American Bald Eagles

On the way to visit my son and his family on Saturday, I was delighted to see two American bald eagles in 'the eagle tree' that sits along the way.

The eagle's nest in the tree sits high above the ground; the eagles were sitting much higher.

I was able to get several photographs both coming and going. There was only one eagle in the tree on my way home.

To learn more about the American bald eagle in Missouri, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website. You can get there by clicking HERE.

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Coyote

It's Been A Long Time

In Search of the Ferruginous Hawk

 

In Search of the Ferruginous Hawk

Have you heard the news? A ferruginous hawk has been sited at Prairie State Park (this is the park where I work)! 

Mature Ferruginous Hawk

Photo Credit

Normally these hawks are found in the western half of our nation...from western Kansas to California...not here on the tallgrass prairies of southwest Missouri. 

The hawk was first identified by a visitor to the park on November 23rd and was reported daily through the 29th; I found out about the hawk on December 5th and have looked for it ever since.

Over the month of December I've spotted hawks of practically every native kind...

...red-tailed...

...red-shouldered...

...rough-legged, broad-winged, northern harriers, and the smallest and one of the prettiest hawks in our state...the American Kestrel (a.k.a. a sparrow hawk)...

A couple of times I thought for sure that I had found the bird that I was seeking, but, much to my chagrin, after contacting a birding friend within the Missouri Department of Conservation, the hawks that I thought might be the ferruginous turned out to be nothing more than red-tails.

"Look at that beak!" my friend told me. "Look at the beak!"

Photo of Ferruginous Hawk Taken by Visitor

at Prairie State Park - November 23, 2020

Photo Credit

I looked at the beak. The beak looked more like an eagle's beak than any hawk beak I knew!

Finally, on my way home from work on Monday, I spotted a really big hawk on top of a utility pole. I stopped and started taking pictures. None of the pictures turned out very good, but I could tell that the beak on this bird was different than the others.

On Tuesday my husband and I went back out and we discovered that the big hawk was hanging out in the same general area that I had seen it the day before. This time I got better pictures!

Immature Ferruginous Hawk

12/17/20

Prairie State Park

I again sent them to my friend in the Missouri Department of Conservation...and this time, he said, "Look at that beak!!! YES! You've got it!" 

After days of looking I had finally found (and photographed) the ferruginous hawk! 

Immature Ferruginous Hawk

12/17/20

Prairie State Park

It has now been added to my life-long bird list and I cannot tell you how excited I am about seeing it!

What about you? What kind of hawks do you have where you live?

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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The Red-Shouldered Hawk

At The Edge of the Woods

Prairie At Night

The Red-Shouldered Hawk

We have a pair of red-shouldered hawks that frequent our neighborhood. In fact, this spring the birds nested less than a block away from our home; last year they nested in a tree that grows in the fencerow behind us and casts its shade into our backyard.

Saturday afternoon, while it's mate perched precariously atop a catalpa tree across the street, this red-shouldered beauty perched on the electric pole that sits next to the alley at the corner of our property.

The bird put on quite a show for us by flying from one pole to another. It was so awesome to see the pair of them and this one from such a short distance away...only a few yards!

I was surprised to discover that, although red-shouldered hawks are found statewide, they are generally associated with forests and near water. They are also considered uncommon in southern Missouri and rare in the western quarter...which, I would say, includes here, where we live, on the tallgrass prairie in the southwest corner of the state. Interesting!

To learn more about red-shouldered hawks in Missouri click HERE.

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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At The Edge of the Woods

Prairie At Night

Buffalo? Bison? What's The Difference?

At The Edge of the Woods

 It was quite foggy this morning. 

I started my day just a bit early in hopes of discovering a few frost flowers on my way to work, but, alas, there were none. 

I think it might have been a tad too warm and way too wet...although...a friend that lives 40-some-miles south of us was posting pics of frost flowers found on her property this morning. Maybe she didn't get as much rain as we did over the weekend? I don't know. 

There were plenty of deer though. I saw at least ten on my way in to work. Most of them were hanging around the campground and picnic area.

I also observed a northern harrier hawk hunting just east of the nature center where I work. I watched it through the big, plate-glass window as it performed it's mesmerizing, acrobatic ritual of gliding down...almost touching its wingtip to the earth...then rising back up in search of prey. 

Photo Credit

This is one of my favorite sights during cold weather months on the tallgrass prairie. I will share more on northern harrier hawks at a later date.

What are some of your favorite sights during cold weather months where you live?

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Prairie At Night

Buffalo? Bison? What's The Difference?

Oh, Deer!

Birds of the Tallgrass Prairie - The Dickcissel

In her book Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder mentions the "dickie-bird", or dickcissel, as it is more properly called, more than once.

A Dickcissel Atop a Fencepost

"Meadow larks were springing straight up from the billows of grass into the high, clear sky, singing as they went. Small pearly clouds drifted in the intense blueness overhead. In all the weed-tops tiny birds were swinging and singing in tiny voices. Pa said they were dickcissels.

“Dickie, dickie!” Laura called back to them. “Dickie-bird!”

(Quote taken from Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder)

The Same Dickcissel Singing His Little Heart Out

Dickcissels are small, compact birds with a thick bill and short tail. They are about the same size as a house sparrow.

Adult males are grayish on the head with a yellow face and chest, crossed with a bold black V. The back is brown and gray, with warm reddish-brown shoulders. Females have a similar but more subdued pattern, but they lack the black V on the throat. Immatures are browner, without the cool gray or bright yellow tones.

The dickcissel's call in flight is described as an "electric" buzz; their song described as a sharp dick dick followed by a buzzed cissel. 

A Dickcissel Sitting on a Wire Fence

Here, in their Midwest summer breeding grounds, it seems that male dickcissels can be found singing their name from every fence-post, wire, and plant-stalk in tall grasslands, which includes prairies, farmlands, and roadsides. In autumn, the birds migrate in large flocks to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, where they

overwinter.

Dickcissels forage in flocks and eat mostly insects and seeds.

To see a dickcissel up close or to hear what a dickcissel sounds like, click HERE.

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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It's Been A While and What's Happening Presently On The Tallgrass Prairie

Bison On Parade @ Prairie State Park - Mindenmines, Missouri

Around The Border and Along The Edges

Life Along A Gravel Road

While out and about last Thursday I took these shots of life along the gravel road that runs through Prairie State Park...

A Regal Fritillary Butterfly atop a Pale-Purple Coneflower.

Prairie Wild Roses

White-Tailed Deer Print

Black-Eyed Susan and Wild White Indigo

Obedient Plant

Three-Toed Box Turtle

Hoary Vervain

Gray-Headed Coneflower

Until next time...

All My Love,

~Rebecca

Life On The Prairie A To Z

I recently started working part-time at Prairie State Park near Minden Mines, Missouri, but the tall-grass prairie, and the park, itself, are nothing new to me and my family.

We have lived on the edge of the tall-grass prairie for nearly two decades now, and have visited Prairie State Park, over the course of that time, literally, hundreds of times. Our children attended Junior Naturalist Day Camp, annually, during their growing up years...the first time being before we even moved here...and our whole family, at one time or another, has volunteered at various park events. Three of our six children have worked at Prairie State Park, and two of them still work within the Missouri State Park system. Even I, myself, have worked at Prairie State Park in the past for a short time.

There are so many things that I love about the tall-grass prairie, and I'm excited to get out and experience them on a regular basis again. I decided to list a few of my favorite things, here, in an A to Z blog list. If you are interested, just click on each link below to see pictures of the various plants and animals that can be found on Southwest Missouri's tall-grass prairie.

A) ASHY Sunflower and AMERICAN Kestrel
B) American BISON and BULL Thistle
C) Prairie CRAYFISH, COYOTE, and COREOPSIS
D) DICKCISSEL and DUNG Beetle
E) EASTERN Phoebe and EASTERN Screech Owl
F) FIELD Sparrow and FROST FLOWERS
G) GREATER Prairie Chicken, GAYFEATHER, and GRAY-Headed Coneflower
H) HENSLOW'S Sparrow
I) INDIAN Grass, INDIAN Paintbrush and INDIGO Bunting
J) JIMSONWEED and Prairie JUBILEE
K) Prairie KINGSNAKE
L) Slender Glass LIZARD
M) Prairie MOLE Cricket
N) NEW ENGLAND Asters and NORTHERN Harrier
O) OX-EYE Sunflower
P) PURPLE-HEADED Coneflower
Q) Bobwhite QUAIL
R) REGAL Fritillary Butterfly, RATTLESNAKE Master, and RED-EARED Slider
S) SCISSOR-TAILED Flycatcher and SHORT-EARED Owl
T) TURKEY Foot (a.k.a. Big Bluestem) Grass
U) UPLAND Sandpiper
V) Prairie VOLE
W) WHITE-TAILED Deer and WESTERN Meadowlark
X) SphinX Moth (I know...I kind of cheated here...I really couldn't think of a better way to represent the Letter X.) (~smile~)
Y) YARROW
Z) ZEBRA Swallowtail Butterfly

Until next time...

~Rebecca