Birding this morning at Squaw Creek NWR, Missouri (1 Viewer)

Steve Kinder and I birded Squaw Creek on Tuesday morning (August 27th). Driving up from St. Joseph on Interstate 29 we saw some TURKEY VULTURES and little else. Here is the list of birds we saw on the refuge while driving the 10 mile auto tour loop. They are listed here more or less in the order seen.
Turkey Vulture
Orchard Oriole
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
Dickcissel
Great Blue Heron
Gree Heron
Red-winged Blackbird
Wood Duck
Belted Kingfisher
Great-tailed Grackle
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Canada Goose
Barn Swallow
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-headed Woodpecker
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Mourning Dove
Eastern Bluebird
Brown-headed Cowbird
several Empidonax flycatchers
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird
American Goldfinch
Black-capped Chickadee
Warbling Vireo
Downy Woodpecker
American Robin
While driving the "back way" home along 59 Highway, T Highway, etc. we encounter several BLUE GROSBEAK (male adults and juvenile birds) lots of Eastern Flycatchers, Indigo Buntings and a Red-tailed Hawk.

Perhaps our "best" bird was a hybrid EASTERN KINGBIRD x WESTERN KINGBIRD sitting on the road side utility line near Forbes, MO. (* First one my birding friend or I have ever seen!)

Without getting out of the car? Wow.just.wow - nice day. My son and his wife live in Olathe. He works p/t for USGS and is a student. They love to take nature drives together. I'll mention this one to him... thanks.

SeattleDan said:

Without getting out of the car? Wow.just.wow - nice day. My son and his wife live in Olathe. He works p/t for USGS and is a student. They love to take nature drives together. I'll mention this one to him... thanks.

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Olathe is not that far from Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City, MO, so I imagine that he and his wife have probably been there a time or three! It can be quite awesome at times, especially when the Snow Geese (thousands) and Bald Eagles (hundreds) are there in the winter months!

Good Birding!

I just got off the phone with him, and he mentioned wanting to visit a place, North of Vancouver BC, considered locally to be the "Winter home" of the Bald Eagle. Now I can point him to Squaw Creek. I'm confident he's never been there. Thanks again.

A couple of years ago there were about 500 Bald Eagles recorded at the refuge one day around Christmas time!

* I think the number was 479 eagles, but I do not have it to hand at the moment.