Yestrday Karen and I got up at the crack of 3 AM and headed to to Taberville Prairie Conservation area in western Missouri. Home to one of the largest remaining tracts of native tallgrass prairie, it also hosts Missouri's largest group of Greater Prairie-Chickens. We arrived at the prairie-chickens booming grounds early, in hopes to see a few late birds still booming. I had recieved word that they were still going at it earlier in the week, but unfortunately we struck out on the birds yesterday. However, there was plenty of other bird life to keep us occupied. On the drive in, I heard my lifer Western Meadowlark singing out the truck window, but was never able to get a visual on the bird. Dicksissels and Bell's Vireos both seemed to be everywhere, and a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers entertained us with their aerial acrobatics. I finally got my overdue lifer Henslow's Sparrow yesterday as well; there were at least four or five of them singing on small twigs and bushes throughout Taberville Prairie. A pretty nondescript bird overall, although close-range views reveal the intricate, subtle facial and back patterns that this bird has, like many other sparrows. We got great views of many of the pale, stubby Grasshopper Sparrows as well. There was plenty of other wildlife out here besides birds- we saw 3 Common Snapping Turtles, one of which was a baby and not more than two and a half inches long, 1 Three-toed Box Turtle, 1 Ornate Box Turtle, 2 White-taield Deer, an Opossum, and a Raccoon. There were also plenty of butterflies that were attracted to the incredible diversity of wildflowers in the prairie.

We left Taberville Prairie around mid-morning to bird another nearby area, Schell-Osage Conservation Area. The bird life had already begun to quiet down for the day by the time we arrived, so we did not see too awful much. The highlight for here was four Snow Geese, one of which was a blue phase, that were relaxing in the water close to shore on that we viewed while driving in, on the first big lake. Best of all, my lifer Common Merganser, a female, was in the water only several feet away from the geese.