GENTRY — Though the weather was brisk on Saturday morning, more than 25 bird watchers braved the cold to take part in the annual Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society field trip to the Eagle Watch Nature Trail. The group comes each February to view eagles and other birds in the nature area along SWEPCO Lake.
The group met in the parking lot at 9 a.m. and spent a little time viewing and photographing the frost flowers spread across the prairie plot which was recently burned off to make way for new spring growth. Moisture in the stems and root systems of the frostweed squeezes out through cracks in the stems and freezes to form what appears to be frozen white flower petals around the plant stems. The cold temperatures in the predawn hours of Saturday provided an abundance of frost flowers on the small plot.
On the way to the viewing pavilion the group viewed a variety of birds as well, including gulls, sparrows, snipes, hawks and a few eagles. The group also traveled to a few other locations near Gentry to look for eagles.
Leading the winter outing were Joe Neal, an area expert on birds, and Terry Stanfill, manager of the Eagle Watch Nature Trail for SWEPCO's Flint Creek Power Plant and a local wildlife photographer whose photos are often featured in the Eagle Observer.
General News on 02/08/2017