Audubon Center at Riverlands
/My first field trip associated with the Missouri Master Naturalist state conference was to the Audubon Center at Riverlands. I made better time on my drive from Springfield MO to the St. Louis area to I arrived to the place early….and opted to drive past the center to see the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi River. There were pools along the way with Great and Snowy Egrets.
Once I got to the confluence parking lot (after a drive on a dusty gravel road) and started the short hike to the confluence, I started a bird id recording on Merlin; in 30 seconds - it picked up sounds from red-winged blackbirds (I saw a lot of them while I was driving as well), Northern Yellow Warbler, Indigo Bunting (saw one later), Orchard Oriole, Northern Cardinal and Common Yellowthroat.
I also enjoyed the variety of trees along the path.
At the confluence itself there was more infrastructure…with evidence of flooding (debris in the water and on the concrete abutment).
As I started the walk back toward my car, I noticed an area of forest with little understory and debris (flooded frequently?).
Along the path the plants were quite thick. There were a couple of tall trees that looked like they might have been struck by lightning.
Closer to the car – I saw some cottonwood leaves…and ‘cotton’ – there was a lot of the seeds floating in the air.
About halfway back to the center (driving), a bald eagle flew overhead – being chased by a smaller bird!
I was back at the Audubon Center just before the start of the program. It was a hot day so the bulk of the ‘field trip’ was a slide show inside the center. I’ll visit again in the winter when I will be more comfortable hiking…and when there are large numbers of wintering birds.
The field trip was a good start to the conference!
