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Usually I make long posts, but I did so much this weekend I can't really say everything. I was all over the place. I got a month's worth of birding done in 3 days. I'm pretty sure this breaks the "one content item per post" rule, but does anyone want 8 or 9 e-mails from me? South Farm Lake R-1 Went many times per day (Saturday morning ~11am and 6pm, Sunday morning 9:30am and 6pm) and just could not get the Buff-breasted Sandpiper or Upland Sandpiper, but got lots of everything else: Least, Semi-palmated (one so close I could see the webbing on its feet), Baird's, and Pectoral. Waterfowl were 28 Pied-billed Grebe, 30 Gadwall, and at least 1 Blue-winged Teal. Also had a Cooper's Hawk and American Kestrel. There were Eastern Meadowlark (10) dropping into the grass on Saturday and Mourning Doves filling the power lines on Sunday. A. Perry Phillips Lake I dropped by here after visiting Lake R-1 on Sunday morning ~10am. Nothing doing on the water...except for 73 Pied-billed Grebe. Yes, I walked around the lake and counted them all. waah Also some Eastern Meadowlarks, an Am. Kestrel, a spattering of Turkey Vultures, a smaller spattering of Am. Goldfinch, and a Red-tailed Hawk. Rock Bridge SP Migrant goldmine. I got American Redstart, Wilson's Warbler (2), Kentucky Warbler (4), Northern Parula, Tennessee Warbler, and all 3 common vireo (Red-eyed, White-eyed, & Yellow-throated). I wish I could have gotten there early enough on Sunday to see the warbler parade Chris Corben had, but alas, my warblers were limited again on Sunday not 2 hrs later. Monday added a Black-and-White Warbler, but that was the only new warbler I saw. The wind was sooo high! Also had many Blue-gray gnatcatchers. Flycatchers were all over, more than a dozen each of Least and Eastern Wood-pewee with at least 1 Willow. At least 4 Yellow-billed Cuckoo (all seen), Baltimore Oriole, Summer & Scarlet Tanagers, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush to end the day Saturday. Went both Saturday and Sunday...ironically, had a 'better' birding day on Saturday in the dead heat with no wind than on Sunday after the front pushed through. Columbia Audubon NS Birding was pretty dead as we went mid-afternoon on Saturday. Still had a decent list of 19 species, mostly the usual suspects, except once again the flycatchers win out. I had one empid. sp. that was at the very least a Willow Flycatcher and quite possibly enough yellow to be considered for Yellow-bellied Flycatcher...but my camera died and I left it a "spuh" because I just wasn't sure. BOO! Eagle Bluffs CA We rounded out Saturday night with a trip to EBCA, first time in a month at least...I was having withdrawls. Saw 80+ Green Heron moving toward the river over the course of the night and 10+ Black Terns cruising the Distribution Channel. I also want to say I saw a pair of Forster Terns flying higher and with less frequency than the Black Terns, but I only caught a brief glimpse. I also saw 20-30 Double-Crested Cormorants. As Jean Leonatti said, we spotted the Sandhill Cranes (3) at the edge of a corn field midway down the Distribution Channel. Knob Noster SP Monday saw us treking west toward Kansas City with stops along the way. This was a big one. We stopped and walked half the Opossum Trail, adding a very close-up spot of Black-billed Cuckoo (2), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (4), Red-headed Woodpecker (2), a possible Blue-headed Vireo?, and several more "OMG WHAT WAS THAT OH IT'S GONE"s. The wind was high and the birds were down. James Reed NWMA Not much doing...more fishermen than birds. Did add a female Yellow Warbler, but nothing else. Smithville Lake People from KC are always talking about this place, so I decided to try my luck. Result: 2 Ring-billed Gulls and a great picture of a Warbling Vireo looking quizzically at the big bipedal walking thing with the clicky black thing with the shiny tube interrupting his song. Score one for the A-team. In all, it was still a fantastic weekend despite the misses because I WASN'T IN THE LAB. First weekend I've had off in I don't know how long...was really nice to get my Vitamin D...not so nice to get covered in seed ticks. I keep forgetting my DEET. In all, I thank my fine feathered friends for their appearance and cooperation. Cheers and good birding, Chase & Katie Darr Columbia, Boone Co., MO [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------ The Audubon Society of Missouri's Wild Bird Discussion Forum ASM Fall Meeting, September 23 - 25, 2011 at Camp Clover Point, Lake of the Ozarks State Park, http://mobirds.org/Meetings/