I looked for the Snowy at Smart Airfield in St Charles this morning with no luck . There were lots of raptors including Harriers, Red-Tail, Kestrels, a Rough-legged and an immature Peregrine. The Rpugh-legged was along Rees road.

I stopped by Riverlands and found 3 adult Lesser-black backs among the Ring-billed and Herring gulls below the dam.One of the adult Herrings had a tail pattern consistent with a Thayers but I am not sure on the I.D.

More open water now and I had Canvasbacks, Ring-neck, Scaup, Goldeneye , Mallards, Gadwall, 3  Black Ducks, Canada and white-fronted geese, Common Mergansers, a few pintails and of course Swans.

When I crossed the creek on confluence road there were about 50  American tree sparrows bathing,drinking and feeding  from the water on top of the ice.

Dave Haenni

Des Peres, Mo