Yesterday, I was privileged to go with a friend to the Squaw Creek
National Wildlife Preserve, in NW Missouri, about 100 miles north of
Kansas City, Missouri.
What a wonderful place!
A series of marshes and pools (which can be controlled partly by floodgates)
plays hosts to hundreds of thousands of migrating birds in the spring and fall, as well as
deer, coyotes, Massasauga rattlesnakes (!) and many other large and small creatures all year.
I'll let the pictures tell the stories:
A cormorant!
Turkey Vultures
A bald eagle, high in a tree... and next to it...
It's nest, and if you look closely, it's mate is on the nest, and on
eaglets, which it had been feeding.
Two weeks ago, there were still 80 some eagles at the reserve, but most have
gone for the summer.
Yes, those are PELICANS! In Missouri! I have never seen one in the wild until yesterday.
Double-click this picture to see them close up and personally.
These little coots were everywhere.
There were turtles sunning themselves everywhere on fallen logs.
There were geese sunning themselves on muskrat dens.
I learned the muskrat is very necessary to the marsh, as he
keeps the cattails under control.
And there was heron,
after heron,
after heron!
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The marshes stretched as far as the eye could see...
the reserve encompasses 7,415 acres.
I enjoyed my day out at the marshes so very much... and hope you enjoyed my pictures of them. I encourage anyone here in this area to take a day to go. My travel companion said it
is best to go in the fall during the northern migration, or at the peak of the spring, to see all the eagles, and literally hundreds of thousands of snow and Canada geese, so many that you have to yell to be heard when out of the car! I hope to see that one day.
you must have been in heaven!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed your day & your hobby. Beautiful pics by the way....
ReplyDeleteWe would love to be looking at the vast amount of wildlife there
ReplyDeleteLily & Edward
What a wonderful , wonderful day. We have enjoyed every single photo that you and your camera captured. Yes,, it must have felt like paradise for sure, So much beauty.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary Ann
love
tweedles
What a fun trip. Great shots of all the critters.
ReplyDeleteMary Ann,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your pictures, I felt as if I was there with you on this trip.
I truly did enjoy all the pictures. What a beautiful place that is. I especially liked the picture of the turtles sunning themselves. Reminds me of what I'd like to be doing. Can hardly wait for it to get warm enough to do that. I need some warmth first though. Still chilly in our part of the woods.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures...I enjoy watching wildlife, too. However, around here, Canadian geese are the equivalent of vermin ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell goodness, Mary Ann. You were within a few miles of me, actually only about 4 miles from where I grew up. I have visited Squaw Creek many, many times. We used to get the kids up early and be there at dawn. You can not believe how many deer and other critters we would see. I haven't been there for a few years. May be time to go again. So glad you enjoyed our county, Holt!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of a great outing, Mary Ann!
ReplyDelete