Wildlife Watching
Spring means an end to hibernation, the return of many migrating species and the beginning of the breeding season for many Missouri animals. In addition, the muddy ground and leftover snow provides optimal conditions for spotting animal prints. The Missouri Department of Conservation offers an online guide to animal tracks to help you identify the prints of some common creatures. While you’re there, be sure to check out their online field guide and interactive feature, “What Plant or Animal is That?” to find out if that furry brown critter was a badger, a beaver or a woodchuck.
Before heading out on your next nature walk, brush up with these books available from the Springfield-Greene County Library:
- Scats and Tracks of the Midwest: a Field Guide to the Signs of Seventy Wildlife Species by James C. Halfpenny
- Animal Tracks of Missouri & Arkansas by Tamara Eder
- The Wild Mammals of Missouri by Charles W. Schwartz and Elizabeth R. Schwartz
Birdwatchers will want to visit the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society web page for a detailed list of area birding locations and a field trip schedule. You can keep track of your sightings with their downloadable checklist, “The Birds of the Greater Springfield Area”. You may also be interested in the following library resources:
- Missouri Bird Watching: a Year-Round Guide by Bill Thompson, III, and the staff of Bird Watcher's Digest
- Birds of Missouri Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
- Missouri Bird Calls (CD) by the Missouri Department of Conservation
Nothing promises the arrival of warmer weather like the appearance of the first wildflowers. From roadsides to forests, Missouri has more than 2,000 native flowering plants. Find out what’s sprouting in your backyard with these guides:
- Missouri Wildflowers: a Field Guide to Wildflowers of Missouri by Edgar Denison
- Missouri Trees & Wildflowers: an Introduction to Familiar Species by James Kavanagh
- National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America by David M. Brandenburg
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