Flyovers

77 blue-winged teal
78 pied-billed grebe
79 ruddy duck
80 bufflehead
81 eastern phoebe
82 tree swallow
(total on this date in 2006: 69)

MARCH 19, EAGLE BLUFFS, cloudy, 60—The Missouri River corridor at Eagle Bluffs remains grand central flyway. Besides the usual passengers (mallard, shoveler, gadwall) today has a few new waterfowl travelers, and swallows are back because insects are back.

Large-bird flyovers highlight early evening: multiple great blue herons (the one above speared a fish moments later), a bald eagle nabbing a fish just in front of us, and a flock of 150 pelicans, circling at cruising altitude to find a roost for the night. The pelicans like the southernmost pool, now almost pool-less because of a fish study.