Bats in general have gotten a bad rap due to the myths surrounding them due to popular books and movies.  This disinformation has caused many people to fear these fascinating animals.  The truth is, bats are an important part of the food chain in nature.  For instance, all of the bats that are native to Missouri feed only on flying insects.  By selectively feeding on only flying insects, they help to keep the insect population in check.  So, instead of thinking of bats as a nuisance, look at them as nature’s bug zapper and their role in the food chain become quite clear.

Since the bats feed only on flying insects, the maneuvers that they perform in mid air are quite a spectacle to watch.  Bats begin this feeding frenzy on insects by capturing the insects in their mouths.  The bats use their leathery wings or tail membranes to scoop them out of the air.  The bat then reaches down mid flight to pop the insect in their mouth.  This is the reason why many people enjoy watching these flying acrobats in the evening hours as they perform spectacular dance.

Many of us have heard the saying “blind as a bat”.  Even though bats may appear to not have very good eyesight, they actually can visually detect small insects flying around them.  Bats also rely on echolocation to hunt flying bugs.  Echolocation works as a form of sonar.  The bat will emit high frequency pulses that bounce off their prey in order to locate them.

Watching bats can be a fun activity while sitting outside in the evening hours during the summer months.  Bats can often be seen swooping around streetlights feeding on all those pesky summertime bugs.  Even though watching bats at safe distance is fine, it is not all right to explore caves that the bats use to roost in during the daytime.  This cannot only be dangerous for humans; it can also be dangerous for the bats.  Like any other type of wildlife, the presence of humans can disrupt breeding, nesting and hibernation patterns.

Missouri bats are a vital to the ecosystem.  They help to control many of the nocturnal insects that are native to Missouri.  Farmers are fans of bats because they eat many of the bugs that can be detrimental to cops such as corn and wheat.  The mosquito for instance can become a huge problem for many people in the summer months.  It is hard to step outside in the evening without getting bitten by these blood-sucking insects.  Bats love to feast on mosquitoes and help to keep these pesky bugs at bay.

Before bats were feared by many people, but through education that is starting to change.  The Missouri bat population is an important part of the food chain not only to other animals, but also to humans.  So instead of fearing them or looking at them in disgust, just think of them of nature’s little bug zapper in the summer months.

The following is a list of mosquito attractants which a person should be aware of and avoid if at all possible:

·    Dark clothing is an attractant because mosquitoes use vision to find a host from varying distances.

·    Lactic acid is released either after a person exercises or from eating certain foods such as those containing high levels of sodium and potassium.  You should avoid working out and limit sodium in the diet before attending an outdoor event in the summer, to limit mosquito attacks.

·    Carbon dioxide is given off if a person is hot or has been exercising, burning candles, torches or having a bon fire are other ways the gas is released into the air and it will act as an attractant.

·    Skin temperature can be an attractant, but the exact temperature will depend on the type of mosquito and many are drawn by lower temperatures than higher.

·    Moisture attracts mosquitoes because of the chemicals released and because it increases humidity.  Even small amounts of water, such as moist grass, plants or standing water, will also draw mosquitoes and provides a perfect breeding ground.

·    In addition to perfume, hair care products and scented lotions and sunscreens, mosquitoes also love floral fragrances which you should avoid at all costs, lest you become a bug buffet.

For those people wanting to make their own all natural bug repellant, there are many inexpensive alternatives which will effectively repel mosquitoes, but require more frequent application (every 2-hours).  Because there are so many different types of mosquitoes, a person should use a combination of different repellants to best ward off bugs.  Natural repellants include the following:

·    Oils from verbena, lavender, pine, cajeput, basil, thyme and allspice, garlic, and soybean
·    Citronella oil
·    Lemon eucalyptus oil
·    Geranium oil
·    Cinnamon oil
·    Castor oil
·    Lemongrass oil
·    Clove oil
·    Peppermint oil
·    Rosemary oil
·    Cedar oil

Remember things like sunscreens, swimming, sweating and rain can dilute the effectiveness of natural repellants, so it is important to reapply often for maximum effectiveness.  The word natural does not always imply safe, and many people are allergic or sensitive to the oils in plant extracts, so perform a spot test before slathering any on your body.  It is important to find a combination that works for you and to remember to follow the manufacturer’s instructions before using any all natural bug repellants.

The nymph of the 13-year cicada spends almost their whole lives living underground.  The nymphs feed off of the juices of plants and tree roots at depths of 1 foot or more.  While living underground they go through five development stages before they emerge from the ground in large swarms on the 13^th year during the month of May in Missouri.

13-year cicadas emerge from the ground in swarms leaving small holes behind.  The reason for this behavior is for survival.  Since the nymphs can emerge from the ground in almost 1.5 million in an acre, there is safety in numbers.  These mass numbers of insects overwhelm predators and insure the survival of this noisy insect species.

The noise that these insects can make is sweet music to some Missourians, but can be annoying to others in the evening hours.  Even though these bugs are no larger then the end of a pinky finger, they can drown out the sound of everything around them with their mating song.  The males of this species make this sound to attract females.  The male uses elastic like membranes that are located behind the last pair of legs on their body to make this loud clicking noise.  The females respond with timed wing flicks in this noisy symphonic mating ritual.

The female cicada once mating with the male, lays their eggs in tree twigs.  They make a V-shaped slit in the twig in which to lay their eggs in.  The twigs frequently die and fall off of the tree branch.  This usually does not hurt mature trees, but small trees need to be protected with mosquito netting or cheesecloth to keep the cicadas from killing them.

Since there are such large swarms of these insects, it creates a huge feeding frenzy for fish and birds.  Even though many Missourians find the noises these insects make aggravating, for those that like to fish, it is music to their ears.  During the few weeks that the cicadas are emerging, it causes the fish to go on eating binges on this insect buffet.  So, anglers that use anything that remotely resembles a cicada are sure to get a bite and land that elusive big fish from one of the many Missouri waterways.

Cicadas are not a threat to animals or humans.  Even though some dogs like to eat these bugs as a crunchy snack, they are not poisonous and might give them a stomachache.  They do not bite or sting generally, so there is no need to avoid the beautiful late spring weather in the backyard with loved ones and pets.  But, you might want to bring some earplugs if love songs are not your first choice in music.

Bears were once common throughout Missouri, but since widespread habitat changes and unregulated bear hunting, they were almost wiped out. By the 1890’s they were believed to be almost eliminated completely. Most of the bear population that exists today comes from 254 black bears that were released between 1959 and 1967 in the Ozarks. The population of black bears in Arkansas is around 3,000 to 3,500 and some of their offspring has wandered into Missouri and set up homes.

The black bear population is slowly increasing in Missouri Ozarks and the numbers are somewhere between 300 to 500 bears. They are said to be scattered over a wide area of the southern regions of Missouri. With many studies saying there are several reproducing females, the majority of the population of black bears seems to be young males. If you were to take and draw a line that would go along highway I-44 from St. Louis to near Joplin, the majority of the black bears would be found south of that line. There are about three million acres of black bear habitat in Missouri. Most of the oak woodlands provide excellent fall foods, mainly acorns, but not much of this would be considered excellent habitat because of the number of roads and fairly gentle terrain. Wise logging operations and forest clearings will help improve the bear’s habitats by providing forage and berries in the summer and spring time. Insects in the areas will also provide for important summer bear foods.

Black bears were given their name after their more dominate color, but these bears can also be brown, tan or even cinnamon color. These bears can be also referred to as honey bears or cinnamon bears.

Although there are still a lot of things we do not understand about black bears, we do know that we have them living among some parts of our state. We must try and learn all that we can so that if you ever have an encounter with one, we will know how to react. Most of the black bears are reclusive by nature and tend to stay away from humans as much as possible, so they will retreat when they encounter one. In the earlier story mentioned the bear came face to face with people and simply ran away. This can be a dangerous situation and should be avoided at all cost. This can become dangerous because it is hard to get rid of this kind of pet without drastic measures. It is never a wise idea to feed a bear and can be very harmful to you and the bear. If we can learn to understand black bears, we can keep ourselves and our families safe, while keeping the black bear habitat safe.

Rufous Hummingbirds: this particular species “outflies” all others and has the longest migratory route of all North American hummingbirds. An adult male has a non-iridescent crow, sides and tail, and may be green, has an orange-red gorget and white breast. The female Rufous hummingbird has a green back and tail, white breast, streaked throat and white tips on the outer tail feathers.

Anna’s Hummingbird: one of only three species which are permanent residents of the United States and Canada. The adult male Anna’s has a metallic green colored back, a dark red crown and gorget and a gray colored breast. A female Anna’s hummingbird has a green back, white throat with some red spots here and there and white tips on the outside tail feathers.

Calliope Hummingbird: this species prefers high mountains and has been witnessed at altitudes of up to 11,000 feet. The Calliope builds its nests over creeks or roads near lakes or streams, and will reuse the same nest from the previous year or construct a new one on top of the old one. Males have a metallic green back and crown, white gorget and purple rays that have a sort of whiskered effect. Females have a green crown and back with a white throat with dark streaking, buff colored sides and white tipped tail corner feathers.

Black-chinned Hummingbird: the adult male of this species has a metallic green back and breast, a black gorget with purple throat banding, with white collar. The females have a green back and crown, white breast and throat with black spots, buff colored sides and white tips on the outer tail feathers. The Black-chinned hummingbird is considered the least colorful of all United States hummingbirds and is commonly located all over the Midwest.

Broad-tail Hummingbird: The wings of a male broad-tail make a chirping sound when in flight and the back and crown are metallic green, with a white breast, rose-colored gorget and rounded tail. A female has a green back and crown, white throat and breast with black spots, green central tail feathers, while the outer tail feathers are rusty at the base, black in the middle and white at the ends.

Allen’s Hummingbird: the plumage of an adult male has a metallic bronze-green color on the back and head, a coppery-red colored throat, rufous flanks and are smaller than the female in size. Females of the species have rufous back and sides, a white breast and throat with red spots, rounded tail with white tips.

Hummingbirds are some of nature’s most delicate and interesting creatures and delight people of all ages with their frenzied flying and flitting about. If you would like to attract hummingbirds to your yard, plant some azalea, honeysuckle, mimosa shrubs or you could try a yucca, lupine or hosta. Another way to get the attention of these marvelous little birds is through hanging a feeder in the backyard and soon you’ll have a little colony gathering.

The Missouri sanctuary’s River Project office is a sheltered and indoor location. This location offers the visitors the pleasure of viewing eagles as well as other river creatures. This office is open until February 5th everyday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

If you want to learn everything there is to know about eagles and other wild birds then you must visit the World Bird Sanctuary. This is one of the largest facilities to offer the conservation of this feathered friend. The World Bird Sanctuary is located twenty miles from downtown St. Louis off of the interstate 44, and is free of charge. This Sanctuary offers a lot of special events and some programs to teach about these great birds. They have many displays of many birds, small woodland creatures as well as many reptiles. They even have trails for bird watchers to take with feeding stations to observe many different species.

At the Forest Park visitors center you can pick up a free backpack filled with lots of bird information as well as guides and binoculars to help you discover the feathered friends living in the park. As you can see there are several places to go in Missouri to watch eagles and enjoy their beauty. These are just a few to mention and all offer a lot of information for any avid bird or eagle watcher.

Both the white-tailed and the mule are approximately three to three and a half feet tall. The males weigh from one hundred to four hundred pounds. The females weigh from eighty to two hundred pounds. Their coloration is a blue-gray color in the winter and is a reddish color in the summer.

The amount of hunters and deer taken by them has increased but a substantial amount from the year 1944 to in recent years. Back in 1944 there were about 7,557 hunters who took home about 583 deers. This is substantially lower than the over 400,000 hunters who took over 200,000 deer in recent years. These white-tailed deer are of great economic importance to the state of Missouri. The fact is deer hunters spend in most years a total of at least one hundred million dollars on such things as equipment, food, lodging, transportation as well as other related expenses. Though there are many people who do not agree with hunting these animals there are also a lot of downfalls to not hunting. These animals can over populate an area and cause automobile accidents as well as thousands of dollars of damage to crops and vegetation.

Northern Pintails are said to be long, slender ducks with long, narrow wings, which is where they got the nickname greyhound of the air. The northern male pintails have a chocolate brown head with a white stripe on each side of the neck extending from the white breast and belly. Their back is blackish-gray and the rump of the duck has a white patch on each side. The female northern pintails have a dark brown upper body with a gray or buff head and lower body. The bill is blue gray blotched with black, and their feet and legs are slate colored gray. The females vocalization is a hoarse and muffled quack.

Green wing teals are one of the smallest dabbling duck in America. The bill of the teals is narrow and black. The males have a cinnamon colored head with an iridescent green crescent spanning from one eye and going around the head to the other eye. The sides and back are marked with tiny black and white stripes even though they can appear to be gray. Their wings and tails are like a tan and brown color, and they have pale yellow feathers along the side of the tail. The females are entirely a tan/ brownish color except for their white chin and belly.

These are just a few ducks who at different times of the year find their way to Missouri rivers. The abundant duck population and nesting habits will mean there will be a lot of ducks flying south through Missouri. This is a really good thing for local hunters as the young ducks will not have learned to be cautious when they approach the hunter decoys. Keep your eyes pealed when traveling through and around the rivers of Missouri and you just may find a few ducks hanging around.

With the oak and hickory filled forests and pure rivers, lakes and streams, it is possible to see many different types of birds whether floating or camping on the Missouri rivers.  The following is a sample list of some the different types of birds which either migrate or make their home in Missouri (but not all are included here):

• Black-bellied Whistling Duck
• Greater White-fronted Goose
• Fulvous Whistling-Duck
• Brant
• Ross’s Goose
• Barnacle Goose
• Wood Duck
• Cackling Goose
• Canada Goose
• Tundra Swan
• Gadwall
• Mute Swan
• Trumpeter Swan
• Mallard
• American Black Duck
• Eurasian Wigeon
• American Wigeon
• Wild Turkey
• Mottled Duck
• Greater Prairie-Chicken
• Blue-winged Teal
• Cinnamon Teal
• Ruffed Grouse
• Northern Shoveler
• Northern Pintail
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Garganey
• Northern Bobwhite
• Ruddy Duck
• Green-winged Teal
• Canvasback
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Common Merganser
• Hooded Merganser
• Smew
• Redhead
• Ring-necked Duck
• Greater Scaup
• Lesser Scaup
• Barrow’s Goldeneye
• Common Goldeneye
• Long-tailed Duck
• Harlequin Duck
• Black Scoter
• White-winged Scoter
• Surf Scoter
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• Red-throated Loon
• Pacific Loon
• Yellow-billed Loon
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• Green Heron
• Tricolored Heron
• Little Blue Heron
• Snowy Egret
• Great Egret
• Brown Pelican
• American White Pelican
• Neotropic Cormorant
• Magnificent Frigatebird
• Wood Stork
• Clark’s Grebe
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Northern Goshawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Swainson’s Hawk
• Ferruginous Hawk
• White-faced Ibis
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture
• Osprey
• Swallow-tailed Kite
• Mississippi Kite
• White-tailed Kite
• Bald Eagle
• American Coot
• Purple Gallinule
• Piping Plover
• Kildeer
• Black-necked Stilt
• Whooping Crane
• Prairie Falcon
• King Rail
• Yellow Rail
• Virginia Rail
• Mountain Plover
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Solitary Sandpiper
• American Kestrel
• Golden Eagle
• American Bald Eagle
• Sora
• Red Knot
• Sanderling
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Red-necked/Little Stint
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Whimbrel
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Willet
• Eskimo Curlew
• Dunlin
• Ruff
• American Avocet
• Sabine’s Gull
• Wilson’s Snipe
• American Woodcock
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Black-headed Gull
• Franklin’s Gull
• Thayer’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull

No matter what time of year it might be, the state of Missouri is a veritable birdwatchers haven for viewing a wide array of different species.  While the above mentioned list is just a brief overview of a few of the hundreds of different species, if you enjoy bird watching, pack up the binoculars and take along your bird field guide because you’re in for a real treat when you incorporate bird watching into your float trip down one of the Missouri rivers.