High up on a bluff above the Mississippi River, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist positions a spotting scope to get a closer view of a marsh. It’s teeming with ducks.
Mallards, northern pintails and gadwalls dunk the front halves of their bodies under the surface to reach aquatic plants and mollusks. Further out, near the main river channel, a flotilla of American White Pelicans catch fish in their yellow bills, while Canada Geese fly in v-formations above.
In November, colder temperatures will draw even more birds, including tundra swans, says Billy Reiter-Marolf…