Date: 5/10/26 11:38 am From: Chase Darr <000007f104dc864c-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Missouri Spring Bird Count - Trial Run
Some of us keep to the old ways. ;)
I followed Edge's Adage that "A bird up at dawn is a bird up at noon" and got out a bit late to bird NAMC Boone County Area 5 a bit later than usual yesterday morning. The mist and fog kept most of the pre-dawn chorus down, and kept me down, as well. But, by 8:30, I was out trapsing the Bear Creek Trail as I've done for 16 years. A mere 12 hours and 14 checklists later, and I was rounding the corner from O'Neal to Obermiller and on the way home.
This year, I got 95 species, 2 spuhs, and a host of "Merlin, are you yanking my chain?" observations that I wish were really true. By all accounts, that's a good year for Area 5. The most excellent year I've ever had was much like this: a warm day on an otherwise cool spring, and we got 103 species.
The biggest 'hits' were:
Warblers seemingly *everywhere*. I got 17 warbler species and high counts of Nashville (20) and Tennessee (40).
1 Northern Waterthrush that provided a really good look,
a Barred Owl that made sure to let me know it was there,
a nesting Red-shouldered Hawk (always nice to see!),
more Swainson's Thrush (23 total, undercounting) than I've observed in all other years I've seen *combined*,
three Black Terns and 9 Bobolink at Foremost Dairy Farm Lake #1 (visible from parking area),
a Sora in Garth Nature Area,
a flyover Pine Siskin, and
a Great Egret that I stole along with 6 (!) Wood Ducks from this one lake spillover that is technically in Area 3 but are counted because they're looking at Area 5 and would clearly rather be on my side of the road. If anyone birded Area 3, you technically earned 6 (!) Wood Ducks and a Great Egret.
The biggest misses were Bald Eagle, Scarlet Tanager, and Common Nighthawk. I think it has been too cool for Common Nighthawk so far and a thunderstorm pulled in right at dusk. There were a few others like Grasshopper Sparrow, Green Heron, Blue Grosbeak, and any shorebirds besides Killdeer that would have been nice to have but are pretty uncommon to find in Area 5.
The biggest Merlin head-scratchers were:
a "Canada Warbler" that Merlin heard from some chip calls but I could not scare up from among the Bush Honeysuckle along Bear Creek,
an "Evening Grosbeak" that Merlin heard as a Rose-breasted Grosbeak sang in the evening (does it count as an "evening" Grosbeak?),
and a "Prothonotary Warbler" that Merlin heard from a very high-strung, excitable Northern Parula.
I hope all of your Global Big Day adventures were equally fruitful.
Cheers and good birding,
Chase
Columbia, Boone Co., MO
darrcm AT missouri DOT edu
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