Day 3 - A Day of Promise

Day 3 began with the good news that temperatures were headed up and out of the single digits. Not only did that mean that we would be more comfortable, it also meant that the rodents and birds that Snowy Owls feed on would be more active - meaning the Owls might be more active too.

I'll break the news right up front - we did not see a Snowy Owl today. But, we had a great day birding - spotting Bald Eagles, Hawks, and an abundance of waterfowl. We also saw coyote, deer, some beautiful countryside, and historic communities.

We started the day with a return visit to Lake Springfield. Extremely cold temperatures, 9 degrees at sunrise, meant more of Lake Springfield was frozen. There was still a large contention of Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls but much fewer waterfowl. There was a large raft of Gulls about 100 yards from the dam and another large raft of ducks and geese in open water about a 1/2 mile from the dam.

The same cold wind blowing across the lake that caused waterfowl to seek a warmer, better protected spot caused us to move on as well. Springfield is an interesting town and I'd lovee to spend more time exploring - but this trip is all about birds, specifically the Snowy Owl, and we needed to log some hours in an area with mores promise.

We headed West of Springfield to the Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge along the Illinois River. Meredosia NWR is a beautiful place with lots of promise for birders. We followed our GPS to a spot on the western edge of the Refuge where a Snowy Owl had been reported on eBird just a few days prior.

Flooded roads limited our access to the Refuge, but not to the birds. Right away we spotted an immature Bald Eagle gliding above a flooded field, hunting for ducks. When I got out of the car for a closer look I heard the familiar sounds of ducks and geese echoing up from the other sidde of a leveee about 1 1/2 miles from our location. As the young Bald Eagle hunted ducks in the flooded field next to us, ducks and geese filled the air over the main part of the Refuge and the flooded farm fields just outside of the Refuge.

I set up the spotting scope to get a better look at the Bald Eagle and waterfowl and was excited to see that the young Bald Eagle was not alone. The youngster glided into a tree along the levee and there I saw 2 mature Bald Eagles. Their size indicated that 1 was male, the other a female. It was obvious to me that this was a family group and that they were working as a family to put food on the table - or, more accurately, on the branch.

Meredosia proved to be a great place for viewing waterfowl. It reminded me of the years I spent hunting ducks, guiding hunters, and managing Hunting Clubs in Eastern Arkansas. We saw, and heard, Mallards, Pintails, American Wegeons, Gadwalls,  Canada Geese, and Snow Geese, We also identified an American Kestrel, Mourning Doves, a Red-tailed Hawk, and European Starlings. But no Snowy Owl. After alomt 2 hours searching the fields that were accessible, we decided it was time to head north, up the Illinois River to an area outside of Peoria, IL where a Snowy Owl had been spotted in early January.

Our route to Peoria took us up Hwy 68 then Hwy 78 through historic Illinois communities like Beardstown, Little Indian, Bath, Chandlerville, Havana, and Green Valley. Along the way we saw another Bald Eagle on the Sangamon River. We also saw the occasional fat and happy, corn fed deer that looked more like ponies.

Passing through Havana, IL we came face to face with the decaying heart of America and the cause of that decay - greed. Havana is an historic town situated on the Illinois River and home to a massive grain storage facility and shipping terminal owed by Archer Daniels Midland. While the grain terminal was state of the art the town of Havana was aging and, in many places, crumbling. Look for another post from me offering my take on the problems communities like Havana face and my opinion as to the source of those problems.

We searched some promising spots west of Peoria but still no Snowy Owl. We did get to see a Wind Farm and witnessed a beautiful sunset before heading farther North to Dekalb and the most promising locations for seeing a Snowy Owl.

Even though we didn't see a Snowy Owl, I count this day a success. We saw beautiful Bald Eagles and thousands of waterfowl, beautiful countryside and historic communities. Tomorrow is another day and, quite honestly, offers our best chance of seeing the beautifully illusive Snowy Owl.

Day 2 - COLD!

Day 2 began blustery and cold and the weather (and temperatures) went downhill from there.

The temperature at 6 am was 26 degrees - by noon the temp had fallen to 19 and would continue to drop throughout the remainder of the day. Winds were gusting up to 30 mph and we had snow flurries early in the morning.

The lows temps and high winds kept us from using my spotting scope to scan the corn and bean fields, dusted with snow, for the elusive Snowy Owl. The wind was the steepest challenge. It cut through my clothing and made the tripod & scope shaky and unstable.

But - good news - the day was not a bust! We started out at Lake Springfield where the warm water discharge from a power plant attracted all sorts of life. We saw large rafts of American Coots and a huge number of  Herring Gulls and Bonaparte's Gulls along with Mallards, Canada Geese, and other waterfowl to far away to clearly identify (thanks to the shaky spotting scope!).

After leaving Lake Springfield, we headed west towards Jacksonville, IL to a spot where several folks had reported sighing a Snowy Owl. These sightings I mention can be found in a searchable database maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology called eBird (click to visit the site).

The light dusting of snow made searching for a white owl a challenge. We spent most of our time driving down farm roads scanning the fields from the warmth of the car. Nothing was stirring in the bitter cold - nothing. We saw a Red-shouldered Hawk, a Red Bellied Woodpecker, a Northern Harrier, and one very fat Fox Squirrel.

Still, we had hope! Twice we made extra effort to get a better look at what we just knew was a Snowy Owl perched on a fence post only to find a snow capped post and no Owl.

Around 2:30, we finally gave into the cold and headed back to Springfield where we visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. An amazing collection of American history and tribute to , quite possibly, our greatest president. If you're ever even close to Springfield, the Lincoln Museum should be a must see - I'll be back.

Day 2 Species Report:
Bonaparte's Gull - Lake Springfield
Herring Gull - Lake Springfield
American Coot -Lake Springfield
Mallard - Lake Springfield
Canada Goose - Lake Springfield
Large rafts of unidentified waterfowl - Lake Springfield
Red-shouldered Hawk - S. Lincoln Rd. Morgan County, IL
Red Bellied Woodpecker - S. Lincoln Rd. Morgan County, IL
Northern Harrier - S. Lincoln Rd. Morgan County, IL
American Coot - County Line Rd. Morgan County, IL

Day 1 - the Journey Begins

With my car packed full of warm clothes, camera gear, spotting scope, binoculars, and other gear, my good friend Peter Blumeyer and I pulled out of Memphis Monday January 11, 2016 in search of the Snowy Owl. We drove up through rural West Tennessee, South West Kentucky, and Missouri - headed for our first overnight stop, Springfield, Illinois.

Loading up to leave Memphis, TN

Our adventure began in earnest before we could even get out of Shelby County. A very friendly, female Tennessee State Trooper, with an Australian accent (go figure), stopped us on I-40 just about 3 miles from my house to ask where we were headed and why we were in such a hurry. My explanation that I was excited to begin my quest to find a Snowy Owl and was in a rush to get to Springfield, IL was not enough to keep her from writing me a ticket for going 76 in a 65 MPH speed zone. At least we didn't go to jail!

The good news is that we began seeing interesting species of birds right away. Just outside Dyersburg , TN- where Hwy, 51 crosses the Obion River - we saw a Northern Harrier cursing across a partially flooded bean field and several Wild Turkeys scratching and feeding at the edge of the field. A light snow had blanketed the area the night before - which made the landscape appear more like Iowa or Wisconsin than West Tennessee.

We passed through beautiful rural West Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky. All along the early lleg of our journey, we saw decaying farm houses, barns, and other structures. It was as though the families that once lived and worked the farms just moved away leaving the beautiful wooden structures to rot and melt into the landscape.  It was sad to see and serves as a sad commentary on the fate of agricultural communities across America. Homes, businesses, and entire communities, just rotting away.

Near Wickliffe, KY we stopped at a beautiful spot overlooking the Mississippi River at the site of historic Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson (which is no longer there) was established in 1779 by George Rogers Clark and was visited by Lewis and Clark on their journey west with the Corps of Discovery. Fort Jefferson sits high on a bluff overlooking the River and is now home to a 90' white cross - erected by local churches - which can bee seen from 3 states, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri.

From the bluff we saw a beautiful Bald  Eagle edging high above the shore of the River. While the Eagle was high above the river, she was at eye level with us because we were atop the bluff. Sadly, she moved off to the South and out of view before I could get my camera out and snap a picture. I did get some good shots of the River and a barge moving North, up the Mississippi towards the Ohio River.

We passed through Wickliffe, KY - a beautiful River Town that appeared to be bearing up to the changing economy better than the surrounding agricultural communities. I'm certain that Wickliffe's economy is stable because of its River Port and location along Hwy 57.

Just outside Wickliffe, we crossed the Ohio River and stopped at Fort Defiance, IL. - a narrow strip of land sitting at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. There's a "Park" at Fort Defiance with a few aging signs detailing the history and significance of the location. There is also an aging and neglected toll-house that is no longer in use.

Since pre-historic times, the site has been used as a trading post and military encampment. Archaeologist have found signs of use by indigenous peoples dating back to the early Mississippi Era (800-1600 CE). Lewis and Clark spent 6 days there, preparing to head up the Mississippi River. The site gets its name from a military outpost built by General U.S. Grant during the Civil War to control access to the two strategic waterways. It's a shame that the site is in such disrepair and suffers from neglect given its significance to the natural history of the area and to American history.

Leaving Fort Defiance, we headed north towards St. Louis. Along the way we saw a small flock of Wild Turkeys and several large flocks of high flying geese and waterfowl. We stopped briefly in St. Louis for dinner for fresh oysters, gumbo, and shrimp po-boys at Peacemaker Lobster & Crab. Finally made it to Springfield around 8:30 PM.

All in all, it was a good day. We visited some interesting sites, took in the natural beauty of rural West Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky, and identified 11 species of birds as we traveled. The weather was good today but is expected to take a cold and blustery turn overnight. Tomorrow we will head to an area West of Springfield where Snowy Owls have been sighted multiple times in the last 45 days.

Birds Identified Day 1:
Northern Cardinal - Shelby County, TN
Eastern Bluebird - Shelby County, TN
Red-tailed Hawk - Shelby County, TN & Ballard County, KY
Turkey Vulture - Tipton County, TN
American Kestrel - Tipton County, TN
Northern Harrier - Hwy 51 @ the Obion River
Wild Turkey - Hwy 51 @ the Obion River
Bonaparte's Gull - flooded fields in Obion County & Lake County, TN
Wild Turkey - Hwy 51 N. of Bardwell, KY
Great Blue Heron - Hwy 51 N. of Bardwell, KY & Ft. Defiance, IL
Bald Eagle - Fort Jefferson, KY
Red-shouldered Hawk - Hwy 62 S. of Wilson City, Missouri
Wild Turkey - I-55 @ mile 112 in Missouri
Additionally: Large flocks of high flying waterfowl; unidentified large gull at Ft. Jefferson