Missouri Conservationist December 2019

2019·4.9 MB·English

by  Missouri Department of Conservation

MISSOURI
VOLUME 80, ISSUE 12, DECEMBER 2019
SERVING NATURE & YOU
CONSERVATIONIST
Discover Nature
with MDC
Share your adventures
Peck Ranch Bois D’Arc Bethany Busch Runge
Conservation Conservation Falls Shooting Conservation
Area Area Trail Range Nature Center
“Wonderful “Great “Awesome “Sharpening “Best
hunting my skills family events
wildlife trail!”
with my for hunting in central
watching!”
dad” season :)” Missouri”
Discover more at nature.mdc.mo.gov
MISSOURI
CONSERVATIONIST
Contents
DECEMBER 2019
VOLUME 80, ISSUE 12
10
ON THE COVER
Dark-eyed junco
: NOPPADOL PAOTHONG
500mm lens +2.0x teleconverter
f/10, 1/320 sec, ISO 200
GOVERNOR
Michael L. Parson
THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION
CHAIR Don C. Bedell
VICE CHAIR/SECRETARY
Wm. L. (Barry) Orscheln
MEMBER Steven D. Harrison
MEMBER Mark L. McHenry
DIRECTOR
Sara Parker Pauley
DEPUTY DIRECTORS
Mike Hubbard, Aaron Jeffries,
Jennifer Battson Warren
MAGAZINE STAFF
MAGAZINE MANAGER
Stephanie Thurber
EDITOR
Angie Daly Morfeld
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Larry Archer
STAFF WRITERS
Bonnie Chasteen, Heather Feeler,
Kristie Hilgedick, Joe Jerek
ART DIRECTOR
Cliff White
FEATURES 20 DESIGNERS
Les Fortenberry, Marci Porter
10 PHOTOGRAPHERS
Noppadol Paothong, David Stonner
Brad’s Big Year CIRCULATION MANAGER
Laura Scheuler
“The truth is that everyone
mdc.mo.gov/conmag
has obsessions. Most people
manage them. Birders, DEPARTMENTS
however, indulge them.”
2 Inbox
—Mark Obmascik
in The Big Year 3 Up Front With Sara Parker Pauley
by Matt Seek 4 Nature Lab
20 5 In Brief
Birds of a Feather 28 Get Outside
Collectors find joy in 30 Places To Go Download this
unraveling the mysteries of 32 Wild Guide issue to your
Missouri’s duck decoys. River phone or tablet at
by Kristie Hilgedick 33 Outdoor Calendar otter mdc.mo.gov/mocon.
Download for
Discover more at nature.mdc.mo.gov Android
Inbox
like a magazine with interesting text, photos, and
Letters to the Editor TIMELY ARTICLE sidebars, which draw the reader into the narrative,
Submissions reflect While camping recently on the banks of the Current raising awareness and providing possible reader
readers’ opinions and River, I noticed little glowing green lights while responses. For example, all spiders do not need to
may be edited for length wearing my headlight. On closer inspection, I saw be avoided; pecans have a history; and tracking
and clarity. Email
many small spiders on the rocks and leaves. I had birds provides research toward their preservation.
[email protected]
never noticed these before in all my years. (I don’t Keep up the good work.
or write to us:
usually camp in October!) Mark G. Boyer Springfield
MISSOURI
I had thrown in some reading materials and read
CONSERVATIONIST
the October issue of the Missouri Conservationist NOVEMBER ISSUE
PO BOX 180
JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65102 article on wolf spiders [Little Wolves of Missouri, What a beautiful issue! I loved the family hunting
Page 11]. I found out exactly what I was seeing. stories [Sharing Hunting’s Adventures, Page 10], but
Thank you for such a timely piece. most of all I loved Danny Brown’s photo essay on
Judy Marvin Hunter birds of prey [St. Louis: Where Birds of Prey Abound,
Page 18]. I lived blocks from Tower Grove Park years
OCTOBER ACCOLADES ago and had no idea so many birds were there.
Thank you for the close-up photo of the spider on Nancy C. Jefferson City
October’s Missouri Conservationist. My preschool
students and I delighted in the detailed photo as Best issue ever! The owl and hawk photos are
we studied spiders and how beneficial they are. stunning. Nature is really all around us, isn’t it?
The Missouri Conservationist and Xplor are great Keep the close-ups of spiders coming. And snakes.
resources of information and beautiful photos for our My grandson loves them all.
classroom. Thank you! Marion Miller via email
Erin Guenther Kirkwood
Thank you for the article with photos by Danny
I just finished reading the October issue cover to Brown. I love these gorgeous creatures and am glad
HUNTING LEGEND cover. Every article was well-written, thorough, and you featured raptors in the magazine. The photos
Great story fascinating! I especially enjoyed the articles on wolf are amazing.
highlighting spiders and the tracking of migratory songbirds. David M. Huddart Clayton
Missouri Bootheel I have been receiving and reading this excellent
legend Neely publication for most of my adult life, and it just OPOSSUM OF A DIFFERENT COLOR
“Butch” Mitchell on keeps getting better. Great work! I finally saw an opossum that I have been longing
his waterfowl career April McDonough Aurora to see for about 50 years. I had read an article in
[Sharing Hunting’s a Journal of Natural Science by a man who had
Adventures, As a former newspaper editor, I have noted many encountered a yellow opossum. In November 2018,
November; good changes in this year’s Missouri Conservationist. a yellow opossum came to my deck for several
Page 10]. The October issue is full of interesting and weeks, sometimes with a “normal” litter mate. Just
educational articles, like wolf spiders, pecans, and before winter set in, it never came back. Perhaps its
Scott Turnage
via Facebook bird tracking. I want to note especially how the color made it easy prey.
magazine does not look like a web page; it looks Edgar Phillips Marshall
Conservation Headquarters Have a
Connect With Us!
573-751-4115 | PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 Question for a
Commissioner?
/moconservation Regional Offices
Send a note using
@moconservation Southeast/Cape Girardeau: 573-290-5730 Southwest/Springfield: 417-895-6880 our online
Central/Columbia: 573-815-7900 Northwest/St. Joseph: 816-271-3100 contact form at
@MDC_online Kansas City: 816-622-0900 St. Louis: 636-441-4554 mdc.mo.gov/
Northeast/Kirksville: 660-785-2420 Ozark/West Plains: 417-256-7161 commissioners.
2 Missouri Conservationist | December 2019
Up
Want to see your photos
in the Missouri Conservationist? Front
Share your photos on Flickr at
flickr.com/groups/mdcreaderphotos-2019,
email [email protected],
or include the hashtag #mdcdiscovernature
on your Instagram photos.
with Sara Parker Pauley
_ The week before firearms deer season, as we were
preparing deer camp and getting in some bowhunting,
the weather turned sharply overnight. With temperatures
plummeting and high winds howling, sending snow whirl-
ing across open fields, we opted to stay in the warmth and
watch movies. The consensus was to take a break from the
1 usual Westerns to watch a favorite documentary, Alone in the
Wilderness. It tells the story of Dick Proenneke, who lived
alone in the mountains of Alaska for more than 30 years. But
2
the film, which he shot himself, is primarily that of his first
1 | Missouri
year, in which he builds his own log cabin, hunts, fishes, gath-
River by
trtsahoffman, ers and gardens for sustenance, while capturing the awesome
via Instagram beauty of the natural world around him.
2 | Hornet’s What intrigues me most about this film is that it captures
nest by not only the sheer mastery of Proenneke’s skills, from carpen-
Elizabeth May,
try to filming to survival in the wild, but it also reveals what
via email
adventures are possible when one is relentless in their passions
3 | Greater and pursuits. I find the same intrigue in the article about Brad
roadrunner by
Jacobs on Page 10 — that of a relentless birder, a master of his
Zach Haring,
via Flickr trade, and the marvelous journey that combines both.
May the close of this year and the coming of the next inspire
us all to become a better version of what we want to be — a
naturalist, a birder, an archer, an angler — and may we enjoy
3
great satisfaction through each step of the journey.
SARA PARKER PAULEY, DIRECTOR
[email protected]
The Missouri Conservationist (ISSN 0026-6515) is the official monthly publication of the Missouri
Department of Conservation, 2901 West Truman Boulevard, Jefferson City, MO (Mailing address: PO
Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.) SUBSCRIPTIONS: Visit mdc.mo.gov/conmag, or call 573-522-
MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSIONERS 4115, ext. 3856 or 3249. Free to adult Missouri residents (one per household); out of state $7 per year;
O out of country $10 per year. Notification of address change must include both old and new address
HOT (send mailing label with the subscriber number on it) with 60-day notice. Preferred periodical postage
M P paid at Jefferson City, Missouri, and at additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send correspondence
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mdc.mo.gov 3
Nature
L A B
by Bonnie
Chasteen
Each month, we highlight research
MDC uses to improve fish, forest,
and wildlife management.
FISHERIES MANAGEMENT MDC and U.S. Geological Survey
staff remove invasive Asian
Asian Carp Removal
carp from a seine net during
completion of the unified method.
_ If you visited St. Louis County’s Creve Coeur
Lake Park last winter, you likely saw lots of boats
pulling long nets. Their purpose? To reduce the lake’s over the Midwest, and people from as far away as La
biggest nuisance — invasive Asian carp. Results Crosse, Wisconsin,” he said.
Bighead and silver carp, both introduced from from the The partnership applied a technique called the
Asia, have been damaging the Creve Coeur Park Lake 2018 Creve unified method. Adapted from proven techniques
fishery for years. “They have really reduced the qual- Coeur used in Asia, this method combines fish herding,
ity of sport fishing, especially for crappie,” said MDC Park Lake clearing, and blocking re-entry using several boats,
Fisheries Management Biologist Kevin Meneau. long nets, and dozens of staff.
experiment
After several attempts to remove them with lim- The result? Over a period of three weeks, the team
could shape
ited success, MDC, St. Louis County Department of captured roughly 47,000 carp, about 85 percent of the
control of
Parks and Recreation, U.S. Geological Survey, and the lake’s estimated population. “By removing most of
invasive
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed a partnership to the Asian carp, we can expect to see good white crap-
carp in
execute an innovative Asian carp removal project last pie fishing again in three to five years,” Meneau said.
floodplain
January and February. On a broader scale, results show that the unified
“It was a big job,” said Meneau. “It took 18 months lakes method could be ready for future use in floodplain
of planning, a lot of borrowed equipment from all lakes in Missouri and elsewhere.
Asian Carp Experiment
at a Glance
The
The Experiment Results
1. Divide the lake into cells
85%
using nets

2. Drive fish out of cells
captured
using sound, localized
electricity, and nets
3. Use sonar and selected First
radio-tagged fish to track successful
school movements adaptation
4. Block fish re-entry into cleared cells omf uenthifioedd MENEAU
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KEVIN
4 Missouri Conservationist | December 2019
In Brief
News and updates from MDC
Missouri is one
of the leading
lower 48 states
for bald eagle
viewing during
winter.
DISCOVER NATURE MDC Eagle Days events are listed below. Events include live captive-
eagle programs, exhibits, activities, videos, and guides with spotting
WITH MDC
scopes. Watch for eagles perched in large trees along the water’s edge.
EAGLE DAYS View them early in the morning to see eagles flying and fishing. Be sure
to dress for winter weather and don’t forget cameras and binoculars.
EVENTS ARE HELD
• Mound City: Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Dec. 8 from 10 a.m.
AROUND THE STATE
to 4 p.m. at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City.
Call 816-271-3111, ext. 1431, or 816-271-3100 for more information.
 From December through
• Kansas City: Jan. 4 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Jan. 5 from
February, Missouri’s winter eagle
10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Smithville Lake Paradise Pointe Golf
watching is spectacular. Discover
Course Clubhouse, north of Kansas City. Call 816-532-0174 for more
nature with MDC through Eagle
information.
Days events around the state or
enjoy watching bald eagles on • St. Louis: Jan. 18 and 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Old Chain of
your own. Rocks Bridge, south of I-270 off Riverview Drive in St. Louis. Call 314-
Because of Missouri’s big rivers, 877-6014 for more information.
many lakes, and abundant wetlands, • Springfield: Jan. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Jan. 19 from 12:30 to
the Show-Me state is one of the 4:30 p.m. at Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Call 417-888-
leading lower 48 states for bald 4237, ext. 1708 for more information.
eagle viewing. Each fall, thousands
• Clarksville: Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Jan. 26 from 10 a.m.
of these great birds migrate south
to 3 p.m. at Lock and Dam 24 and Apple Shed Theater in Clarksville.
from their nesting range in Canada
Call 660-785-2424, ext. 6506, or 660-785-2420 for more information.
and the Great Lakes states to hunt in
• Stella: Jan. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in
Missouri. Eagles take up residence
Stella. Call 417-629-3423 for more information.
NG wherever they find open water and
HO • Jefferson City: Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Runge Conservation
OT plentiful food. More than 2,000
OL PA bald eagles are typically reported in Nature Center. Call 573-526-5544, ext. 3407 for more information.
OPPAD Missouri during winter. Eagle Days continued on Page 6 »
N
mdc.mo.gov 5
In Brief
EAGLE DAYS (continued) Ask MDC
Eagle Watching on Your Own
Can’t make an Eagle Days event? Other hot spots for winter Got a Question for Ask MDC?
eagle viewing include:
Send it to [email protected]
• Lake of the Ozarks at Bagnell Dam Access, east or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3848.
of Bagnell
• Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area (CA) on Route K,
southwest of Columbia
• Harry S. Truman Visitor Center, Warsaw Q: Is this a merlin? We saw a noticeable white eyebrow line,
• Lock & Dam 20, Canton it on Christmas Day near a dark moustachial mark on the
• Lock & Dam 24 at Clarksville our home west of Eolia. face, a dark or black tail, and
• Lock & Dam 25, east of Winfield  No, this is an immature narrow light bands, and big feet.
• Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, south of sharp-shinned hawk. Many
Mound City people ask about the Q: While walking through
• Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, northwest identification of raptors with the woods, I had found
of Puxico brown streaking in the breast a mature buck with his
• Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, south of I-270 off like this bird. Sharp-shinned head to the ground and
Riverview Drive, St. Louis and Cooper’s hawks look his antlers attached to
• Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, east of Alton similar in both immature and those of a dead foe. Does
• Schell-Osage CA, north of El Dorado Springs adult plumages, which look this happen often?
• Smithville Lake, north of Kansas City quite different. Immature  It happens, but rarely.
• Stella at Moses Eagle Park Cooper’s and sharp-shinned To assess one another’s rank
• Stockton Lake, Stockton hawks both have vertical in the social hierarchy, bucks
• Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, south brown streaking on the frequently engage in acts of
of Sumner breast and varying degrees of sparring before and throughout
• Table Rock Lake, southwest of Branson brown and white mottling on breeding season. Normally mild,
• Truman Reservoir, west of Warsaw the head and back. General these episodes can escalate into
For more information on bald eagles, visit the MDC online features to differentiate these intense fights if two males of
Field Guide at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZpY. For more information two species in either plumage equal size and dominance meet.
on Eagle Days, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/ZG7. are a large, blocky head Unlike bighorn sheep, bucks
and a rounded, graduated do not repeatedly charge one
tail in the Cooper’s hawk, as another. Instead, opponents
NEED HOLIDAY GIFTS? opposed to a smaller, rounder approach one another slowly
MDC’s online Nature Shop makes holiday shopping a breeze head and squared-off tail in a with heads lowered. They may
for anyone interested in nature-themed gifts. Offerings sharp-shinned hawk. While a lock antlers violently at close
include the ever-popular Natural Events Calendar, plus a merlin has brown streaks on range. They then push and
variety of books and more for all ages. the breast, they are a much thrash, attempting to injure their
Holiday shoppers can also skip retail stores and visit one of smaller and stockier bird with rival or cause him to retreat.
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The 2020 Natural Events Calendar ($9 plus tax) is avail- rarely do the antlers become NATI
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877-521-8632. Customers using their MDC Heritage Card or sometimes exhaust themselves OCKET
PermCoitn Csearrdva ctaionn g meta ak e1s5 M peisrscoeunrti dai sgcoreuantt .place to hunt and Immature danied oof nwee —ak onre sbso, tthh i—rs tc, aann d HY RUGG; P
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buypermits, or through our free mobile apps, MO Hunting
and MO Fishing, available for download through Google Play
for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices.
6 Missouri Conservationist | December 2019
Matt Smith
Pocket gopher
MORGAN COUNTY
CONSERVATION AGENT
predation since they cannot flee or mounds can develop vegetation, but
offers this month’s
ward off predators. only after seeds germinate and grow.
AGENT
In contrast, eastern moles
Q: How can I distinguish plains (Scalopus aquaticus) push up sod
pocket gopher tunnels from by digging shallow runways. These
ADVICE
more-common mole tunnels? types of tunnels are often dug by
 Parts of north Missouri are moles searching for food after it
within the range of the plains rains. They’re usually not reused. Like
pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius), gophers, moles live underground
Missouri hunters have ample
a stocky rodent well adapted for in permanent chambers below the
opportunities to harvest a
subterranean life. frostline and make “molehills,” or
Pocket gophers create an piles of loose soil pushed to the deer. If so desired, you could
extensive system of tunnels marked surface through vertical tunnels. chase whitetails through
on the surface by numerous mounds Molehills are sometimes
the woods from Sept. 15
of excavated earth. One animal’s confused with pocket gopher
through Jan. 15. Oftentimes,
tunnel system may cover an acre or mounds. If you see fan-shaped
more. As the gopher excavates, he mounds, you may have pocket hunters are so focused on
pushes dirt to the surface, forming gophers. If you see shallow runways, November firearms season
flat, fan-shaped mounds. Gopher you likely have moles.
that I remind them of the
success that awaits in late
deer season. It kicks off
Nov. 29–Dec. 1 with the
late youth season, followed
by the antlerless portion,
Dec. 6–8. Late season rounds
What out with the alternative
methods portion, Dec. 28–
IS it?
Jan. 7, when hunters are
encouraged to try different
Can you
means of harvest like
guess this
month’s muzzleloaders, atlatls,
natural longbows, and more.
wonder?
The answer is on FOR MORE INFORMATION, CHECK
Page 9. OUT THE 2019 FALL DEER AND
TURKEY BOOKLET, AVAILABLE WHERE
PERMITS ARE SOLD AND ONLINE
AT SHORT.MDC.MO.GOV/ZMP.
mdc.mo.gov 7
In Brief
BLACK-WALNUT
CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI
Missouri’s robust black walnut is the perfect complement to
the zesty fresh ginger in this dipping cookie. When you dunk
one in your morning coffee or tea, you’ll be so happy you
made them — and so will those with whom you share a few.
These make
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN COOKIES the perfect
homemade gift!
INGREDIENTS: BATTER can be mixed in a large bowl by hand, OPTIONAL GLAZE:
2½ cups flour but is much easier with a food processor or large To dress up your biscotti, dip
1 cup sugar electric mixer. Blend dry ingredients (flour through the ends in chocolate or zigzag
1 teaspoon baking soda cocoa powder) until mixture is well combined. In a chocolate on them. Here’s how:
½ teaspoon salt small bowl, whisk together the ginger root, vanilla,
MELT 3 ounces of high-
¼ teaspoon cinnamon and eggs; add to the dry ingredients, beating
quality dark chocolate and 2
¼ teaspoon ground cloves until a dough is formed. Stir nuts in by hand.
tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Turn dough out together over low heat. Remove
2 t ablespoons grated fresh
onto lightly floured surface and knead several from heat and add 2 tablespoons
ginger root (peeled)
times. Divide into thirds. Butter and flour baking corn syrup (and just a touch of
½ teaspoon vanilla
sheet. With floured hands, form each piece of your favorite liqueur, if desired).
3 eggs
dough into a 10- by 2½-inch log. Flatten lightly Stir well and fill a pastry bag
1 c up black walnuts (toasted lightly;
with hands. Arrange logs on sheet 4 inches apart. fitted with a small, round tip.
skins removed as much as possible*
and chopped coarsely) BAKE for 25 minutes. Place baking sheet on After cookies are cooled,
¼ cup almonds, toasted lightly a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove squeeze chocolate through the
and coarsely chopped logs from sheet and cut each crosswise on pastry bag’s tip in thin ribbons
a diagonal into ¾-inch-thick slices. Arrange down the length of the cookie.
* REMOVING WALNUT SKINS biscotti, cut sides down, on two baking Alternatively, dip end in the
While the nuts are still hot from toasting,
sheets and bake for 5 minutes on each side. warm chocolate and shake gently
wrap them in a tea towel and rub them lightly
against each other to remove as much skin Transfer biscotti to racks to cool. Store in to remove excess. Dry thoroughly
as possible. Then proceed with chopping. airtight containers. Will keep for two weeks. on racks before cooling.
Recipe and photo taken from Cooking Wild in Missouri by Bernadette Dryden
8 Missouri Conservationist | December 2019