Limited seeds, fruits available for birds at Four Rivers Conservation Area in Missouri
12/22/2022 2:26:01 AM
CATEGORIES:
Plants & Wildlife
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Bates County, MO
Start Date: 6/1/2022
- End Date: 12/31/2022
Drought this summer reduced seed and fruit production so birds will have to work harder to find food this winter. Results of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 14 at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Four Rivers Conservation Area south of Kansas City found a high number of species, but low bird numbers within the species counted. Drought affected the bird count, according to the organizer and ornithology collection manager at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute. Teams recorded 110 different species of birds.
Some wetland pools that waterfowl and shorebirds depend on were dry, and all other pools were low. In the uplands, native plant foods that wild birds utilize are poor. Wild grape vines and poison ivy vines did not bear fruit. Coralberry, a late-winter food for birds, did not yield many berries. Forbs and grasses produced few seeds, to the detriment of various sparrow species that depend on them.
Missouri Department of Conservation (Jefferson City), Dec 21, 2022
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