Osage Trails Master Naturalists help at Get MO Wild event

By JL Johnson

MDC and over a dozen partners teamed up to support the first annual Get MO Wild event. Get MO Wild combined separate events from prior years and occurred on the last day of September at beautiful James A Reed in Lee’s Summit. Osage Trails partners such as Burroughs Audubon and Missouri River Bird Observatory (among others) had booths and games with the intent of getting people of all ages interested in the diverse outdoor activities our great state offers.
Seven Osage Trails Master Naturalists supported the Burroughs Audubon booth. Over the course of the day we met with at least 197 unique visitors to chat about common native birds of Missouri. Children and adults alike enjoyed playing “The Bird Game” which involved volunteers providing clues about birds to support identification of birds from a menu on the table. For each bird we would discuss the “three Bs:” Beak, Body and Behavior. A few lucky visitors were able to spot Turkey Vultures circling overhead at various points throughout the day. We were also lucky to have a Great Blue Heron make a brief visit near our lakeside tent.
To our surprise, the children tended to be better at identifying birds by listening to the clues. Whereas adults seemed more prone to skip steps and misidentify. With each successful identification there were smiles all around. While we were there to help educate, we walked away with newfound appreciation for kiddos eager to listen and to learn.
The kids are OK!