Author Archives: Eric Reuter

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Twilight Timberdoodle Trek at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area

5:30 p.m.

Join us for the 2025 edition of the Timberdoodle Trek! 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.

Monday, May 12, 2025

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

7:30 p.m.

Join us on the night of the full moon for our 2025 annual 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

Saturday, April 12, 2025

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, April 26, 2025

Birds, Bees, & Blooms – two birding walks at Arrow Rock spring festival

8:00 and 10:00 a.m. walks

Please note: Registration is required for these bird walks. Please see link below. Arrow Rock Birding Walks with MRBO Date: Saturday, April 26th, 2025; 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM starts Meeting Location: Arrow Rock State Historic Site Visitor Center (parking available on-site) Join the Columbia Audubon Society (CAS) and the Missouri River Bird Observatory (MRBO) for guided

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Swift Night Out: A Tour of Bird-Friendly Chimneys in Downtown Columbia

7:00-8:45 p.m.

Join us to explore the architecture of downtown Columbia from the perspective of Chimney Swifts, and to watch for possible roosting activity during spring migration.  These fascinating birds use open chimneys as overnight roost sites, otherwise remaining in constant flight. During the fall 2024 migration, trip leaders Eric & Joanna Reuter observed flocks of swifts

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Basking in birds: Warm weekend bird walk at Rocky Fork

3:00 p.m.

Join us to enjoy a diverse birding walk at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area on what’s forecast to be a warm, sunny afternoon. We might see anything from sparrows and woodpeckers, to soaring raptors, to waterfowl, to flyovers of swans and blackbirds. All skill levels welcome! We’ll follow a route that winds through stands of

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Christmas Bird Count Chili Supper STILL HAPPENING SATURDAY EVENING DEC 14TH

5:30 p.m.

THE 2024 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT IS BEING RESCHEDULED TO SUNDAY DECEMBER 15 DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER ON SATURDAY. CHILI SUPPER IS STILL SATURDAY NIGHT. SEE DETAILS BELOW. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Updated CBC information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chili Supper Come enjoy food and friends at the CAS Christmas Bird Count Chili Supper/Potluck. We’ll won’t be able to look at species

Saturday, December 21, 2024

December bird walk: Rock Bridge Memorial State Park (Sinkhole Trail)

7:30 a.m.

Join us to look for birds along the Sinkhole Trail at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, traversing 1.4 miles of moderate terrain through old fields (lots of sparrows!) and both bottomland and upland woodlands. After leaving the trailhead in the Devil’s Icebox parking area, the trail follows an old road through the historic site of

Field trip report

September is the traditional start of the CAS field trip season and your field trip coordinators are excited to be planning a diverse set of birding opportunities over the coming year.  You can review past and future event listings on the CAS website. Here’s a brief report on the past year and what’s coming up.

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Birding at Rothwell Park, Moberly

7:00 a.m. carpool departure from Columbia, 7:45 a.m. meetup at Rothwell Park

Have you been to Rothwell Park? About half an hour north of Columbia, the City of Moberly’s 467 acre park features a wide variety of bird-friendly habitats, from gorgeous old trees to open lakes to fields of native plantings, all connected by 7 miles of nature trails and an additional 3 miles of paved trails.

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Summer Saturday Birding: Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area

8:00 a.m.

Join us for a trip to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area! Eagle Bluffs has a variety of habitats, ranging from open fields to wetlands to wooded areas, contributing to its status of having the highest observed bird diversity of any area in Boone County! On this late summer trip, we hope to see migrating shorebirds and

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Rocheport Katy Trail evening birding walk – WILL PROCEED AS PLANNED

6:00 pm to ~8:00 p.m.

UPDATE (Tuesday ~1:00 pm): The forecast remains as no more than light showers, which can be good for birding. The upcoming forecast for the next few days is worse, and further postponement would lose too much day length, so we’re going ahead with the trip! Dress for drizzle and come prepared to enjoy trailside birds.

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Boone County blackbird roost

3:30-5:00 pm

Come witness a mind-boggling concentration of blackbirds at a northern Boone County winter roost, now confirmed to be in its fourth year (at least) of activity. Leaders Eric and Joanna will be on-site to describe the background history of the roost, then we’ll watch as the show unfolds; each time is unique and exciting. We’ve had