This morning, I arrived at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, on the Missouri River floodplain, under a blanket of low clouds. Curtains of rain swept across the refuge and the riverside hills were shrouded in mist. It was a perfect day for ducks.
Yet, despite the date, approaching the peak of waterfowl migration, the major pools were relatively devoid of birds; only the occasional pied billed grebe and a few double-crested cormorants broke the surface of the calm, rain dappled channels. Flocks of mallards, gadwall, blue-winged teal and northern pintails were found on the flooded crop fields and bands of coot nodded across the wetlands but, for late October, the waterfowl numbers were underwhelming. Great blue herons, like water-logged sentries, hunched atop nest boxes, a lone black-crowned night heron flushed from a canal bank and a few belted kingfishers perched along the waterways, waiting out the deluge. In the end, the only spectacle was provided by massive flocks of grackles and red-winged blackbirds that moved across the refuge.
While the birdwatching was a disappointment, the rain is more than welcome after our long drought. We'll gladly trade in a dry, crisp, colorful autumn for an excessively wet and cloudy season. After all, the ducks and geese will welcome those conditions and their migration has just begun. There will be plenty more opportunities to enjoy their vocal congregations over the next two months.
