My Life’s Birds: #210
June 7, 1994 – Wilson’s Creek Battlefield, Greene Co, Mo – By the time I began birding I had been to Wilson’s Creek Battlefield, just a few miles from Springfield, many times before. The historic site and visitor center was, and still is, a popular field trip destination for elementary school students from all over the area, especially once they reach the Missouri history part of the state mandated standard course of study curriculum.
That’s not to say a visit there isn’t worthy except by school children. The history of Missouri during the Civil War years is bizarre and fascinating, and mirrors on a smaller scale what was going on nationally, with half the state blue and the other half gray. The consequences of such a divided populace led to dueling state governors each denying the authority of the other, a confederate sympathizing state capital in exile in addition to the real capital, and army recruitment for the federal army while the state national guard fought for the confederacy. All this came to a head in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in 1861, the first major battle west of the Mississippi, now preserved almost perfectly at the National Park Service run battlefield.
Now a sizable chunk of land preserved as is from 1861 also means that you’ve got significant acreage saved from suburban sprawl, and that the fields and forests that existed in the 18th century are, with very little exception, exactly as they were 150 years ago. So for the most part, the birds are too. Which is why my dad and I found a cute little Acadian Flycatcher while walking a trail that wound along the creek for which the battle was named.
Now you may be right to wonder how we were so certain of the identification, being as we were relative newcomers to the birding world and this genus is, by nearly every objective (and completely biased) standard, one of the more difficult in North America. Well fortunately, by the time June rolls around, the Acadian is most common Empid left in our woods. Identification by omission is still identification.
photo from badjoby via flickr
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In the late ’90s I worked on a grassland inventory project that sent me to various grasslands (remnants or expansive), and one of my sites was Wilson’s Creek. It was a great place, even if I could never pronounce “Nixa” correctly.
Two regrets: I never spent enough time investigating the historical significance, and that my species inventories are somewhere other than in my possession. Hopefully they’ll be uploaded to eBird one day, I just wish I’d get “credit” for them on my lists!
Nice to revisit a beautiful spot.
-Mike
@mike- It’s true, if your ignore that fact that a horribly bloody battle was fought there, it’s a beautiful place.
Those hills north of Nixey are nice. : )
You had to rub in the pronunciation! And I can’t even get the faux spelling right. I would’ve gone with “Nixie” (rhymes with “Dixie,” after all).
I checked my uploaded eBird lists and found I did have one from Wilson’s Creek (with Acadian Flycatcher on it). At least I have something, but wish I had my additional visits.
-Mike
Thanks for the nice description of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. You're right, it's a great place to observe nature and learn about our nation's Civil War history.
Get more information about the battlefield and Springfield, Missouri, at http://www.ILoveSpringfieldMo.com or call the Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-678-8767.