Since we plan to return to Colorado in a couple of days and since thunderstorms are expected tomorrow, I decided to make a final visit to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this afternoon. Though a few showers moved across the floodplain, the mild, cloudy conditions were relatively pleasant and avian activity was high.
While I had written off pelican and shorebird migrations last week, both have re-intensified. More than seventy American white pelicans graced the refuge and large, mixed flocks of shorebirds foraged along the central channel; among the latter were a trio of dunlins and a large flock of dowitchers. Other highlights included a female blue grosbeak, a northern waterthrush and a lone eaglet that was exercising his wings and jumping about the nest. A special treat for me was a small flock of black terns that fed with the numerous swallows; as I described in The Prairie Tern, this species has long been a personal favorite, evoking a memory from my birding past.
I hope to return to Missouri (and to Eagle Bluffs) sometime during the summer; if not, I'll make every effort to return for the spectacular migrations of autumn.
While I had written off pelican and shorebird migrations last week, both have re-intensified. More than seventy American white pelicans graced the refuge and large, mixed flocks of shorebirds foraged along the central channel; among the latter were a trio of dunlins and a large flock of dowitchers. Other highlights included a female blue grosbeak, a northern waterthrush and a lone eaglet that was exercising his wings and jumping about the nest. A special treat for me was a small flock of black terns that fed with the numerous swallows; as I described in The Prairie Tern, this species has long been a personal favorite, evoking a memory from my birding past.
I hope to return to Missouri (and to Eagle Bluffs) sometime during the summer; if not, I'll make every effort to return for the spectacular migrations of autumn.
