I wasn’t sure if I was going to write a post about this trip because I was more of a tag along. I also did not get very many pictures and was half asleep for most of it. I worked all day and night the previous day and had to get up at 3 AM to make the drive over to Missouri from Illinois. I had not had the opportunity to do a big day yet in 2021 so when Josh asked if anyone was interested in the St. Louis circle, I jumped at the opportunity. Also coming along was Brian whom I didn’t know so I was birding with two people that I had previously never met.
I’m not going to get into too many details about the whole day. I might add them later after jogging my memory by staring at some ebird lists. I mostly just wanted to highlight one experience which was my close encounter with an Eastern Whip-poor-will which may be my very favorite bird. The three of us were walking in the woods at Cuivre River. I was falling behind for some reason. I think I was trying to get a visual on a Magnolia Warbler when I got a little off trail. I was caught off guard when what appeared to be a flying trash bag flew right at me. I called out something probably unintelligible until I realized I was in fact looking at a Whip-poor-will. The bird landed in a small tree close by where Josh and Brian got out their uber cameras to snap several photos. I took out my smartphone and snapped a shot. The bird moved one more time where they were able to get several good shots and talk camera speak while I just marveled at the bird through my binoculars.
We had heard a few in the morning before dawn that day but this may be the first one I had ever seen alive ever. I’ve talked about Whip-poor-wills before and how I miss hearing them from my childhood. Those birds used to sing every summer night at my childhood home in Southern Illinois. My mom would say the bird said “time for bed, time for bed” over and over again. Now the birds are nowhere to be heard unless we move much further south to the Shawnee Forest. One field work job I have wanted to get more involved in was a nightjar search group. Like most field jobs, I’ve had to sit that one out so I could take care of my family.
I had a great time on the big day. I got to bird in all new places and made two new birder friends. I think we had about 140 species which since there is no real previous record for the county we may have set one. I’d like to take my brother and sister-in-law out there another spring to see if we could even top that. I highly recommend Lincoln County, Missouri to anyone looking for a new place to bird in the Midwest.