SquawCreek NWR

Wanna know what 250,000 snow geese look like? How about 266 bald eagles? A couple-dozen swans? Or how about all of the above? Those were Friday's Numbers!

It was a a little bit cold for me, but I think that the freezing and defrosting sensations in your fingers and toes are a small sacrifice for the opportunity to 'chill out' with so many Geese!

Snow gees, Canadas and even a few small Ross' Geese coated much of the Pelican pool the other day, when numbers were not nearly as high!

The daytime high is to be only 21 degrees and the winds are rushing from the north! Ive already circled the refuge once; Lots of swans and eagles, as many snow geese as Ive ever seen at once and one mob of mallards. I found the bubbling effect of handfuls of squirming, frozen tadpols to be interesting! The desperate things beat at the wrong side of the ice- What were they doing? The refuge is still fairly icy from last weekend's snow and I dont know as though parking on the side of the loose gravel road would be the brightest thing to do!

The air isnt too bad without the wind, but a gust that rocks the truck is able to cut through to your bones! My toes are numb and my fingers are screamin' but this is so cool!

The noise of the birds is met only by that which is made when a strong gust howls through the thin row of bald trees that border the water, except when the Snow geese are spooked. The nearest birds waddle down the road in front of me- they are a hundred feet away and still goin' at it.

A small group of them sit on and float around a sheet of ice not too much further from me than the couple that flee by foot. They don't seem to be doing anything in particular- not eating, sleeping, cleaning or anything else that you might find them doing; They are just sitting and floating. Waiting, I guess- maybe for the wind to die or the cold to go away?

A few dark ones float on their legs and kick the water until the perfect spot is achieved. There is a small, white goose standing on the iceberg who certainly doesn't belong with all of mottled, marbled friends. This one is tiny compared to the average snow goose. A Ross'?

They explode- burst with the millions behind them up and off of the water and into the air- A young, dark eagle isnt too far off the ground to the right of all the hunted.

A large pickup rolled to a stop on the other side of the road. The window was down and I approached it's driver. A mound city couple- enjoying the nice weather? Yes, there were two people, though whomever occupied the passenger seat was no more than a round pile of blankets with a thin strip of skin and glasses. Her muffled voice described the group of 1.3million snow geese that visited their refuge this past March. The older, male driver went on to describe a Bobcat they'd seen last month. "'Had two kittens with r', and they just sat there by the side a'th road until we's finished lookin' at 'em!" He pointed me to the far eastern side of the wetland area. The woman interrupted his story with a bit of sympathy for a near goose that appeared to have a broken wind held above his head. "...Poor thing; That kinda thing just happens too often."

Another eagle swooped the Goose-island and a Camera-phone popped out of the blankets. They wished me well and warned me not to let myself get too cold-

The geese flushed into a HUGE FLOATING MASS that seemed to float above the remaining sitting birds. The mass rose to about thirty feet and began to break into many stringy groups. Each bird in the top half of the mass found its place in a string of geese that continued to into the air; The stings morphed into 'V's' and the V's separated from each other. The tangle of wings that had emerged from mess of them was made into about two dozen groups of birds following each other's butts in all sorts of directions. It seemed, for a moment, that the one silly eagle had scared almost a quarter of the birds off into the sky.

A good gust sent the floating birds and ice across the surface of the water. The result was a whole lot of birds scrambling to escape a wind-driven ice-jam in the very center of the 'Pelican Pool". Wings, feet and flung water were blown into a chaotic splash of adrenaline for many of the brids that came to return from the shy mass with such bad timing.The eagle disappeared and it took the last 1/4 of the panic-struck birds, which still circled in the thick mass only a few seconds to return to open water.

I watched a large blue-phase attempt an ice landing (and awkwardly avoid the splits or an icy face plant.) He fell dumbfounded into a few of his swimming companions. I had to take a break to sit on my own frozen fingers before I did anything else. Even the sight of the shocked bird hitting that icy water was enough to make me shiver. I have to wonder how they experience the temperature of their environment- Im sure that extended contact with that same water would send me into much pain!

It was a long, loud series of gunshots from the other side of the road that was the 'sugar-on-top' for the cold waterfowl's relaxing day on the refuge. They roared out of the water for the last time during my visit and those long-lost, high-altitude guys that fled from the top of the mass that the eagle spooked dwindled back to the mob.

Big lake, McCormack CA

Took advantage of the holiday up near Squaw Creek. I first visited JC McCormack CA- across the hwy from the wildlife refuge, and spent the weekend at a property across the lake from Big Lake SP.

AT the CA, the path is carpeted by nettle- its a great host plant for all sorts of little bugs and such. Up on the prairie, everything from ox-eyed's to black eyed's, thistles, asters, mints and prairie clovers ar blooming. The lead-plant , germander and purple clover crests the loess hill, and the blue vervain pays it's compliments to the daisy in patches below the sumac and I.

I stocked a particular clover and waited for any exciting insects to pose for my camera. I tried to get some bees and a colorful longhorn beetle, but most of my photos came out overexposed. Spotted a dragonfly- perched on a stick. I crept up on 'em and became surprisingly close. Was able to get one shot off at 55mm, it came out pretty nice.!

At big lake, I cleared an area and started a fire. My grandmother and I were able to burn off the last of the ice storm damage- I fished and tooled around on my little kayak

I had no bait.. forgot to bring it up with me. put some goatsbeard peddles on a hook and jigged it infront of one of the many gar that were visible-floating just below the surface. He snapped at it and I had myself bait.

> Sunset was a disappointment, but the thumbnail moon made up for it! I watched fireworks over the lake. The rest of our family met up with us on sat.

Fireworks were very impressive (being as most of 'big lake village' pop lives in trailers).

I spent a lot of time paddling in the cove. Lots of Baltimore and orchard orioles, blue herons and some egrets. I got to watch a shriek put a meal on some locust spines and and a trio of kingbirds and a male oriole chase a heron out of the cove as if he were a threatening hawk.

I hooked something on the far side of the calm cove- It tugged and then stripped my line out many feet. I guess it was a carp- The fish turned myself and my kayak around and began to tool us around. After a good fight and 20feet, I got the fish to the boat. Some kind of carp or buffalo- about 6lbs. Caught lots of fish (and a turtle!)..

4 gar (one over 30in!), 5 bullhead, 3 channelcats, two carp, and a drum.

(above) a woodhouse? maybe a great plains? my first guess was a great plains toad, but once I looked in the book I found that his darker spots were too small. (below) a fuzzy beast of a caterpillar. He was at McCormack., One of the bullheads I was able to catch, and a Long-legged fly I photographed on the nettles.

Squaw Creek NWR

The weather was nice- well... in Kansas City. North of St. Jo the snow was several inches deep; near the refuge drifts were as deep at 3 ft! It was about St. Joe before I realized that the camera bag that I had grabbed contained my lenses, filters, batteries, cards and anything else I could want- except for a camera! My mother had a small point-n-shoot in the glove box.

I took a running jump into a wall of snow off of a gravel road. The sunlight pierced the drifts and lit the shaded spots with a light blue. My legs sunk to above my knees and I left a snow angel on the edge of the corn field.
It was in the lower forties, but the wind made it feel much colder. ITs force never failed. My mother and I drove the first third of the refuge before we found anything exciting. Some eagles- juvi's and adults took turns flying against the wind. They did not make too much progress and most returned to a muskrat mound or the ice soon after taking flight.

We had come to see the swans! A waterfowl report told of 50 trumpeter swans and a small group of tundra swans that had accumulated on the refuge as of the end of last month. This was the first time this season that tundra swans had been found on the refuge. Being unfamiliar with the species, I asked one of the 'local experts', Linda Williams (lindawilliamsphotography.com), about them. She gave me some tips on how to tell them apart from the trumpeters.

I spotted the first group of swans far in the distance- 13 of them! They all appeared to be trumpeter swans. A bit further we spotted th rest of them on the ice and in the water. There were many and they were all the same distance from the road as the first group. Closer to the car- only about 100yrds- a smaller duck paced the perimeter of a tiny puddle of open water. His lake was 10 feet in diameter- an island in an ocean of ice- The bird was dark and oddly-shaped. It had a small white spot on his cheak and a white neck and breast. "A Bufflehead or Goldeneye" I identified, honestly not knowing the difference- When I gained access to a field guide I decided that the bird we saw was defenitaly a Common Goldeneye. The pattern of the wings and size were the difference. When my attention turned back to the swans in the distance, I noticed that they were standing and swimming amongst a thinck crown of smaller dark birds. Most of them were Canada Geese and Mallards. The swans were too many to count- but they were giant when they stood next to the geese. Several had the darker necks and two had green bands. I searched the group for the smaller Tundra Swan, but never noticed one.

A small goup of eagles stood on the bare ice behond the swarm of waterfowl. They stared, and probably dreweled, but I could not see any strings of saliva from their beaks.
My mother spotted a pair of great blue herons that I could not. She gave me the Nocs and directions. I found the birds, but they were not herons. The two were tall with a more round body- not much of a visible tail. I saw a hint of red and identified them as Sandhill Cranes. In disbalief, she took the binoculars from me and confirmed my id- she said that when one lifted its head she saw the distinct profile of a crane. I have never seen them this fas east, and never this far north this late in winter! I suspect that they had come in with the geese and stayed with the flock. EXCITING!!

The rest of the drive was about scenery and critters. The icey landscape reflected the sun in ways it does only in the mountains and far north. Most of the wetland was frozen, and any plants were pressed to the ground by the heavy snow. On the long, strait stretch of the road that is under the canopy of trees there was an opossum. He edged the side of the road in the snow. I jumped out of the van and joged to intercept him for a photo on the other side of an old tree. I waited several seconds, but he never showed himself. My mother told me to look in the tree- above me. I circled, but never found him... he had *poofed!*

I found a hole low in the trunk. There was hair on the bark. I turned the flash on on the camera and thuck it deep into the hole to flash a photo. Upon review, I discovered a big hairy butt looking back at me. I took some more photos and went on my way. Further down the road, but still amongst the flooded forest, we spotted another, much larger oppossum. As we neared the exit/entrance of the refuge I noticed a familiar sillouhette on the ice. A cat!? It was a raccoon- a BIG racoon! We watched him go about his business for a few moments before we visited the centre.

CAT WALK!
Took the hike to the left of the center- at the far end of the parking lot. Followed it in the thick snow until it was no more. The surface of the snow had melted with the day and then froze again- it was about 4:30 and the sun was getting low. Each step was acompanied by a crack of the ice, a crunch of the snow, and another crack as my foot broke the surface upon exiting. My poor choice of footwear left me with some pain and the sensation of walking on my ankles.

We strayed from the path, which was covered in tracks from deer, coyotes, rabbits, a turkey, and a small cat or fox, in search of photo's- Success!

I dont know why, but despite all the red in the grass and the blue in the sky, I like the Blk&W better- ive been playin with it alot lately- What do YOU like ?

JC McCormack CA

The air was dead still and the fog was thick. This morning was the MMN trip to Squaw Creek NWR- I woke late and did not attend because of the low clouds. There are about 20 swans, 250 geese, 100 eagles and 20500 mallards on the area but I cant imagine that there was that much to see. At 9am I had about 300yds visibility at the top of the CA- the clouds lifted and the ground was clear by noon.

In the parking lot I found mounds of saw dust and chopped wood sitting on top of the inch of snow that had fallen over night. The wood had been cleared last night and this morning and was left over from the large ice storm that occured several weeks ago. The damage was horrible and widespread. I climbed the steep loess road carefully- my own breathe and the crunch of snow dominating over all other sounds through the area. A thick layer of ice- more than two inches- acted as a slick under the powdery snow and I landed on my back several times. The trail is wide and depressed between the hill that was carved through to make it. Limbs, trunks and powerlines created a carpet for and canopy over the trail- the timber supported by the natural topography and suspended over the trail. The broken trees and snapped branches in the woods were swarmed by woodpeckers and flickers and the brush by wrens, chickadees and sparrows. When I stopped moving to absorb my rare environment I enjoyed their music.

I hiked up the trail and discovered a murder scene. The coyote tracks and rabbit tracks seemed to tangle and a small spot of the freshly disturbed snow had been dripped with blood. Tan, soft fur had been left all over the trail and the coyote had laid in the brush after the game. I did not find where he ate the critter, but the whole thing was pretty cool to see. I remember last year on the area- when the snow was much thicker and the sun was bright. Near the same area was a carving in the powder- a pristine mark of a broad tail and two wings spread wide. Two feet had struck deep in the snow where the hawk had found his meal. After a struggle, I summited the area to find a 360* view of cloud. It was kinda cool! I looked down to see Squaw creek frozen and covered in snow. There was little traffic on the Hwy and only a small caravan of MMNs? traveling through the NWR.

I spent the rest of my day clearing debris from the storm from my grandparents property in Big lake village- just a bit further down Hwy 159. The community seemed to be devastated by the ice storm - houses were destroyed by the fallen branches and trees. My property was incredible lucky; Many large trees had fallen, some several feet in dia., but only a few gutters and a tiny windchime died. A neighbors home had a large sycamore fall THROUGH the roof and another's windows had been broken by the trees. I cleared the roof and garage area from the branches, and found no major damage. The property had locust, sycamore, maple, elm, pear, pine and juniper- in most areas throughout the village the sycamore had been damaged the most, but here it was the maple and elm. The elm, which was ~50ft tall and 3-4ft in dia. had split down the middle and only half had fallen. The scenes were awesome and powerful and I experienced a major ice storm (though well after the fact) for the second time in my life.

Squaw Creek NWR

This weekend, EAGLE DAYS was celebrated at Squaw Creek NWR. A small handful of Master Naturalists volunteered today, Sunday. I left the house at about 5:30am and took the drive up. Just before I reached St. Jo, I encountered a short bout of sleet and ice- the rest of the drive, I only had the wind to fight.

Upon arriving at the refuge- just before sunrise- I was able to watch hundreds of thousands of waterfowl make their daily migration for the crop fields surrounding the area. It is quit impressive to see a mass of birds that large! I was assigned to the nature centre for the early morn- then I was moved into the field. Three of us were to man the spotting scopes in the harsh cold. It was the kind of chill that tore the skin from your body and exposes your bare bones. The temperature itself was not that bad- it was warm when I arrived- in the 40's?- but in the upper 20's when I was outside. It was the strong, northerly wind that slaughtered us.

We saw many eagles- dozens- and many waterfowl and other birds of prey. However, there were only three different things that seemed real special to me.

A couple of eagles spared in the air- neither had food, but they were arguing over something. It looked like two juveniles to me, but they were only silhouettes against the lightly blanketed sky.

Left: Silhouette of eagle taken today in B&W

After we'd spent a few minutes at our first location, several rooster pheasants and a hen began to emerge from the thick dead grasses. Two bulleted from in front of us, traveling in opposite directions at first but landing in the same destination- a small, smooth pond- behind us. Then another bird popped out of the mess- flew slowly around us and remaining low to the ground. He and the last rooster also landed near the pond. I hadn't seen the birds since this time last month, when I visited Quivira NWR in south central KS.

At our second post, after I had lost feeling in my toes and fingers, we observed a group of about 13 trumpeter swans. This was very special for me-. Several had orange neck bands, and the entire group seemed very active they flew across the road in several smaller groups- the last of which passed directly over us. I had enough time to snap six shots- nothing too nice, but they are still cool to look at.

When I take a photo of a creature like the swans, my goal is to capture not only the image, but everything that composes the moment. In order to do this, I need to include every factor of the moment in that little square viewing screen- obvious characteristics of the animal, the lighting and colour, the weather, and other components that could help portray what I am experiencing.- the most important of which being lighting. It can set a mood, and if the mood that you provoke matches the creature well I have created a beautiful scene that gives the creature a personality. Okay, so maybe I thought about that too much; I am only able to think about a photograph when that subject and setting is still enough for my slow head. In the case of the swan, I didn't have the time. I did in a photo like the one below, which is not a very exciting subject, but I feel like I was able to capture the moment.

Squaw Creek

The family took a sunset drive around the refuge- there was little wind and few clouds early.

We drove from the entrance, past pintail pool to hwy 118. The water was iced over in most places and last weeks snow still covered the low spots.

Compared to last weekend, we found very few ducks, many geese and eagles and a few pelicans. Many of the ducks that we spotted were in flight exiting the refuge. Gunshots from neighboring properties were plentiful.

THE COOT SPOOKED FROM THE REEDS INFRONT OF ME AND RAN ACROSS THE OPEN WATER AND ICE TO SETTLE ABOUT 40FT AWAY.

ONE PED BILLED GREBE WATCHED ME CLOSELY AS HE SLOWLY SWAM INTO THE SUN

The snow geese and white fronted geese were thick on the surface of the water. There were a few canadas, but they were overwhelmed by the others and went unnoticed by drivers. We saw many eagles- more than twenty -the majority of which were juvinals.








It was 4:45 and the sun was low when we came to the 1/2 way point shortcut. We knew the refuge would close at five and didnt want to rush through the remaining five miles. We took the road - past the eagles nest and into duck country. We found a handful of N.shovelers, a few grebes and a coot. In the distance, a lage eagle continually swooped the larger goups of ducks and the horizon glittered with the light that was reflected off their underwings.


It was gorgeous, and the sunset was the sugar on top! I cant wait to visit it next weekend during eagle days!

SquawCreek NWR

I spent 24hours near BigLake, MO sunday and monday- I visited places like the NWR, McCormack CA, and areas around big lake State park. My grandparents have a small lake house on the oxbow lake - just across a shallow cove from the State park.

McCormack CA is a 227 acre property owned by MDC. The area has forests and grasslands, and includes the Loess Mound Natural Area.

The area is beautiful- I use it for hunting, hiking and photography. the grassland is native and diverse, and the oldest trees reveal the fire history of the area- some still blackened. Its most beautiful in the early morning- after 2pm the area becomes shadowed from the sun by its neighboring mountain.

The area overlooks SquawCreek NWR and towers over hwy159. A rigorous hike to the top of the loess mound provides a gorgeous view of the NWR-

Squaw Creek was empty of people visitors- I found only a few others on sunday and none monday. The birds, however, were abundant.

I viewed sunset from my grandparents cabin, and spent the night there-

COMET HOLMES in between clouds. As of the 18th the comet is fading. - I could hardly get it here with my 300mm lens!

Geese- snow, blue, canada, and white-fronted flocked and swarmed areas of the NWR.

Ducks like mallards, pintails, gadwall,teal and shovelers were also common- I saw others too-wood ducks, ruddy ducks and widgeons.

The hawks were numerous and eagles were present. I found herons and pelicans. Monday's warm weather summoned hoards of reptiles and amphibians.

A heron snatches a bluegill from squaw creek NWR- a piedbilled grebe disappeared while i was watching him, and reappeared with a frog. Of all the places to grab it!
The Bullfrog was glaring at me- you would have been scared too!
Other critters also enjoyed the warm weather- muskrats and beavers were very active.

A JUVI BALD EAGLE was the only eagle I was able to take a pic of- He was on a beaver mound about 100 ft out when I drove by. I quickly stopped- eager to watch him. He lifted, dropping his meal, and flew at me. He flew about 10 ft above the truck- about 20 behind me.
WAY COOL!

I wondered past the "do not pass" sign on the side of the road by foot- I got this photo at about 4pm. I think its my favorite from the trip. (right)







MALLARDS and PINTAIL


For both of these photos, I changed contrast, brightness and midtones with office photo to enhance colors and shadows.