After a week of Arctic air, snow and, finally, a glaze of ice, southerly winds are warming central Missouri, ushering Gulf moisture into the Heartland. On this cool, misty morning, I decided to witness the effects of these atmospheric shifts on the farmlands east of Columbia.
There, shrouded in fog, I crossed soggy terrain where massive flocks of robins and blackbirds scoured the fields; foraging near the road, smaller flocks of killdeer and horned hawks circled into the mist as my pickup approached. The dense fog limited my views though I did observe a northern harrier, hunting low above the snow-laden crop stubble.
The sudden warm-up and damp scene made it look and feel more like early March than late January. But we'll take the respite and its soaking rains. After all, this region remains in a drought and the spring waterfowl will soon return.
