When I reached Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, the full Worm Moon gleamed from the western sky. An omen for the conditions I would soon encounter, March's full moon is named for the common invertebrates that move toward the surface as the soil thaws.
Following two days of rain, the floodplain was a mosaic of soggy fields, shallow wetlands and open pools, ideal for the migrant waterfowl that are moving northward through the Missouri River Valley. Once again, northern shovelers, gadwall and green-winged teal dominated the duck population, joined by lesser numbers of mallards, blue-winged teal, lesser scaup, buffleheads, ring-necked ducks and a lone American wigeon. A few small flocks of tree swallows, the first I have encountered this season, strafed the central canal while a couple dozen American white pelicans lounged on the mudflats. American coot were numerous and pied billed grebes had doubled in number since my last visit; both will likely increase significantly over the next few weeks.
Killdeer, the only shorebirds seen this morning, will be joined by a large variety of their migrant cousins throughout late March and April and summer songbirds will enliven the floodplain by the time I return to Eagle Bluffs. For now, I'm off to Colorado to watch spring unfold along the Front Range. As is typical there in March, we will arrive just in time for a major snowstorm.
