This afternoon Quinn and I headed back to Kansas City, but it was too nice to sit in the car for 3 hours straight - you know how it feels - one of the first warmish days after a long cold winter so today we took a new turn on our way back home and stopped off at
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
There is about a 10 mile strech of road that goes around the refuge for people can go around at their lesiuer to see what nature has to show them for that day.
Before we set off on the nature drive we got out of the car for a bit to read more about the site and so so we could all get some fresh air.
It was VERY windy - glad most of our time was going to spent in the car.
As we drove around there were different markers and we had a brochure we picked up earlier that described some of animals and details about that specific area
One of the first stops described these muskrat homes - they looked like little mounds of branches and dirt that just popped up all over the lake, like tiny little islands. We even saw one with the muskrat hanging out on his front porch :)
This little detour to Squaw Creek made me wish once again that we had a good zooming lense on our camera . . . there were lots of cute ducks and many of them had really neat coloring, but we could get a picture to it justice - you'll just have to visit your self or take my word for it.
Here is another shot of the lake and all the muskrats homes, if you look closely you can see a pretty large bird standing on this one.
As we continued to drive around there were some pretty big changes in the scenery - here it was more swamp-like and I was really trying to see a water snake (no such luck) but it was very sceneic and the way all the trees and branches reflected in the water was beautifl.
By the end of the drive we saw lots of ducks, a potential bald eagle nest, a couple of hawks, several pelicans (these were my favorite, but they were too far out to get a decent picture - we did look through the view finders to zoom in on them), some muskrates and several other birds that we weren't sure of. If you ever go, bring some binauchulars or good zooming camera, we plan to go back in the fall to watch the geese migrate for winter and will be sure to have all the right tools on board!
There is about a 10 mile strech of road that goes around the refuge for people can go around at their lesiuer to see what nature has to show them for that day.
Before we set off on the nature drive we got out of the car for a bit to read more about the site and so so we could all get some fresh air. 
It was VERY windy - glad most of our time was going to spent in the car.
As we drove around there were different markers and we had a brochure we picked up earlier that described some of animals and details about that specific area
One of the first stops described these muskrat homes - they looked like little mounds of branches and dirt that just popped up all over the lake, like tiny little islands. We even saw one with the muskrat hanging out on his front porch :)
This little detour to Squaw Creek made me wish once again that we had a good zooming lense on our camera . . . there were lots of cute ducks and many of them had really neat coloring, but we could get a picture to it justice - you'll just have to visit your self or take my word for it.
Here is another shot of the lake and all the muskrats homes, if you look closely you can see a pretty large bird standing on this one.
As we continued to drive around there were some pretty big changes in the scenery - here it was more swamp-like and I was really trying to see a water snake (no such luck) but it was very sceneic and the way all the trees and branches reflected in the water was beautifl.
By the end of the drive we saw lots of ducks, a potential bald eagle nest, a couple of hawks, several pelicans (these were my favorite, but they were too far out to get a decent picture - we did look through the view finders to zoom in on them), some muskrates and several other birds that we weren't sure of. If you ever go, bring some binauchulars or good zooming camera, we plan to go back in the fall to watch the geese migrate for winter and will be sure to have all the right tools on board!
I just happened upon your blog from Joy's Hope and had to leave a comment. We go to Squaw Creek all the time. My husband is from Mound City (that small town close to the refuge). We live in St. Joseph. Small world, huh! :o) Hope you have a wonderful day. God bless!!!
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