Visiting Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on this beautiful morning in May, a friend and I found that the refuge had reached a nadir in its water content. While a few stagnant pools still dotted the floodplain, even the mudflats had dried out and cracked.
Waterfowl were limited to two Canada geese while a dozen semi-palmated sandpipers foraged along one of the shrinking pools. Turkey vultures once again dominated the desiccated landscape and a lone American kestrel was the only other raptor that we observed. Three great-blue herons represented the waders.
On the other hand, a decent variety of songbirds were encountered, dominated by indigo buntings and dickcissels. Other sightings of note included a yellow-billed cuckoo, a great crested flycatcher, a pair of Baltimore orioles, a few common yellowthroats and, the highlight of our visit, four scissor-tailed flycatchers. Long a magnet for waterfowl and other water birds, Eagle Bluffs remains in a human-induced drought; when the desolation will end is uncertain.
