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161 



NOTES FROM THE OZARK 

 MOUNTAINS 



Mrs. Ncft' and I have recently re- 

 turned irora a ten days' trip into tlie 

 heart of the Missouri Ozarks, spend- 

 ing our time along the James River 

 in and around the vicinity of Cape 

 I"a;r. While the trip was not pre- 

 emineiitly a bird trip, we still ob- 

 served quite a sizeable list of bird;, 

 of that let-o 1 during the ten days 

 vvhich were Irom July IStli to 27th in- 

 clusive. Cape Fair is in Stone Coun- 

 ty, Missouri, about the center of a 

 huse bend in the scenic James River. 

 Cur cairp was situated on the bank 

 ol' the Jamc", the river on which the 

 '.an:ous 125 mile Galena-to-Branso i 

 . ioat io be^un. Finding the river 

 r o:::e two feet over normal, and 

 :..uddy from a recent rain on its head 

 v.aters, we spent most of our time 

 loafing about camp and watching the 

 birds that came along the banks and 

 woods near our camp. Later as the 

 water cleared out we fished some, 

 and watched the floaters go by on 

 their way to Branson. A few side 

 trips of exploration were made along 

 neighboring gulches and on to the 

 bluffs along the river. It is a place 

 that has many things to offer to the 

 eye which seeks beauty- We never 

 tired of the wildness and scenic 

 beauty of the country, even though it 

 is the Ozarks that are so famous as 

 a joke elsewhere in our state and 

 nation. 



The drive overland from Marion- 

 ville to Cape Fair is somewhere in 

 the vicinity of thirty-five miles. For 

 fifteen miles we drive south across 

 more or less roughly rolling hill.s. 

 Then for a distance we follow a small 

 stream to its larger partner, cross the 

 latter on a bridge, and drive for miles 

 down the ridge running between the 

 smaller creek and the James River. 



Along this ridge road one encounters 

 some of the highest points in the 

 Ozark region, and the outlook is great. 

 We rolled along on very fair roads 

 through mile.s of forest, then through 

 miles of tomato patches, for the rais- 

 ing of tomatoes is a staple industry 

 there. 



Because of the difference in topog- 

 raphy between the sections traversed 

 V' reaching the camp site, our l)ird 

 list is varied considerably; Irat is 

 very fairly representative of our sum- 

 mer bird life. The Great Blue Heron 

 was strangely absent on the James 

 this summer; however, it was seen on 

 the smaller creek on the 13th of July. 

 C roc 1 Hero 10 were abundant and very 

 ta.rc. We could place our boat with- 

 in a few of them before they would 

 even notice our presence. The Bob- 

 white seems to be more than usually 

 common in the fields along the bot- 

 to:r,s, and is very fairly proportioned 

 over a'l the territory traversed. The 

 Mourning Dove is very common 

 throughout the territory covered, and 

 could be heard every day from its 

 seat in the top of some huge deadened 

 tree. Turkey and Black Vultures 

 were both fairly common, the former 

 the more so, and were seen best from 

 the top of the ridges, along the ridge 

 road, where their soaring flight was a 

 little more on the altitude of the road. 

 Red-tailed Hawks were seen and heard 

 every day screaming their war cry 

 from the hills. Sparrow Hawks are 

 common along the river, but were not 

 seen this trip for some reason. 

 Screech Owls were common nightly 

 visitants and made the night hideous 

 from a willow bar In front of the 

 tent. Barred and Great Horned Owls 

 are both resident there, but the shoal 

 in front of the tent made such a noise 

 that our ears could not catch their 

 cry, as their range was some two or 

 more miles away. 



