Yesterday morning, under a gray overcast and scattered snow, I headed down to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, southwest of Columbia. Never knowing what to expect on my frequent visits to that floodplain refuge, I didn't have to wait very long. Just east of the entry road, a massive flock of mallards nearly filled an open field; restless, they had likely arrived overnight, escaping frozen wetlands to our north.
After observing them for a while, I entered the refuge. While many of the ponds and channels were iced over, pockets of open water held small flocks of mallards, gadwalls, northern shovelers and green-winged teal. A large flock of Canada geese fed on a snowy meadow while great blue herons moved between the open pools. Red-tailed hawks and northern harriers patrolled the grasslands and a half dozen bald eagles perched in trees, no doubt watching for sick or injured waterfowl on which to feast.
As I left the refuge, perhaps an hour later, the migrant mallards were rising from the entrance field; circling in waves above their tired cohorts, they drew hundreds more into the air and, en masse, they moved south through the Missouri River Valley. While veteran birders often dismiss common species such as mallards, the spectacle of massive flocks never fails to inspire even the most experienced naturalist and, speaking for myself, it was an awesome sight.
