; only a lone red-shouldered hawk, hunched on a creekside limb, made an appearance. Though I scoured the grasslands east of town for a short-eared owl and searched the Missouri River floodplain for a bald eagle, my efforts were in vain. Were it not for the beautiful countryside and a wealth of rural songbirds, I might have been disappointed.
As any experienced birder can attest, when it comes to finding their quarry, the expected does not always occur and the unexpected often ends up providing the highlight of the day. On this trip, neither the expected nor the unexpected materialized. Then again, it's the adventure of the hunt that counts and, as they proclaim on those ads for miraculous potions, results may vary.
