Loess Bluffs Wildlife Refuge - 12/9/2020

Sigrid and I were looking for a chance to get out of the house while keeping safe from the Covid Virus.  We wanted a longer trip that didn't involve overnight stays.  We settled on a photo adventure at Loess Bluffs Wildlife Refuge.

We had visit the Refuge in 2011 and 2013 so it had been a while since our last trip.  The Refuge is located just off I-29 near Mound City, MO.  That is just a short distance north of St Joseph, MO.  It took about two hours to drive there from our home in Lees Summit, MO.  The weather was great with sunny skies and 66 degrees in the afternoon.

The Refuge is the winter home for millions of Snow Geese as well as a number of other birds and animals.  The geese can be found all over the Midwest from November to March.  The Refuge is also a breeding ground for Bald Eagles.  The geese migrate to northern Canada and the Arctic Circle to breed in the summer months.

The refuge was originally named Squaw Creek but the name was changed since the term "Squaw" was deemed disparaging.  Here is a link to their website.

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Loess_Bluffs/

Here are photos taken on the trip.

A Muskrat Lodge is the perfect place to get dry and preen a little.

A juvenile Bald Eagle.  Most of the adult eagles were somewhere else.

What makes this photo extra special is that the trees in the background have at least 12 Bald Eagles perched on the branches.  This indicated how many at at the Refuge if you can get 12 in one photo.  You may have to enlarge the photo to see them all.

A crowded landing.

Two eagles relax as a passenger jet flies overhead.

There were too many Muskrat Lodges to count.

A panoramic view of just a small part of the Refuge.

The video below is of the geese flying in formations above the pond.  The patterns of flight at different levels is amazing to watch.  It was taken with a cell phone one the side of the road with traffic passing.  The sun obscured the screen so it was difficult to frame the picture perfectly.  To get the most out of the video, make sure that you have the volume turned up to hear the thousands of geese.  Watch the video in full screen so you can see all the very faint geese flying in the air.

https://youtu.be/9sI01a5xPVM

We hope you enjoy the post.