Low clouds and light fog enveloped Columbia throughout this morning and into the early afternoon. As I headed down to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, I was thus concerned that the fog would thicken and my viewing would be impaired as I dropped onto the Missouri River floodplain. Fortunately, the lower fog line was above the refuge elevation and my birding efforts were unaffected.
Recent mild temperatures had cleared most of the ice and waterfowl species were easy to identify in the filtered light. Mallards and American coot remained the dominant species, joined by northern shovelers and ring-necked ducks. A pair of adult bald eagles perched in their nest tree while a red-tailed hawk, a red-shouldered hawk and a northern harrier hunted on the grasslands. Migrant geese have yet to arrive in any significant numbers.
In concert with the recovering wetlands and the regular influx of waterfowl, human hunters had returned, their pickups, camouflaged canoes and blinds spaced across the floodplain. The refuge is now totally back to "normal."
