PHOTOS: First Friday Bird Walk gathers Columbia bird watchers, several species spotted
by Regan Mertz
{p}An Eastern Bluebird flies into a nest box at the 3M Wetland Trail on Friday June 2, 2023, in Columbia, Mo. As the weather warms and summer vacation begins, Columbia bird watchers continue to gather on the first Friday of every month for the city Audubon Society’s monthly bird walks. The walk took participants along the green, lush 3M Wetland Trail, which is just off the MKT Trail by Forum Boulevard. “It offers people a chance to connect with one another,” Edge Wade, president of the Missouri Birding Society and member of the Columbia Audubon Society, said. “To introduce people to nature, in particular birds, at that area of 3M, which is a delightful place with a multitude of habitats that supports a variety of birds in migration.” (Regan Mertz/KRCG 13){/p}
As the weather warms and summer vacation begins, Columbia bird watchers continue to gather on the first Friday of every month for the city Audubon Society’s monthly bird walks.
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Edge Wade awaited her fellow birders in the parking lot of Songbird Station, a wild bird supply shop off Forum Boulevard.
Wade is president of the Missouri Birding Society and member of the Columbia Audubon Society. The Missouri Birding Society is the oldest organization of its kind in the state.
She is filling in for the usual birder that leads the walk, but Wade has 30 years of experience that made this particular bird walk one to remember for newcomers, as well as veterans.
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In addition to the bird walks, the Columbia Audubon Society runs a nature sanctuary, hosts guest lecturers, focuses on conservation efforts and more.
The walk took participants along the green, lush 3M Wetland Trail, which is just off the MKT Trail by Forum Boulevard. Lakes and creeks offered glimmers along the way. The moderate walk lasted between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., which starts out cool in the Missouri summer, but by the end of the walk, had walkers soaked in sweat.
The group was sure to avoid tall grass since it is well into tick season, and Wade was accommodating with her number one rule: don’t stand in the sun.
“It offers people a chance to connect with one another,” Wade said. “To introduce people to nature, in particular birds, at that area of 3M, which is a delightful place with a multitude of habitats that supports a variety of birds in migration.”
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And a variety of birds were spotted during Friday, June 3’s walk. They included:
- A Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
- Black-Capped Chickadees
- Northern Cardinals (there are different types of cardinals, but Missouri hosts the Northern one)
- Red-Winged Blackbirds
- Red Headed Woodpeckers
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- White Breasted Nut Hatches
- Indigo Warblers
- Common Grackles
- Brown-Headed Cowbirds (this bird knocks the eggs of other birds out of their nests in order to lay their own)
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (there is only one species of this bird during the summer in Missouri)
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- Warblings
- Turkey Vultures
- A Red-Shouldered Hawk
- A Common Yellowthroat
- A Great Blue Heron
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- A Green Heron
- Eastern Wood-Pewees
- American Crows
- Northern Parulas
- Eastern Bluebirds (which is the state bird of Missouri and can be seen on all Missouri license plates)
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- Cackles
- Tufted Titmouses
- Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers
- An Indigo Bunting
- Baby Barn Swallows
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- Wood Ducks
- Carolina Wrens
- American Goldfinches
- Orchard Orioles
- A Barred Owl (which Wade communicated with a call of her own)
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And birds weren’t the only thing identified on the trip. The outdoorsmen and women identified different plants, like wild ginger, and different trees, like sycamores.
A three toed box turtle was even located along the wood line, which Wade was able to tell was a female due to the bottom of its shell.
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At the end of the walk, the birders were invited back to Songbird Station for coffee and donuts.
The next First Friday Bird Walk is July 7.
"This is one of the cool things that we do, the First Friday Walk for beginners," Judy Lincoln, Columbia Audubon Society Vice President, said. "And it's also a good chance for experienced birders to get together and test their skills. We try to help people figure out how to use their binoculars, get your eye on a bird and then get your binoculars slowly up in front of you. We're getting them to try and look for movement. We're all trying to learn bird songs."
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