Northen Cardinal impersonating a Turkey Vulture
I had a couple of hours free in the afternoon, and did a little birding at Creve Coeur Lake. I only saw a few species there.
Northen Cardinal impersonating a Turkey Vulture
This was my third total solar eclipse attempt. The first one was in Hawaii in 1991, and totality was completely obscured by atmospheric mist. My second attempt off the coast of Curacao in 1998 was successful. The forecast for today in the St. Louis area was mostly cloudy, and only the southern half of the St. Louis area was in the path of totality. Alice and I, and two of my sons and their families gathered at one of their homes in Wildwood, Missouri where totality would last for two minutes. Light clouds were in the otherwise bright and sunny sky in late morning when the moon had first contact with the sun and the partial eclipse began, but larger clouds were starting to form, and I hoped that the sky would remain clear enough to see totality. My sons had been with me in Hawaii when totality had been obscured, and their wives, daughters, and Alice had never seen a total solar eclipse. We got lucky this day. The photos below are from just after the start of totality, mid-totality, and at the last moment when the solar disk started to emerge from behind the moon. This was two of the quickest minutes of my lifetime.
Total Solar Eclipse
Total Solar Eclipse
Total Solar Eclipse
I ended the trip with 58 avian species:
American Kestrel
American Redstart
American Robin
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue Grosbeak
Blue Jay
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Chimney Swift
Chipping Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat
Dickcissel
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Gray Catbird
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Henslow's Sparrow
Horned Lark
House Sparrow
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Mississippi Kite
Mourning Dove
Northern Bobwhite
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Song Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-eyed Vireo
Willow Flycatcher
Yellow-billed Cuckoo