birding...

Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis ©Stephen O Muskie http://www.outtakes.com/birds/index.html

Located in the centre of the United States, Missouri offers a wide range of habitats and diversity of avifauna. The state is poised at the edge of the Great Plains on the west, and hardwood forests of the eastern US. Missouri`s weather and wildlife is strongly influenced by the great rivers of the American Midwest, the Mississippi and the Missouri.

The state may be divided into two major regions by the west to east passage of the Missouri river. The northern third of Missouri (north of the River) is composed of glaciated plains. These gently rolling lands have, for the most part, been cleared of pre-settlement prairies and riparian woods in preparation for extensive farming. Birds seen in this zone range from Lark Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark at the dry western extremes through Loggerhead Shrike, Dickcissel and other open area species in the centre, to edge/hardwood forest species in the east.

The south central portion (south of the Missouri River) contains the more rugged terrain of the Ozarks. The eastern half of this region includes dense hardwood forests populated with a variety of Woodpeckers, Wood Thrush, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Kentucky Warblers, and Tufted Titmice (to name but a few). The White River Cedar Glades near the southwestern border of the state contain the highest concentrations of Greater Roadrunners, Prairie Warblers, Blue Grosbeaks, & Painted Buntings.

The southeastern portion of the state (known locally as the boot heel) is composed of Mississippi lowlands. Most of the swampy forests typical of this area have been converted to agricultural use, and the area presently has some of the highest concentrations of Killdeer, American Kestrels, Horned Larks, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and European Starlings in the state.

The west central portions of Missouri are blessed with surviving remnants of the native Tall Grass prairies once common to much of pre-settlement Missouri. In addition to many of the bird species seen in glaciated plains, this region is also home to Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers, Bell`s Vireos, and prairie specific birds like Greater Prairie Chicken, Upland Sandpiper, Short-Eared Owl, Grasshopper Sparrow and Henslow`s Sparrow.

Much of the remainder of the state is Missouri and Mississippi River Lowlands. These river floodplain regions have been significantly developed by the hand of man, leaving the rivers channelized, leveed, locked and dammed to a point where little of the dynamic character of these important bodies of water remains today. Some of the species with greatest abundance in these areas include Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Warbling Vireo, Least Tern, Fish Crow, Western Kingbird, and Yellow-Headed Blackbird. The Mississippi River lowlands also rest within a major migratory flyway for a variety of species.

The 1998 revision of the Annotated Checklist of Missouri Birds shows 397 species positively identified in the state. Nineteen additional hypotheticals boost the total to well over 400. Spring and Fall migrations see a wide ranging variety of eastern and western birds moving through the state. Forty-one species of Wood Warblers have been reported in Missouri, along with 22 Sparrow species, 10 Thrushes, 14 flycatchers, 9 owls, 22 Raptors, and scores of waterfowl, gulls, and shorebirds. Some of the latest additions to this list include Anna`s Hummingbird, Eurasian Collared Doves, and Smew.

Nearly every corner of Missouri has something unique to offer the serious birder. The state is home to four National Wildlife Refuges: Squaw Creek, Swan Lake, Clarence Cannon, and Mingo, and countless Conservation areas managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Some favourite areas frequented by Missouri birders include (but certainly are not limited to) Eagle bluffs Conservation Area near Columbia, Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area in West Alton, Schell-Osage Conservation Area near Nevada, Lake Jacomo near Kansas City, Otter Slough Conservation Area near Dexter, & Taberville Prairie near Sedalia.

Missouri accommodates an active birding community, which avails us of many useful resources. The Audubon Society of Missouri (ASM) serves as the state`s major ornithological organization. This body maintains an up-to-date annotated checklist of Missouri Birds, and serves as the repository for rare bird sighting data. An e-mail listserve known as MOBIRDS is hosted by ASM, and serves the Missouri birding community as a rapid, efficient means to distribute rare bird sightings to interested individuals via the internet. Subscription information for this service is available on the ASM website at the address shown below. Spending a bit of time at the following web sites goes a long way toward helping one understand what birding is like in Missouri, but it`s nothing like actually doing it! Come join us, and we`ll be proud to share the best we have with you!