WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. -- Mention the name "phoebe" to serious birdwatchers, and they will think of a small, energetic bird. Mention the name Phoebe Snetsinger, and they will think of more than 8,000 birds. That's the number of feathered species this Webster Groves resident has accumulated on her "life list," earning herself a place in the Guiness Book of World Records.
Until 1995, the world's most accomplished birders had only managed to find and identify something over 7,000 bird species in their lifetimes. Snetsinger set herself the task of seeing more than 8,000 birds for the same reasons that test pilot Chuck Yeager set out to break the sound barrier and runner Roger Bannister set out to break the four-minute mile. It was a quest that would take her many years and several times around the world.
Snetsinger, 64, had to be as energetic as her namesake bird to accomplish her goal of "breaking 8,000." But she says that becoming an accomplished "birder" takes more than just stamina. One of her secrets is taking a general interest in nature, rather than focusing exclusively on birds. She says she does her homework before each birding trip, learning as much as she can, not only about the birds that live there, but about the geology and general ecology of the area. All this information helps her know where and how to look for different birds.
She says there is a difference between birding and listing. Birding, according to Snetsinger, is a physical, intellectual and aesthetic pursuit. Excessive emphasis on the quest for numbers can reduce the birding experience to nothing more than paying to be taken to a particular place and shown a bird just so you can put another notch on your binoculars.
"Birding takes you to beautiful spots where you might never go otherwise," says Snetsinger. "And you go with people who share your interest, so it's a social activity, too."
Snetsinger says anyone can get started birdwatching with no more equipment than a bird field guide and binoculars. However, knowing the right people and places is a big help, and she has some advice in those areas. She strongly recommends that novices connect with other birders -- one on one or in groups. She readily acknowledges that her mentors in the Webster Groves Nature Study Society deserve much of the credit for her accomplishments.
"A friend who is a birder can lead you to other birders and point you in the right direction about places to go," says Snetsinger. "It's easy if there's an Audubon Society or other group with avid birders."
Snetsinger offers several ideas for places to go. "It depends on the kind of birds you are looking for and on the time of year," she says. "Generally you should look at lakes, and marshes and patches of native woods. They don't have to be huge, pristine wilderness areas."
She says city parks, such as Forest Park and Tower Grove Park in St. Louis and Swope Park and Maple Woods Natural Area in Kansas City, can attract a surprising variety of good migrating birds. "Songbirds migrate mostly at night, and when morning comes they're looking for a place to stop where they can rest and feed. When they see a patch of green in the middle of a city, they come down there."
She says birders should do the same thing; look for a place where you would like to be if you were a bird. "That's one of the neat things about birding," says Snetsinger. "You see the natural world through the eyes of the bird you're looking for."
Snetsinger notes that Missouri's big rivers are bird magnets and, therefore excellent places to look for birds, especially during the spring and autumn migration seasons. In the St. Louis area, she recommends the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' new Riverlands Environmental Area along the Mississippi River, the Missouri Botanical Gardens and Shaw Arboretum. Other excellent birding spots in the St. Louis area include Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center (CNC) and August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area (CA), which has habitats ranging from forest and field to lakes.
Birding hot spots in the Kansas City area include Grand Pass and Cooley Lake CAs, the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary and Burr Oak Woods CNC. Bluffwoods CA south of St. Joseph supports ruffed grouse and a host of other forest bird species.
Springfield CNC and numerous nearby conservation areas supply Springfield area birdwatchers with ample birding opportunities. These and other potential birding areas can be found in the Missouri Department of Conservation's "Missouri Nature Viewing Guide." The paperback book covers 101 sites chosen by wildlife experts and naturalists as top locations for viewing wildlife. Single copies are available for $3.50 plus tax. It is available at conservation service centers and CNCs throughout the state. For mail-order information, write to: Outdoor Library, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102. The Missouri Audubon Society also produces a birding guide listing 128 birding hot spots around the state. "A Guide to the Birding Areas of Missouri" is available for $11.50 per copy from: Kay Palmer, 15100 S. Clinkenbeard, Ashland, MO 65010. For detailed information about birding areas in the St. Louis area, try "Birds of the St. Louis Area," available for $19.95 per copy from: Bird Book, Webster Groves Nature Study Society, P.O. Box 2085, Florissant, MO 63032. Make checks payable to "WGNSS, Book Account."
How many birds can novices hope to add to their "life lists" in a year? Snetsinger says a serious birder who goes out with experienced companions once a week might accumulate 200 new species in a year as she once did. After a year like that, however, the pace slows down drastically, since you will have seen almost all the state's common species.
Snetsinger's own pace is much more leisurely these days. Asked where her tally now stands,
she says, "At this point, I'm not really counting. I'm going back to being a birder, not a lister,
because I want to de-emphasize the numerical competition aspect of my life. I want to go back
to enjoying the birds on the level on which I prefer to do it. I just want to change my style a
bit and so what I'm saying is that I'm comfortably over 8,000."
2. Event to Reveal Things That Go "Croak" in the Night
HIGH RIDGE, Mo. -- It seems frogs, toads and salamanders could use a good public relations consultant. From fairy tales to old wives' tales, amphibians have received a lot of bad press. When they're not being blamed for causing warts, they're being used to give added punch to a witch's brew. Tom R. Johnson, state herpetologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), hopes to warm up attitudes toward these cold-blooded vertebrates.
Johnson works to sustain amphibian populations and inform Missourians of the important role that frogs, toads and salamanders play in our ecosystem.
"The Conservation Department has a mandate to protect native animals from decline," Johnson says. "We do it for all, from the cuddly cute animals to the odd looking toad. Amphibians are a vital part of our ecosystem. They are outstanding indicators of the health of our environment. They eat a lot of insects, helping us with pest control, and they provide us with a wonderful chorus at night. I don't want our spring and early summer devoid of toad and frog voices."
At 7 p.m. April 12, Missourians can learn about their amphibian neighbors during a presentation at the Forest 44 Conservation Area (CA) just west of St. Louis. During the "Evening with Amphibians," Johnson will have live salamanders, toads and frogs on hand for viewing. He also will present an audio-visual program and dispel myths about amphibians.
Participants will learn what types of amphibians live in and around Forest 44 CA, what they need to survive and the services they provide humans. Following the presentation, participants will tour some of the area's many fishless ponds to hear and see amphibians in their natural habitat.
The program is free, but reservations are required. To register or get more information about
the "Evening with Amphibians" call MDC's St. Louis Forestry District Office at (314) 458-2236. Those who want to take part in the amphibian walk will need warm clothing, boots,
flashlights and, in case of rain, rain gear.
3. Conservation Agents Reel in Catfish Poacher
Citizens' tips helped stop an outlaw whose use of fish for profit was putting a serious dent in the Missouri River's catfish resource.
JEFFERSON CITY -- For months, John "Dirk" Dickerson of Raytown was always "the one that got away" from Platte County Conservation Agent Doug Yeager. Several citizen tips and long hours of surveillance led Yeager to believe that Dickerson, 38, was illegally taking and selling catfish from the Missouri River. But it wasn't until July 4, 1995, that Yeager got enough evidence to light the fuse and blow up a clandestine commercial fishing operation.
Yeager says the Wildlife Code of Missouri prohibits commercial fishing for catfish and other game fish on the Missouri River. "Back in April we got word that Dickerson was taking catfish from the Missouri River. Sometimes we'd come across guys fishing on the bank and notice they had some really big flatheads. They'd describe Dickerson's boat and tell us the guy in the boat had given them the fish. We had noticed him on the river, but never saw any violations. When we tried to follow him, he'd give us the slip, or not come into the dock with catfish," Yeager said.
Conservation agents suspected Dickerson was using a cellular telephone to arrange meetings where the fish were unloaded and then taken to his fish market in Kansas City. They also believed he sometimes dumped fish back into the river when he heard a motorized boat approaching.
On Independence Day, 1995, those suspicions were confirmed. Officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks observed from a distance as Dickerson loaded catfish onto a truck at a Kansas boat ramp. Fearing he'd get away before they could reach him, the Kansas agents called local police for help. When he saw the police approaching, Dickerson dumped the fish and headed back out on the river. The Kansas agents called him in to shore for questioning and called in Missouri conservation agents. When questioned, Dickerson told Yeager that the fish Kansas officials had seen were taken from Missouri waters.
Kansas officials seized Dickerson's boat and two trucks, charging him with multiple wildlife violations. An inspection of the boat turned up a list of several locations on the river where Dickerson had set hoopnets. Yeager and other conservation agents staked out 16 of the sites, but after four days they gave up and seized the nets to rescue the fish and turtles inside. The nets held an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of fish. One net was so full that Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) workers couldn't lift it out of the water.
The Wildlife Code of Missouri requires legitimate commercial anglers to tend their nets at least every 48 hours. But according to Yeager, "The fish in these nets had been there so long that all the skin on their tails was worn off. Many of the fish that we returned to the water were highly stressed from their injuries and may have died of secondary infections."
Yeager was able to link the nets to Dickerson through an expired permit attached to one net. The tag and information Yeager gathered in conversations with Dickerson resulted in 18 charges of wildlife code violations.
On January 31, Dickerson pleaded guilty in Clay County Associate Circuit Court to taking catfish with commercial gear from the Missouri River, commercial fishing without a permit, six charges of failure to tag hoopnets and one charge of failure to attend hoopnets every 48 hours. The violations will cost him $1,780 in fines, loss of all fishing privileges in Missouri for six months, forfeiture of his nets, two years of supervised probation (during which he is banned from commercial fishing) and 100 hours of community service. Dickerson also faces a possible six-month jail term for violating a probation order on a previous conviction for illegally taking fish.
Yeager says it's especially gratifying to catch a major violator like Dickerson. "A lot of times you don't catch the guys that are having a major impact on the resource. Just to make money, they deny others the opportunity to catch big fish. A lot of the fish he had weighed up to 40 and 50 pounds. A fish like that is the catch of a lifetime for some sport anglers."
The agent also says he can't emphasize enough the vital role citizens can play in catching
violators. He advises anyone who sees a violation to call the nearest conservation agent
immediately. Citizens also can report violations anonymously by calling MDC's toll-free
Operation Game Thief hot line, 1-800-392-1111. To give agents the best chance of catching
violators, tips should include as much detail as possible. Important facts to note include the
exact time and location of the violation, descriptions of persons and vehicles involved, license
plate numbers and the direction the violators were traveling.
4. Missourians Make a Splash at Turkey Calling Contest
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Missourians' native talent for imitating wildlife once again was apparent at the 1996 Grand National Wild Turkey Calling Championships, sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). Four Missourians placed in the competition, and one of them posted an unprecedented fourth win against keen competition.
Walter Parrott, a professional call maker from Fredericktown, posted his fourth first-place finish in the championships March 2 during the NWTF's 20th annual convention. He received a $5,000 cash prize. Second place went to another Missourian, Chris Parrish of Mexico. His prize was $2,000.
Ralph Duren of Jefferson City placed third in the Wild Turkey Gobbling Division. His prize was a shotgun. Duren's first-place finish in the same division last year won him guest appearances on national radio and television shows.
Parrott also teamed up with a Georgia caller, Joe Drake, to take second place and a $1,700 prize in the Team Challenge. Larry Shockey of Willow Springs combined his skills with those of Arkansan Don Shipp to take the $3,000 first prize in Team Challenge.
Missouri callers placed in the money five times in this year's Grand National Wild Turkey Calling Championships. The Show-Me State's nearest competitor was Arkansas, whose entries placed four times, and Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, each of which had three competitors placing in various divisions.
The NWTF has chapters in all the lower 48 states and Hawaii. Its national membership is
120,000, with 5,000 in Missouri. It sponsors wild turkey habitat improvement projects,
research studies and hunter education programs. In Missouri alone, NWTF has spent
$705,848.90 on such projects. NWTF chapters sponsor JAKES (Juniors Acquiring
Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) programs. This program offers hunter apprenticeship
schools and opportunities for involvement in NWTF conservation efforts. The Heartland
Gobblers Chapter in Poplar Bluff, Mo., received NWTF's award for best JAKES event of the
year.
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