Brother Nature
by Lynn McKeown
Spring
on the Mississippi
I like to take a drive along the Mississippi River in Henderson
County each year in early spring. The best time is when the ice is just
starting to break up and there will still be many wintering bald eagles and
small patches of open water where early migrating ducks congregate. This year
it was a little later, March 20th, before I made the trip with my sack lunch
(junk food and an apple), and the river was completely ice-free – just a
few small patches of ice in backwaters. It was a nice, sunny day, temperatures
in the fifties and only a few clouds.
As I drive west toward the river through the crossroads village
of Bald Bluff, I notice a large bird soaring overhead. Stopping and focusing my
binoculars, I see it is an adult bald eagle. I donÕt suspect at the time that
it is the only eagle IÕll see for the day. Usually at least a few stay around
along the northern Illinois stretch of the Mississippi through March, but on
this day I only see one.
I drive a short distance south of Bald Bluff to a bridge where
I sometimes see my first phoebe of the spring, but it isnÕt there today. This
is the first of the flycatcher group of birds to arrive in spring, but it may
still be a bit early. IÕve been seeing a few robins in my neighborhood and a
few red-winged blackbirds staking out their nesting territories along the
roads.
I drive on over to the river at Big River State Forest. Along
the way, a small bird flits from the wire to a treetop – a bluebird
– always nice to see. At the state forest, the road to the lower
campground is closed off because of Òhigh water,Ó though in fact the river
isnÕt high. Maybe the Forest staff is just thinking ahead to when the snow-melt
will arrive from further north. After parking my car, I walk down the closed
road to the waterÕs edge. There in the slough are a great blue heron, a hooded
merganser and several common mergansers. Mergansers are beautiful birds, with
striking, dark and light patterns. ItÕs the waterfowl – early spring
migrants – that make these trips enjoyable at this time of the year. There is a flock of juncos here too
– the ÒsnowbirdsÓ that are plentiful in Illinois during the winter and
that will be vanishing in mid-April.
Leaving the state forest, I drive on north to Keithsburg and
stop to eat my sack lunch along the road that curves up along the levee on the
west side of town. Gazing at the collapsed railroad bridge just upstream, I eat
my lunch (except the apple) and watch a few ring-billed gulls that fly by,
headed north. One circles back, almost looking in my car window – maybe
it spotted my sandwich or more likely a dead fish carried along in the swift
current – then itÕs on its way again.
After my lunch I drive over to the Louisa Wildlife Refuge just
north of town. Here is the real jackpot. Hundreds of lesser scaup
(Òblue-bills,Ó to the hunter) scattered over a large area of backwater inside
the levee. There must be at least 300, probably more, as I canÕt see very well
into some of the interconnected ponds. Among the scaup are a few other species
of Òdiving ducksÓ – the very handsome ring-necked ducks and canvasback,
ruddy ducks, and, along the pond edge in one spot, shovellers (colorful ducks
with very large bills). There are also a few bufflehead – a very pretty,
little duck. The drake is black and white with a large white patch on the top
of its black head.
Leaving the refuge, I drive back south, through the state
forest and down to Oquawka, then on to Gladstone and Lock and Dam #18. Along
the way I spot turkey vultures in several places. They have probably just
arrived from further south within the last week, though a few stay in the state
forest in winter. There are also a few red-tailed hawks and American kestrels
(formerly, Òsparrow hawksÓ) along the roads. Also along the roads are a few
horned larks – amazing little birds that come north in February and start
to establish their nesting territories in open fields when everything still
seems frozen.
The area around the dam, a state wildlife refuge, is a great
place to see a variety of birds, though it was better before 9/11 when the
levee upstream from the dam was open to the public; now it has Òno trespassingÓ
signs. The area around the parking lot is still a good spot though. During
winter, this is where large numbers of bald eagles gather to feed on dead or
stunned fish in the open water below the spillway. Today, there are no eagles
to be seen; apparently most have gone north toward their nesting grounds in
north-woods lake country. There are a few other birds in evidence, however.
Besides the ever-present ring-billed gulls, there are a few white pelicans
circling around and occasionally landing to grab a fish. And upstream I can see
a large flock of the same species on a sandbar. (Later I spot two more small
flocks along a stream east of the dam.) There are a few cormorants perched near
the pelicans, too.
I occasionally spot a great blue heron flying downstream over
the river, and looking to the south, I can barely see a nesting colony of these
herons in the distance. This colony has been in evidence for several years in
early spring. The large nests, with the herons perched on many of them, can be
seen in the very tops of the still-leafless trees.
Leaving the Dam #18 parking lot, I head down to the picnic and
boat launch area nearby, sit on a log by the waterÕs edge, and eat the apple I
had left from my lunch. Over above the far shore, a flock of ducks, probably
more lesser scaup, are flying north, upstream. When IÕve finished my apple, I
throw the (biodegradable) core in the water and watch it float away with the
dead fish and other flotsam on the muddy Mississippi. A few white pelicans and
gulls are flying around and occasionally alighting on the river. ItÕs been a
pleasant day.
3/27/08