Author Archives: Joanna Reuter

Spring Birding and Other Events

Spring brings lots of opportunities for birding and other outdoors fun. Check the CAS events listing for details of upcoming field trips; additional trips will likely be added for peak migration season in late April and early May. If you’d like to lead a trip, or if you have an idea for one, let us

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Kiwanis Park: Birding Without Bush Honeysuckle

7:00 a.m.

The Missouri Conservation Corps, a local nonprofit, has been working hard on Kiwanis Park ecosystem restoration, including removing bush honeysuckle and planting native trees and shrubs. What birds make use of this improved habitat? The Columbia Audubon Society has been asked to help find out! On Wednesday May 8, near the peak of spring songbird

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Twilight Timberdoodle Trek at Forum Nature Area

5:45 p.m.

Early spring is the time to enjoy the fascinating twilight mating displays of the American Woodcock (a.k.a Timberdoodle). Wookcocks have arrived in the region, and the weather forecast for Saturday is too good to pass up. Perhaps some theater-goers will need some fresh air by Saturday evening? This year’s trek will be at Forum Nature

Field Trip News & Notes

Updates from the field trip co-coordinators: Seeking a ride-share coordinator It’s come to our attention that evening field trips and meetings may pose a barrier for those uncomfortable with driving at night. With board approval, we’re looking to set up a way for people in this situation to arrange a ride to field trips or

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Slow Birding at Wild Haven Nature Area

1:00 p.m.

We’ve selected a date (and adjusted the timing) for the Slow Birding field trip at Wild Haven. Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024 Time:  —Meet at 1 p.m. Quick overview. —Disperse to benches or other sitting points. Walking time from 0–20 minutes, distance from 0–3/4 mile. Sit quietly, watch, and enjoy. —Reconvene around 2:30-2:45 p.m. to share

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Second Saturday Birding: Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area

Carpool 7:00 a.m., meet on-site 7:45 a.m.

Join CAS as we explore Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area, ~30 miles northwest of Columbia at the intersection of Boone, Randolph, and Howard Counties. This 3575 acre landscape includes a mix of forests, fields of restored native grasses, and a lake, providing a variety of habitats for interesting birds. In spite of this diversity of excellent

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Second Saturday Birding: Rock Bridge State Park

Watch and listen for birds while hiking the Spring Brook trail at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. The trail passes through forested areas in the bottomlands of Little Bonne Femme Creek as well as surrounding uplands. The three mile loop trail has one unbridged stream crossing, but if the region is lucky enough to get

Friday, May 3, 2024

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, April 5, 2024

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, March 1, 2024

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, February 2, 2024

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, January 5, 2024

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Second Saturday Birding: Woodpecker Hollow (accessed from Capen Park)

3:00 p.m.

Join us for an afternoon walk to Woodpecker Hollow, a property owned by the Greenbelt Land Trust. It is open to the public and was formerly owned by long-time CAS members Bill and Glynnis Elder and the Nature Conservancy.  The Columbia Missouri Trail Association (COMOTA) created a trail network that is accessed by using the

Monday, January 1, 2024

First Day Hike at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park

Celebrate the New Year with the Columbia Audubon Society by joining an afternoon birding hike at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park on January 1st, 2024. We’ll walk the Grassland Trail from 2:30–4:30 p.m., exploring the mixed grassland, shrub, and forest-edge habitats to look for sparrows, raptors, and any other fauna or flora of interest. This trip

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Rescheduled: Three Creeks Conservation Area

1:00 p.m.

This trip has been rescheduled from a winter-weather postponement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join us for a winter bird hike at Three Creeks Conservation Area. We’ll hike a three-mile loop along scenic Turkey Creek, where rugged topography and bluffs give the impression of being in the deeper Ozarks. Forest, riparian, and field habitats provide opportunities for a diversity

Sunday, October 8, 2023

The Big Sit (Eagle Bluffs, Pool 14/15)

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

Come to Eagle Bluffs and enjoy a day of birding. 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 the sun and have a grill to cook food on. Meet at the pool 5 north parking lot

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Great Backyard Bird Count Feeder Crawl

9:00 a.m.

As part of the 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), CAS will lead its Feeder Crawl on Saturday, February 17th. Starting at Songbird Station at 9 a.m, 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

Birds in Big Numbers: Migratory Chimney Swift Roosts

Part four in an occasional series, Birds in Big Numbers Chimney Swifts are master flyers that spend virtually all daylight hours on the wing, fueling their flight with a diet of insects. As long-distance migrants, they spend the summer breeding season in North America and the winter in South America. Commonly described as “cigars with

Monday, October 9, 2023

Chimney Swift Roost Watch (3rd of 3): Updated

6:30 p.m.

FINAL UPDATE (10/8): We will convene at the Armory, as originally planned, and we will proceed on foot or by vehicle to possible roost sites, likely splitting into groups. The one-way distance could be anything from 2 blocks to 3/4 mile. We can’t predict how many we’ll see, or exactly where, but we suspect there

Friday, September 29, 2023

Chimney Swift Roost Watch (2nd of 3)

6:45 p.m.

During fall migration, Chimney Swifts roost together in groups that often number in the hundreds or more. In the evening, as the sky really begins to darken, the birds swarm to the roost site, circle, and begin to drop into their communal roost. And what is their modern roosting habitat? Chimneys, of course! This genuinely

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Chimney Swift Roost Watch (1st of 3)

7:00 p.m.

During fall migration, Chimney Swifts roost together in groups that often number in the hundreds or more. In the evening, as the sky really begins to darken, the birds swarm to the roost site, circle, and begin to drop into their communal roost.  And what is their modern roosting habitat? Chimneys, of course! This genuinely

Saturday, December 9, 2023

Second Saturday Birding: Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary

9:00 a.m.

Join us for a morning bird walk at the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary. CANS has good diversity of habitat for winter birding, thanks to ongoing prairie restoration efforts and invasive species management by CAS and its members. Woodpeckers, sparrows, and a variety of other species commonly use the area in winter. Meet at 9 a.m.

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Second Saturday Birding: MU Research Farms (South Farm and Bradford Farm)

8:00 a.m.

These two properties located southeast of Columbia are active sites of agricultural and horticultural research, but they also include habitat features that attract interesting birds. Recent finds include White-winged Scoter, Red Crossbill, Smith’s Longspur, Short-eared Owl, and Ferruginous Hawk. During November, we can expect to find ducks and other waterbirds, raptors, sparrows, blackbirds, and grassland

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Second Saturday Birding: Perry Phillips Lake

4:00 p.m.

Join us for an afternoon bird walk around Perry Philips Lake in southeast Columbia! October brings many migrating birds to Missouri, and Perry Philips packs a few migratory bird habitat types into a short loop! If we’re lucky, ducks, coots, and grebes could be floating on the lake around the lake with the potential for

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Second Saturday Birding: Rock Bridge State Park

8:00 a.m.

Join us for a bird walk at Rock Bridge State Park! Fall migration is underway in early September, and Rock Bridge is a good place to look for migrant songbirds, including warblers. Fall warblers are fun! They’re lively and colorful (even if not quite as brilliant as spring). Song is rarely helpful for identification in

Friday, March 15, 2024

Heron Rookery Count at Gans Creek Recreation Area

8:00 a.m.

Field Trip Leader: Louise Flenner Every year for the past 10 years I have counted the number of herons at the rookery on March 15. There are always some returning birds on that date. When I started counting herons there were two rookeries. Gradually fewer and fewer birds returned to the rookery that was on

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Invasive Plant Bingo and Birding at Garth Nature Area

2:30 p.m.

Birders, land managers, and nature enthusiasts: Join us for a bird and plant walk at Garth Nature Area! This can be a good place to watch winter birds, and it also has quite a diversity of non-native and invasive plants. If you manage a yard or a bigger piece of land, whether as an owner

Friday, December 1, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, November 3, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, October 6, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, September 1, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, August 4, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, July 7, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Friday, June 2, 2023

First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp

Saturday July 15, 2023

Summer Saturday at 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp and then drive

Saturday June 10, 2023

Summer Saturday at 3M Wetlands

8:00 a.m.

Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp and then drive

Spring Field Trips and More

Spring is here, and migration is getting underway! A variety of CAS field trips and other community birding opportunities are coming up, so check out the offerings and mark your calendar.  As always, reminder notifications of CAS events go out by email; if you’re not already on the email list, be sure to sign up.

Self-guided Moss Walk Popular with Wild Haven Visitors

If your best guess for the definition of “acrocarp” involves something about a gymnastically talented fish, then you should consider taking part in the recently developed self-guided moss walk at Wild Haven Nature Area. You’ll learn what an acrocarp actually is, but the walk isn’t about memorizing scientific jargon. Instead, it’s an opportunity to become

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Kiwanis Park: Birding Without Bush Honeysuckle

7:00 a.m.

A new local nonprofit, the Missouri Conservation Corps, has worked hard to remove invasive bush honeysuckle from Kiwanis Park. See this story from the March issue of The Chat for more details. What birds will make use of this cleaned-up habitat? The Columbia Audubon Society has been asked to help find out! On May 10,

Date/time of your choice

Self-guided moss walk: Wild Haven Nature Area

Have you taken the time to examine mosses close up? And to think about the relationships between mosses and birds? We’re excited to announce a new, self-guided moss walk at Wild Haven Nature Area that encourages you to do just that! The trail guide is formatted to be easily read on a mobile device (with

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Hundred Acre Woods: Joint field trip with the Native Plant Society

8:00 a.m.

Join us for a joint field trip of the Columbia Audubon Society and the Hawthorn Chapter of the Native Plant Society at Hundred Acre Woods, a property of the Greenbelt Land Trust.  Hundred Acre Woods is a wonderful property with woodland and grassland habitats that feature high botanical biodiversity. As timing coincides with the season

Birds in Big Numbers: Snow Geese in Spring Migration

Part three in an occasional series, Birds in Big Numbers If you want to see as much biomass of a single bird species as possible, at one place and time in the state of Missouri, what should you be looking for? A blackbird roost hosting millions of birds? Nope. A high-density commercial poultry house? Nope.

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Great Backyard Bird Count Feeder Crawl

As part of the 2023 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), CAS will lead its Feeder Crawl on Saturday, February 18th. Starting at Songbird Station at 9 a.m, 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

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Heron Rookery Count at Gans Creek Recreation Area

8:00 a.m.

Field Trip Leader: Louise Flenner Every year for the past 9 years I have counted the number of herons at the rookery on March 15. There are always some returning birds on that date.  There are actually 2 rookeries.  One is more visible from the higher ground (upper) and the other from the creek area

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Migrants and Wildflowers at Wild Haven

8:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

Late April typically combines the best of the spring woodland wildflower display with increasing migrant songbird arrivals. Where better to enjoy it than Columbia Audubon Society’s own Wild Haven Nature Area, with its mature woods along upper Hinkson Creek? In addition, there’s a small sandstone glade that hosts interesting mosses, a prairie patch, and some

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-wills-widows at Rocky Fork Lakes CA

7:30 p.m.

Join us for this evening walk through the mixed habitats of Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area in northern Boone County to listen for and hopefully hear the distinct sounds of Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-will’s-widows. These nocturnal birds are hard to see but fun to hear once their song begins from dusk into darkness. Meet at 7:30

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Twilight Timberdoodle Trek at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area

6:45 p.m.

Early spring is the time to enjoy the fascinating twilight mating displays of the American Woodcock (a.k.a Timberdoodle). We’ll walk out into the southern grasslands at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area to (hopefully) enjoy this annual treat while experiencing whatever other evening bird activity develops. Meet at the end-of-road parking lot south of the lake