The Winter Migration

The winter migration is in full force and with that come the snow geese, the canadian geese, the bald eagles and many more.

My favorite place of all is Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, near Mound City, Missouri.

There is a 10 mile auto loop around the refuge. During the peak 2 or 3 week period that is usually going on right now, you're likely to see 150 plus bald eagles and upwards of 1 million snow geese during the span of less than 2 hours.

Me and the wife made our first trek of the season up there last weekend and seen about 40 or so bald eagles and maybe 200,000 snow geese. However we did see 100 plus trumpeter swans. They have been coming to the refuge the last few years, but usually you're lucky to see 4 or 5.

We are heading back tomorrow, especially after seeing the new bid counts posted from Wednesday with them showing eagles up over 100 plus now, so between last weekends photos and hopefully a great day tomorrow I'll be able to share lots.

I'm sure their are several folks here that have been to Squaw Creek NWR, but I'd also like to know everyone's favorite bird watching spots, if you'd please share?

Thanks!

Hi Doug, I'm not much of a winter person so I'll just stick with my summer favorites here.

Cape May, NJ (many different areas to bird watch including from boats) http://www.capemaytimes.com/birds/birding-spots.htm

Brigantine National Wildlife Reserve http://www.stateparks.com/brigantine.html

Hi Doug ! Squaw Creek NWF sure sounds like my kind of place. I'm not much of a hiker especially with a tripod and a 500mm lens. I tend to frequent places depending on the time of year or what it is I'm looking for. Here in the mid-Atlantic we have a lot of places. This is a list of my favorite places:

Conowingo Dam in mid-October to mid-December for Bald Eagles
Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge (North Tract) in the Spring and early Summer for songbirds.
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge - anytime but summer (insects) - mostly like August and September for shorebirds
Chincoteague NWR - usually visit in March
Blackwater NWR - visit anytime but summer. Always visit in February while Snow Geese are migrating.

The last 4 places all have a wildlife loop which is ideal for me. I primarily stand in one spot at the Conowingo Dam. There are many smaller spots that can be ideal depending on the time of year. If all else fails, I always have the Maryland (Baltimore) Zoo !!!

Anyway, I look forward to seeing some of your photos from Squaw Creek.

I've been to Squaw Creek a couple times in December and really enjoyed it and got lots of pics. However, it's about a 350 mile drive from here so it gets pretty spendy. It's kind of fun to just drive the 10 mile loop over and over because in each passing you see something different. I even got my first photos of an opposum the last time I was there. December is the best month to visit, but that is such a busy month.

A favorite birding spot in northern MN is the Sax Zim Bog. http://sax-zimbog.com/ I've heard that birders from as far away as Great Britain journey there in the winter in hopes of finding the Great Gray Owl. I'll be heading up there in about a month and hope to also find a Snowy Owl. This is actually about a 300 mile drive but at least the drive there is much more scenic once I get a little over half way. Driving thru Iowa to get to Squaw Creek is incredibly boring.