Author Archives: Ben West

Saturday, February 23rd

Field Trip to Davisdale CA

We’ll explore an extensive trail system mostly  on foot over moderate to hilly terrain. We’ll grab lunch in Rocheport at about noon before we head back to Columbia. Leader: John Besser Contact Info: jbesser1@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 1st

Rock Bridge Memorial SP – First Day Hike

10:00 AM

Bird Watching on the Karst Trail Hike the gently rolling terrain of the Karst Trail through woodlands and grassland while observing birds with the assistance of experienced Columbia Audubon Society members (moderate, 1.75 miles). This event is free. Reservations are required because space is limited. When you call 573-449-7400, you will be given driving directions

Saturday, December 1st, 2018

Field Trip to Bradford Farm

Participants can either (1) rendezvous at AC commuter lot at 7:30 a.m. to caravan and bird our way through South Farm on the way to Bradford, or (2) meet at the Bradford conference center parking lot and start birding by 9:00 a.m. We’ll try to leave Bradford by noon. We will bird Bradford by car and

Saturday, November 3rd, 2018

Field Trip to Bluestem Knoll Savanna

Expect sparrows, bluebirds, hawks, other wintering species. This is a burn unit that is very shrubby right now, so shrub-loving birds will dominate. Lunch at Shawnee Bluff Winery at Bagnell Dam on the way back to Columbia. Should be back by 3:00 p.m. Leader: Allison Vaughn Contact Info: allisonjv@yahoo.com

Saturday, November 17th, 2018

Field Trip to Longbranch Lake and Thomas Hill Reservoir

  We leave Moser’s at 6:30 a.m. and return by 4:00 p.m. Mostly driving and stopping at viewpoints looking for gulls, grebes, loons, waterfowl, and a possible Northern Shrike. With a possible easy trail walk. Bring:  Binoculars, and spotting scope and FRS radio if you have one. Leader: Brad Jacobs Contact Info: robertbjacobs@gmail.com

Saturday, November 24th, 2018

Field Trip to Grassland Trail – Rock Bridge Memorial SP

8:00 a.m.

Meet at the Grassland Trail parking lot on E Rock Bridge Lane. This area was burned in 2017 and hosts a great display of prairie grasslands teeming with prairie plant seeds and lots of sparrows and raptors. The trail passes by natural sinkhole ponds that sometimes harbor wetland birds. A section of the trail traverses’ woodlands

Sunday, October 14th

The Big Sit

5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Come join us at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area to enjoy a day of birding as part of Columbia Audubon’s second annual Big Sit (following last year’s inaugural event). You can stop in and join the fun at any time between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. CAS will be providing a canopy for some relief from

Tuesday, October 2nd

Field Trip to Columbia Wilderness Sanctuary

8:00 a.m.

Note: This is not the Columbia Audubon Sanctuary, see below for directions. Leader: Edge Wade, edgew@mchsi.com We will bird for about 2 hours along a wide mowed paths through the 37 acre sanctuary in the Hinkson Creek valley. Expect a good variety of woodland birds. This is an opportunity to get acquainted with the Columbia

Friday, September 7th

Field Trip to Rock Bridge Mem. State Park

8:00 am

This trip is especially for beginner birders. Everyone welcome – experienced birders please come and share the fun. We will bird the parking lot and walk trails.  We’ll be done by 11:00 a.m.  Anyone is free to leave before that.

Saturday, November 10th

Field Trip to Binder Lake

9 a.m. until noon

If you’re not joining the carpool, meet at the tackle shop on the north side of the lake at 9:00 a.m.  where we will join with RBAS. After the trip we’ll have lunch near Binder Lake at Dudley’s Café.  (Note: Dudley’s Café only takes cash)

Saturday, October 20th

Field Trip to Rocky Fork Lakes CA

8:00 a.m.

Join us on this trip to Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area, where we will explore this reclaimed coal mining area.  There are several small lakes and one big lake that could have waterfowl this time of year.  There are also several pine stands that sometimes have Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Siskins or even Crossbills.  The trip

Saturday, September 22nd

Field Trip to Little Dixie Lake and Tucker Prairie

7:30 am

We will leave from the Moser’s on Keene Street at 730 AM and carpool to Little Dixie. We’ll stop at the west-side parking lot on Highway J, at the main parking lot at the dam and at the east side parking lot and see which areas look promising. We will let the birds decide where we spend our time. (If

Friday, September 7th

Field Trip to Rock Bridge Memorial SP

8:00 am to 11:00 am

This trip is especially for beginner birders. Everyone welcome – experienced birders please come and share the fun. We will bird the parking lot and walk trails.  We’ll be done by 11:00 a.m.  Anyone is free to leave before that.

Sunday, August 26th

Field Trip to Eagle Bluffs CA

8:00 am

This is a joint field trip with MoBCI. We will meet at the Katy Trail parking lot in McBaine at 8:00 a.m. where we will carpool thru Eagle Bluffs stopping to look and set up scopes if we see something at a distance. Bring:  Binoculars, and spotting scope and FRS radio if you have one.

Saturday, May 26th

Field Trip to Hinkson Creek Nature Preserve and Big Sky Nature Preserve

8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

  This will be short bird surveys at both sights (about 1 ½ hours each) starting with Hinkson Creek across the road from Capon Park then Big Sky Preserve down by Easley. Hinkson Creek Nature Preserve is located between 2 bends of the Hinkson Creek near downtown Columbia, it includes floodplain forest, upland woodland, and meadow. The site connects with city recreational land,

Tuesday, May 1st

Field Trip to Rock Bridge Memorial SP

8:00 am

This field trip is open to all.  Beginners are especially encouraged.  We will be looking for spring migrants and emphasis will be on everyone seeing and learning how to identify what we find.  We will begin by birding the Devil’s Icebox parking lot, then move out along trails at a slow birding pace.  End time

Saturday, April 21st

Field Trip to Prairie Garden Trust

7:00 a.m.

We will explore the savanna area overlooking miles of forests, walk along Hillers Creek, explore the native prairies that are sustained by prescribed burns and walk along the lotus ponds.  If meeting at PGT be there by 7:40 AM.  For directions or to learn more about PGT please visit their website at http://prairiegardentrust.org/

Saturday, April 14th

Field Trip to Bradford Farm

7:00 a.m.

We will meet at the Bradford Farm Visitor’s Center parking lot at 7 a.m. from which John Besser is leading a 3 hour Bird Watching Walk before the Native Plant Day Sale.  We hope to find Smith’s Longspurs, Le Conte’s Sparrows, and other grassland specialists.  We will be walking in the fields so wear comfortable

Thursday, March 8th

Return of the Twilight Timberdoodle Trek

5:30 p.m.

Meet at Rocky Fork Lakes CA parking lot at 5:30 p.m. finished by 7:00 p.m. The goal for this evening field trip is to hear and see (hopefully!) the twilight mating ritual of the American Woodcock (AKA Timberdoodle).  Please bring a flashlight.   Here’s a description of the Timberdoodle’s mating behavior from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Woodcock/id : “American Woodcock spend most

Saturday, March 17th

Field Trip to Gans Creek Recreation Area

8:00 am

We’ll meet at the Gans Creek Recreation Area parking lot and go on a rambling hike.  There is small brush cover, trees, a nicely secluded pond that has had ducks and migrants.  We’ll check for the return of Great Blue Herons to the rookeries.  By recent count the upper nests have decreased by half and the

Saturday, March 3rd

Field Trip to Eagle Bluffs CA

9 a.m. until 12 p.m.

  We will drive through Eagle Bluffs, stopping to look and set up scopes if we see something at a distance and finish around noon. Bring:  Binoculars, and spotting scope and FRS radio if you have one. Leader: John Besser Contact Info: jbesser1@gmail.com  

Saturday, February 24th

CAS Lake Tour 2018

8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

  We will leave the AC commuter parking lot at 8 a.m. and visit as many lakes as we can until noon in search of ducks and geese.  Phillips, R-1, and Little Dixie Lake will be visited, along with other lakes around Columbia. If it happens that the lakes are frozen we will visit Bradford

Saturday, February 17th

Great Backyard Bird Count Feeder Crawl

8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.

  The Feeder Crawl will start at Songbird Station at 8 a.m. From there we’ll ‘crawl’ to various backyard bird feeders in and around the Columbia area and count birds for at least 15 minutes at each backyard, then submit each checklist to eBird.  The trip will last about 2 to 3 hours and return

Saturday, February 10th

CANCELED: Field Trip to Eagle Bluff CA

9 a.m. until 12 p.m.

Canceled due to the forecast for wintry precipitation and lack of open water for water birds.

Saturday, January 6th

Field Trip to Grasslands Trail – Rock Bridge SP

8:00 am

This area was burned in March 2017 and hosts a great display of prairie grasslands teeming with prairie plant seeds and lots of sparrows and raptors. The 2 mile trail passes by natural sinkhole ponds that sometimes harbor wetland birds. A section of the trail traverses woodlands with open canopy structure and lots of woodpeckers.

Saturday, January 27th

Field Trip to Riverlands and Columbia Bottoms

6:00 a.m.

  WE will meet the St Louis Audubon Society group at Riverlands (Teal Pond parking lot) at 8:00 AM. Should be a great chance to see lots of swans and other wintering water birds, if the weather cooperates! The SLAS trip will last all day and the CAS group will plan to return to Columbia no later

Monday, January 1st

Cancelled – Field Trip to Forum Nature Area and Twin Lakes

1:30 p.m.

Due to extreme cold predicted for Monday it has been decided to cancel this field trip.  

Saturday, December 2nd, 2017

Field Trip to Chert Hollow Farm

8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Leader:  Eric & Joanna Reuter Contact Info:  eric@cherthollowfarm.com 573-474-0989 or Eric Wood ewood802@yahoo.com 573-673-0215   Come explore the 40 acres of mixed woods and fields managed by CAS members Eric & Joanna Reuter in northern Boone County (about 15-20 minutes from Columbia). We’ll look for winter birds and observe their behavior in a variety of habitats; our

Saturday, November 18th, 2017

Long Branch Lake field trip

We leave Moser’s at 7:00 a.m. and return by 3:00 p.m. Mostly driving and stopping at viewpoints looking for gulls, grebes, loons, waterfowl, and a possible Northern Shrike. With a possible easy trail walk. Bring:  Binoculars, and spotting scope and FRS radio if you have one.

Saturday, November 4th, 2017

Field Trip to Smithville Lake

10am

We will leave Moser’s at 8:00 am and meet with Grand River Audubon at the Crows Creek Shelter at around 10:00 am viewing the lake from there and the dam until 3:00 pm arriving home by 5:00 pm. We will be eating at the lake so a sack lunch will be necessary. Bring:  Sack lunch,

Saturday, November 11th, 2017

Field Trip to Binder Lake

8:00 am

The lot is on the southeast corner of the AC exit off Hwy 63 on Lenoir St.  If you’re not joining the carpool, meet at the tackle shop on the north side of the lake at 8:40 a.m.  where we will join with River Bluff Audubon Society. After the trip we’ll have lunch near Binder