Though we have lived (at least part time) in Columbia, Missouri, for almost 30 years, we had not visited the northeast corner of Boone County until today. Noting on maps that ranches and farmlands cover most of that region and needing to run our VW Beetle once again, my wife and I decided to finally explore that territory and drove north on route Z from the eastern edge of Columbia.
Of course, I also hoped to encounter flocks of migrant geese and wintering trumpeter swans in that area, knowing that they often settle in fields of crop stubble to feed. The latter birds, nearly extirpated from the Lower 48 by the 1930s have been successfully reintroduced across the Midwest; though they do not migrate, relatively small flocks of trumpeters do move about the region during the colder months (see Midwest Trumpeters).
Though we enjoyed the drive and the rural scenery, we did not encounter migrant geese or trumpeter swans; Canada geese, red-tailed hawks, kestrels and, of course, large flocks of blackbirds were observed. Most of all, it was a pleasure to finally explore the northeast corner of our home county; I will definitely return to witness it's seasonal changes.
