Compared with most visits to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, this morning's tour was, to be perfectly honest, uneventful. No eagles, hawks or falcons were observed and the total waterfowl count amounted to six mallards; common grackles and red-winged blackbirds were the most abundant birds.
On the other hand, a friend and I encountered 28 avian species. Great blue herons and great egrets graced the shallows, killdeer raced along the mudflats, dickcissels sang from the grasslands and a host of songbirds (indigo buntings, common yellowthroats and a yellow-billed cuckoo, among others) delivered their distinctive calls from the cattails and woodlands; we were also fortunate to observe deer, a mink and a raccoon.
Indeed, uneventful is a relative term, defined by past experience. If it had been our first visit to this spectacular refuge, the adventure would surely be described as memorable. And for this naturalist, every opportunity to explore the Missouri River floodplain, with its diverse flora and fauna, is rewarding (even when it is uneventful!).
On the other hand, a friend and I encountered 28 avian species. Great blue herons and great egrets graced the shallows, killdeer raced along the mudflats, dickcissels sang from the grasslands and a host of songbirds (indigo buntings, common yellowthroats and a yellow-billed cuckoo, among others) delivered their distinctive calls from the cattails and woodlands; we were also fortunate to observe deer, a mink and a raccoon.
Indeed, uneventful is a relative term, defined by past experience. If it had been our first visit to this spectacular refuge, the adventure would surely be described as memorable. And for this naturalist, every opportunity to explore the Missouri River floodplain, with its diverse flora and fauna, is rewarding (even when it is uneventful!).
