On this cloudy, cool, drizzly morning, I headed down to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on the Missouri River floodplain. There I was greeted by sloppy roads, soggy fields, icy shallows and chilly pools, a landscape not inviting to most humans but very attractive to migrant waterfowl.
Indeed, I encountered a wide variety of species, dominated by mallards and Canadian geese; other visitors included trumpeter swans, snow and greater white-fronted geese, lesser scaup, hooded mergansers, gadwalls, ring-necked ducks and American coot. Five bald eagles and a pair of red-tailed hawks patrolled the refuge, where great blue herons stalked the shallows.
But this morning's highlight was provided by a flock of American white pelicans, huddled on a small island in the icy waters. As I waited for them to take flight or move onto the pool, another flock arrived from the south, dropping down to join their cohorts. They are all on their way to lakes of the Northern Plains (U.S. and Canada) where they will spend the warmer months and raise their young. Having wintered along the Gulf Coast, they are among our earliest spring migrants; unlike human snowbirds, they are not inclined to wait for the balmy weather of April.
Indeed, I encountered a wide variety of species, dominated by mallards and Canadian geese; other visitors included trumpeter swans, snow and greater white-fronted geese, lesser scaup, hooded mergansers, gadwalls, ring-necked ducks and American coot. Five bald eagles and a pair of red-tailed hawks patrolled the refuge, where great blue herons stalked the shallows.
But this morning's highlight was provided by a flock of American white pelicans, huddled on a small island in the icy waters. As I waited for them to take flight or move onto the pool, another flock arrived from the south, dropping down to join their cohorts. They are all on their way to lakes of the Northern Plains (U.S. and Canada) where they will spend the warmer months and raise their young. Having wintered along the Gulf Coast, they are among our earliest spring migrants; unlike human snowbirds, they are not inclined to wait for the balmy weather of April.
