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Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Mound City, Missouri (1 Viewer)

Larry Lade

Moderator
February 23, 2007

I drove up to Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City, yesterday to see if the ice covered areas were beginning to disappear and to observe what bird species were around. When I got up there it looked like all the wet area were still entirely covered in ice. I thought that perhaps I should turn around and head for Smithville Lake (some 80 miles or so south of Squaw Creek) and try my luck there. Instead I went ahead and began driving around the auto loop. Surprisingly, as I arrived at the south end of Eagle Pool, I found some open water next to the foot trail which goes out to the observation deck. There were several species of geese and duck and also three (3) American Coots in this area. After checking out the various species of waterfowl here, I continued my drive over to the west side of the refuge. Near the northwest end of Snow Goose Pool (the "shorebird" area) I found almost no ice and the area was covered with waterfowl. I estimated the number of Mallards here to be 11,000. Not to be missed were four (4) "untagged" Trumpeter Swans (2 adults and 2 immatures). Below is a list of the waterfowl I observed (at the two locations mentioned above):

Greater White-fronted Goose - 5
Snow Goose - 15000
Ross's Goose - 2
Cackling Goose - 5
Canada Goose - 1500
Trumpeter Swan - 4
Wood Duck - one drake
American Wigeon - one drake
Mallard - 11000
Northern Pintail - 15
Green-winged Teal - 2
Canvasback - 1 drake
Redhead - 6 ( 3 pairs)
Ring-necked Duck - 50 +
Common Goldeneye - 90 +
Hooded Merganser - 20
Common Merganser - 10

A pair of Bald Eagle were adding material to the most recent nest on the refuge. This is the one on the main drive on the west side of the refuge near the "shorebird" area mentioned above. There was no eagle activity at the other two nests along the road which goes over to Mallard Marsh.

Driving through the woods on the north part of the auto- tour loop I encountered many of the expected species. About 1/2 the way through this area I stopped my vehicle and just enjoyed the wrens, nuthatches, titmice, chickadee, woodpeckers, creepers, robins, bluebirds, etc. Then I heard some loud knocks and calls of what sounded like Pileated Woodpeck/Northern Flicker. Probably Northern Flicker as I have never seen the Pileated here at Squaw Creek. But two had been seen by Paul and Ron on the CBC this year. As I sat there a calling and flying bird flew through the trees heading west. In another instant a second bird followed. They looked like they might be Pileated. I got out of the car and walked down the road in the direction the birds had flown. They would fly a short distance, perch in a tree and as I approached off they would go. I was finally able to get some good looks and was able to verify that they were indeed Pileated Woodpeckers. I would assume that they are a pair and may stay in the area, possibly even nesting! *They are listed as "accidental" on the Squaw Creek Checklist of Birds.

On the way off the refuge as I was exiting through the conifer-lined exit, I thought I might have seen a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on one of the trees. I stopped the RAV and got out to get a better look. I could not located the bird I was after, but as I got out of my vehicle a Barred Owl flew out from a near-by tree and further into the refuge.

At the feeders behind the headquarters building I found Purple Finch, American Tree Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow as well as the regular attendees.

All in all a nice morning birding!

 
April 12, 2007

Hearing about the Cinnamon Teal and all the shore birds that were recently seen at Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City, Missouri, I decided this morning that I had to go and take a look. Well, no joy on the Cinnamon Teal and the shorebirds were pretty much non-existent, except for a lot of yellowlegs.
I tried to make one of them into a Stilt Sandpiper, but no such luck!
I did see two Least Sandpipers though.

There were American Coot, Northern Shovelers and both teal (green-winged and blue-winged) all over
the place. Other representatives of waterfowl included Ring-necked Duck,
Lesser Scaup, Gadwall, Ruddy Duck, Mallard, American Wigeon,
Bufflehead, Northern Pintail, hoodies and woodies. I saw all five of the usual
geese, Greater White-fronted, Snow, Ross's, Canada and one lingering
Cackling. Somewhat of a surprise was the lingering, juvenile Trumpeter
Swan. It was on the far west side of Pintail Pool grubbing around for
whatever they grub around for!

Hundreds, if not thousands of American White Pelican and a couple of
hundred Double-crested Cormorants were scattered around the refuge.

On the south end of Eagle Pool I spotted a nice Swainson's Hawk
perched in a roadside tree. We watched each other for a minute and then it
decided to fly off.

The only sparrows I saw were Chipping, Savannah and Song. As I
started through the wooded area on the north end of the auto tour loop I saw
one Dark-eyed Junco and thought, well there is still one around. Then
about 1/2 way down this road through the trees I noticed a bunch of
small birds picking around in the middle of the gravel road. Lo and behold,
I count twenty-one (21) more Dark-eyed Junco in the flock.

It was fun watching the male White-breasted Nuthatch delivering food
items to the female who was tending to the eggs/young in their nest
hole in a roadside tree on the north end of the loop.
 
September 18, 2007 at Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City

After our bird banding session at Missouri Western State University's campus, Steve and I drove up to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge (Mound City, Missouri) for some birding. The intermittent showers did not dampen our spirits as we were able to see quite a few species and we both added a couple of species to our Missouri 2007 Year Lists.

The waterfowl are beginning to migrate through the area. The most abundant were the Blue-winged Teal with smaller numbers of Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal. Of course, we always see the ubiquitous Canada Geese. We saw Ring-necked Pheasant and Wild Turkey but no Northern Bobwhite.

Pied-billed Grebe were rather numerous and while not in great numbers there were also American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants. Representatives of the waders included Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, a Snowy Egret, Green Herons and a Black-crowned Night-Heron.

Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagles (one adult and one immature), Northern Harriers, Cooper's Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk were viewed as we drove around the ten mile long auto-tour loop.

Sora have really moved into the area and we heard many of them as we drove through the area. Steve spotted a Common Moorhen on the west side of the walking trail which goes out to the observation tower on the south end of Eagle Pool (toward the south end of the refuge). A number of American Coot were in this area too. Shorebird habitat is virtually non-existent on the refuge and the only shorebirds we were able to tally were some Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs and two Short-billed Dowitchers. Several Belted Kingfishers were found perched and flying over areas of shallow water.

Driving in the more wooded areas on the west and north parts of the refuge we encountered most of the expected species. Some of the ones of particular interest included Eastern Kingbird (had not migrated yet), another Philadelphia Vireo (we had banded four of these early at the university campus in Saint Joseph), one Cedar Waxwing and a Chestnut-sided Warbler (always a nice warbler to see).

Overall, a nice assortment of species given the rainy conditions and our midday time spent on the refuge.
 
Leo Galloway called me last night and said he had seen two Sandhill Cranes and some possible Tundra Swans (in with about 40 Trumpeter Swans) up at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Mound City, Missouri. He wanted me to check on the swans and see what I thought.

Well, I went up today. I missed the Sandhill Cranes but I did see 54 swans. They were way out in Eagle Pool (seen from the west side of the auto loop). There was just a little slip of open water (everything else was frozen). Just about all of them were sleeping (heads under a wing). The few which were not sleeping were Trumpeter Swans. I just could not attempt an id on the sleeping ones due to distance and "hidden heads"!

Moving a little further up the west side of the loop and came to a tree next to the road in which a lot of little birds were flitting around. There were juncos, tree sparrows, titmice, chickadees, etc. Then I saw a bigger bird chasing these little guys around. I watched the Northern Shrike chase the little birds for about ten minutes (he did not catch any). Probably the best, close look I have ever had of this shrike. It showed all the characteristics, prominent hooked bill, white over the bill at the forehead, white rump, reduced black mask and very discernable, fine lined, dark barring on the breast.

Going through the woods on the north end of the loop I had two Winter Wrens and ..., Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker and a fifteen minute show of a foraging pair of PILEATED WOODPECKERS. I followed them along in the RAV4 as they worked their way west in the trees (next to the road). Sometimes they would be on the same tree and sometimes they would be a few trees apart. Sometimes they were quiet and sometimes they would call to one another. Fantastic! This was the longest encounter I have had with this species! I was close enough to them to be able to see the black bordered, red "whisker stripe" of the male bird.

When that show was over I observed a Peregrine Falcon sitting in a tree near the northeast corner of the loop.

Pretty good day! Picked up five more year birds.
 
The ten mile auto tour loop at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge is now only partially open due to high water damage to the roadway. The loop apparently will not be completely open until repair can be done to the extensively damaged roadway on the north end of the loop. I understand that the refuge is open to the observation deck at main entrance and some points south.
 
The auto tour loop at the refuge is now open. They have gotten it repaired much earlier than they had predicted!

Steve Kinder and I birded Squaw Creek NWR (Mound City, Missouri) and some
nearby areas March 25th and tallied 77 species, *one hybird and **one
[Spp]. Eight of the species were FOY for Steve and seven of them were FOY
for me.

Birds Seen/Heard at Squaw Creek NWR with some at other locations as
noted:

Note: birds in CAPS were FOY for me, generally the same for Steve
with a couple of different ones than mine.


Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan - 7
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
*Blue-winged X Cinnamon Teal (male hybrid)
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey (on drive up to Squaw Creek CA)
Pied-billed Grebe
HORNED GREBE
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (Laukemper's "wetland", Mound City, Missouri)
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Sandhill Crane (heard only, we could not located them!)
Killdeer
GREATER YELLOWLEGS
LESSER YELLOWLEGS
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
PECTORAL SANDPIPER
WILSON'S SNIPE
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker (heard only)
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark (Forest City, MO)
TREE SWALLOW
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse (heard at Bob Brown CA)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren (at Bob Brown CA)
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
American Tree Sparrow
Field Sparrow (at Bob Brown CA)
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow ( 20 + [Squaw Creek/Bob Brown CA] )
Song Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow (at Bob Brown CA)
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
** meadowlark [Spp]
Rusty Blackbird (at Bob Brown CA)
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle (Mound City, Missouri)
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch (near empty feeders at Squaw Creek HQ's)
American Goldfinch (near empty feeders at Squaw Creek HQ's)
 
11/2/2008

Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Holt County, Missouri

I birded with my friend Eric Seirck. We started our survey at 08:45, skies were clear with heavy morning fog, the temperature was 14°C. There was a moderate southerly wind most of the day. There was no fog when we arrived but we anticipate that it had burned off within the last half hour. Sunrise occurred at 06:51. Daylight savings time ended early this morning. We pulled out of the refuge at 12:55 the temperature was 24°C.
Most duck and goose numbers based on numbers published in the 11/03/2008 Squaw Creek NWR waterfowl survey (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/SquawCreek/Waterfowl_Surveys.html), what I saw was consistent with this report, except that I did not see any Wood Ducks, I have remarked below in regard to the swans.

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 20
American White Pelican (Pelicanus erythrorhynchos) 100
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 3
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 3
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) 8K
Snow Goose (Chen carulescens) 3K
Ross’s Goose (Chen rossii) 2 #
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 1.3K
? Swan (Cygnus sp) 2 *
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 10K
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 45K
Northern Shovel (Anas clypeata) 2K
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 30K
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 4K
Redhead (Aythya americana) 2
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 3.5K
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 6 (2 adult, 4 immature)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
American Coot (Fullica americana) 20K
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) 1 only heard
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 3
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) tens of thousands
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) hundreds

#-I did not see these during the survey but found them in a photograph(s) later.

*-I would have said Tundra based on the spot on the bill but it has been suggested to me that they may in fact be Trumpeters based on culmen slope, unfortunately my pictures are not definitive. I suppose that I should find a good gallery site and post a couple (any suggestions?). A Topeka Audubon Society group reported 2 Trumpeters on 11/01/2008 as a fly over, refuge waterfowl survey indicated 2 Tundra on 11/03/2008.
 
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Brenda and I are back from the Washington DC area visiting our daughter and her husband. So today, I went up to Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City, Missouri to check out what birds might there.

Greater White-fronted Goose - abundant
Snow Goose - abundant
Ross's Goose - some
Canada Goose - hundreds
Gadwall - abundant
American Wigeon - some
Mallard - abundant
Northern Shoveler - abundant
Northern Pintail - abundant
Green-winged Teal - abundant
Redhead - a few
Canvasback - a few
Ring-necked Duck - quite a few
Lesser Scaup - a few
Hooded Merganser - one female
Ruddy Duck - a few

I saw about a dozen American White Pelican, two Great Blue Heron and two Great Egret. There were quite a few Pied-billed Grebe.

About ten Bald Eagles and they were all subadults. Also seen were: two Northern Harriers, two Cooper's Hawks and a few Red-tailed Hawks.

Rounding out my list this morning were: American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, American Robin, European Starling, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle and Great-tailed Grackle.
 
My wife and I made a quick trip up to Squaw Creek last Saturday 11/08/2008, it was sure windy and cold. Saw pretty much the same things as you did. We did get 4 Swans, these may have actually been Trumpeters, I am just not a swan expert but do not see the yellow loral spot as was present on the two swan that I had observed the week before, culmen seems to be right for Trumpeter (If I can get around to it I might post a photo to the ID forum). I also found a pretty good size group of Cackling Geese. I didn't see a single American Wigeon (I wasn't able scan ducks in a few locals as my wife was not patient enough for me to do this), I had seen them throughout the refuge the week before. I also noticed that many of the Northern Shovelers are now of alternate plumage rather than predominantly basic plumage as I had noticed the week before, seemed like an interesting observation. I didn't see as many Bald Eagles but did see two full adults on a muskrat mound in the Pelican Pool.
 
A Morning's Birding At Squaw Creek NWR, November 21, 2008

Birds I saw at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Mound City, Missouri, the morning of November 21, 2008.

Nearly 1/2 of the birds I saw today were waterfowl species:

Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck

The rest were: Ring-necked Pheasant, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, European Starling, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and American Goldfinch.
 
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge on November 25

Steve Kinder, Ted Vawter (visiting BF birder from Washington DC) and Larry Lade birded Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge this morning under clear and warming skies. We also did a short trip over to Big Lake State Park after birding the refuge.

We tallied twenty-two (22) species of waterfowl missing only the Wood Duck and Redhead from the list of expected species. Of the 50 swans which we saw, two (2) were identified as Tundra Swans the rest ascertained as Trumpeter Swans.

Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser (at Big Lake)
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck

Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe (at Big Lake)
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier (Laukemper's wetland off of 118)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
WILSON'S SNIPE (Laukemper's wetland off of 118)
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starlilng
Cedar Waxwing (at Big Lake)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (at Big Lake)
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Great-taile Grackle (in Mound City, Missouri)
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow (in Mound City, Missouri)
 
This morning I birded Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Mound City, Missouri.

I tallied fifteen (15) species of waterfowl: Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Ross's Goose (33 of these in a flock by themselves, no Snow Goose among them), Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser and Ruddy Duck.

American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, FOY for me and "Bird of the Day" was an AMERICAN BITTERN, Great Blue Heron and Great Egret.

Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle (near the nest site), Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk and just outside the entrance was American Kestrel.

American Coot (thousands) and I heard Sandhill Crane calls but was not able to see them.

Killdeer, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers and Ring-billed Gulls.

Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Field Sparrow (FOY), Savannah Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Coming back to Saint Joseph I found Purple Martins in Forest City and Wild Turkey near the outskirts of Saint Joseph.
 
Yesterday I took the back roads up to Bob Brown CA (Forest City, Missouri) and Squaw Creek NWR (Mound City, Missouri) and tallied a day list of about 100 species.

Some of my observations:

There were a few species of waterfowl hanging out at Squaw Creek, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal and Lesser Scaup. They were all in lower numbers, the BWTE being the most numerous. I was a little surprised to see so many American White Pelicans still on the refuge, about 200. There were just a few Double-crested Cormorants. I had one Sandhill Crane fly over me while I was viewing the birds in Mallard Marsh. It flew to the southwest area of the refuge.

I found two "hatch year" Bald Eagles in their nest. They are as large as the adults now.

There was a nice assortment of waders to be seen, Great Blue Heron (10), Great Egret (100), Snowy Egret (6), Little Blue Heron (2) and White-faced Ibis (16). I got Least Bittern over at Bob Brown CA.

There were very few shorebirds at Squaw Creek, but around 500 at Bob Brown. Scanning the flocks at Bob Brown, I detected Semipalmated Plovers (10), Killdeer (5), Spotted Sandpiper (10), Greater Yellowlegs (a few), [Lesser Yellowlegs were at Squaw Creek], Semipalmated Sandpiper (by far, the most numerous of the peeps), Western Sandpiper (I picked out 1), Least Sandpiper (about 40), Baird's Sandpiper (1), Pectoral Sandpiper (about 70) and a stunning Dunlin.

On the drive up to these area along T Highway I observed Western Kingbird (Amazonia), Summer Tanager, bluebirds, buntings, etc.

Brown Thrashers (25), Orchard Orioles (70), Baltimore Orioles (20), Yellow Warblers (25)...these birds seemed to be everywhere.

I did not see very many warblers, only Tennessee, oh yes Yellow, Chestnut-sided and American Redstart.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds were around giving their screechy calls. And, I saw one male Great-tailed Grackle.

Sparrows seen: Chipping, Lark, Song and Lincoln's
 
Today at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Mound City, Missouri. Birded from 8 AM until Noon.

Canada Goose
Ring-necked Pheasant
Northern Bobwhite
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron, many scattered around the refuge
Great Egret - about 50 in one group, Eagle Pool (north)
Green Heron - 2
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle, one adult perched in tree at northeast corner of tour loop
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer, several (the only shorebird seen today)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a saw seven (7) and heard four or five
Belted Kingfisher - 3
*Clean sweep of the woodpeckers, sans Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Red-headed, Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
....several non-vocal Empidonax
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
*pretty sure I heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch (but did not count it)
House Wrens seemed to be everywhere
Eastern Bluebird
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
.........no mockingbirds though! ........
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak (near Forbes, MO)
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
.....I did not hear/see any Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but Ron Bell (refuge manager) said there were a few around
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole, in addition to the adults there were quite a few first year males (a couple of these seemed to be carrying food for young?)
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
 
November 13, 2010, at Squaw Creek NWR

Before I went to Headquarters to man the information desk at Squaw Creek NWR Saturday, I made a short trip around the auto tour loop. There are now thousands of waterfowl using the refuge. By far and away the most numerous while I was there were The Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards and Gadwall. But there were significant numbers of Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Snow Geese, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks. In somewhat smaller numbers were Greater White-fronted Geese, Canada Geese, American Wigeons, Canvasbacks, Redheads and Buffleheads. In Pintail Pool on the west side of the refuge I located two, adult Trumpeter Swans which were not banded. I believe that adds up to eighteen (18) species of waterfowl.

Other bird species I saw were Wild Turkey, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, GREAT EGRET, six or seven Bald Eagles, several Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawk, a couple of Rough-legged Hawks, American Coots (of, course) and Belted Kingfisher.

While occasionally observing the HQ's bird feeders (which I filled when I arrived) I observed Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, White-breasted Nuthatches, robins, starlings, American Tree Sparrow, White-throated Sparrows, juncos, cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and American Goldfinches.

Some of the visitors dropping by the HQ's reported seeing 2 to 4 SANDHILL CRANES, of course, they did not call or show themselves while I was touring the refuge.
 
Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City, Missouri, is currently hosting quite an assortment of birds. The migrating shorebirds (waders) are making a good showing with the various plovers, peeps, yellowlegs, willets, godwits, ibises, gulls, terns and some lingering ducks/geese. Bald Eagles have eaglets in the nest. There is just a lot to see there now! It will be good for warblers in a week or two!

It is a good time to visit if you happen to be in the area!
 
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