Despite their late arrival the previous night, BarbC was in the hotel breakfast area eating when we came in. Tamara joined us shortly after. The breakfast was decent, and we felt ready to tackle the day.
The four of us piled into the Rogue and we headed out on the 1-hr drive to the St Clair National Wildlife Area where we were to meet our guides, Pete Read and his wife Sue. After one wrong turn, we met them at the parking area and Pete outlined his plan for the day. We were the only four on this hike, as a fifth person did not show.
We hiked along a gated roadway and saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and several Northern Flickers across the street.
We turned into the NWA HQ and found some bird activity in the trees – White-throated Sparrows, Eastern Phoebes, Common Yellowthroats and other warblers, and a Downy Woodpecker.
We returned to the vehicles for a break, then headed out on another hike to the viewing tower in the centre of the park. We saw more flickers, lots of Mourning Doves, a few Monarch Butterflies, and had a trio of Sandhill Cranes fly past. Bill discovered that he could not carry a scope and take flying photos at the same time!
From the tower, we saw a family of Common Gallinules and very distant Sandhill Cranes and a Bald Eagle. We slowly made our way back to the cars, very thirsty and ready for lunch. We sat on our stools and had a good break. Tamara spotted a Brown Creeper right beside us.
After lunch, Pete took us on another short trail where we had a close encounter with a Northen Harrier. We also saw more Monarchs and a duo of late Barn Swallows.
Pete suggested that we check out Mitchell’s Bay, which we did. There were lots of kids in swimming, enjoying the autumn sunshine. We did spot some Mute Swans in the distance.
BarbC and Tamara spotted a bakery in town, and we stopped to check it out. BarbC got some tarts which she shared with us, and Tamara bought a coconut cream pie, which she gave to us as a thanks for driving her around. We sure did enjoy that pie!
Then it was back to the hotel for a quick shower, and then off to the Birds & Beers evening at the Dante Club, 10 minutes away. We enjoyed meeting new and old friends, and purchased a few goodies from the vendors. Tamara had a display on Roadkill Rescue. The buffet was good and the speeches short.
We all enjoyed Sarah Rupert’s diabolical quiz. Henrique and his mother were at our table, so, strictly because of them, we tied for first place! (We did get a few answers right). But we lost the trophy on a tie-breaker. The winners are shown in the photo. We were embarrassed to think we nearly beat that bunch of rogues!
Checklists