5/25/2023 0 Comments Flock of eaglesThe gravel road rims the marshes, giving visitors an up-close look at teeming waterfowl. It’s 10-mile auto loop puts visitors near views straight out of a nature documentary. Located about 100 miles north of Kansas City off Interstate 29, the historic refuge is a wildlife watcher’s dream. Such scenes attract hundreds of visitors to Loess Bluffs each winter. Upon arriving, it discovered there wasn’t much left of its intended meal, and it turned and slowly returned to land. It struggled to get back on its feet and kept going. The coyote fell through the thin ice several times but didn’t panic. Once they left, a coyote gingerly tip-toed across the ice to fetch the leftovers. One December morning, two bald eagles were fighting over a dead snow goose on the ice. The food chain is on display at Loess Bluffs. If there is a dead goose or duck bobbing in the water, it doesn’t go undetected for long. Those waterfowl are food for the bald eagles that perch in trees overlooking the marshes. They typically move to nearby Big Lake or the Missouri River, where the water stays open longer. Even when the marshes freeze, the birds often will not leave town immediately. It freezes early because of its shallow water, but large concentrations of ducks, geese and swans often keep patches of the marshes open with their activity. Waterfowl take flight at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. “That’s just a theory, but that might play a part in why we get so many eagles each winter.”Įstablished in 1935, Loess Bluffs features marshes teeming with shallow water and rich vegetation, ideal habitat for the traveling waterfowl. So, the eagles know there is a food source nearby. “Plus, the white from the snow geese stands out. “We’re located a few miles from the Missouri River as the crow flies, but I’m sure it doesn’t look that far from the sky. Fish and Wildlife Service at Loess Bluffs. “The eagles follow the geese on their migration path,” said Darrin Welchert, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. That’s fast food for the bald eagles that follow. Located only a few miles from the Missouri River, Loess Bluffs annually attracts gaudy numbers of migrating ducks and snow geese. Wildlife biologists attribute that to the refuge’s location in the Mississippi Flyway. Loess Bluffs is one of the nation’s top spots for attracting winter eagles. “This is fascinating,” Becky said as we drove the 10-mile wildlife auto trail around the marshes. But the bald eagles were the stars of the show. Thousands of ducks, geese and trumpeter swans swarmed the open water in the marshes. The wetlands didn’t disappoint on our trip in mid-December. Our family has a tradition of visiting Loess Bluffs (formerly Squaw Creek) ever year in late fall or early December. My daughter, Becky Franklin, was among those who marveled at the rare sight.Ī week earlier, I asked her how she wanted to celebrate her 46 th birthday. Whatever the case, many birders will remember a December when the giant birds returned to Loess Bluffs and put on a show. A count on Monday found 261 eagles and about 32,000 ducks and geese. (Brent Frazee | Flatland)īut some stay, feeding on the dead or crippled waterfowl that didn’t survive. The count has since dwindled as a cold front pushed many of the birds they prey on to resume their migration south.īald eagles, which were placed on a federal endangered species list in 1978, have made an extraordinary comeback. My family was lucky enough to visit during that peak. And they played king of the hill on muskrat mounds, seemingly daring other birds to challenge their lookout spots.Ī mid-December waterfowl count at the refuge in northwest Missouri estimated more than 700 bald eagles followed the waterfowl migration to these historic wetlands for a rest stop on their way south. They soared over the water, looking for dead or crippled waterfowl. They perched on the limbs of trees overlooking the marshes. The regal birds of prey, once rare, could be spotted everywhere on this raw, gray day recently. That’s life at the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in December, when bald eagles rule the roost. The rapid click of the shutter sounded, and the truck rolled away, only to be replaced by another vehicle of photographers. Sponsor Message Become a Flatland sponsorĪ pickup truck rolled to a stop, and a telephoto camera lens quickly poked out of the passenger side.Ī white-capped bald eagle perched on a limb above quickly peered down, almost as if posing for a picture.
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