Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge

BLUF: Seeking Pathways Interns! Apply by 10:59pm CST Friday, Jan. 8, 2021! Normally on #TranquilTuesday we bring Big Muddy to you, but today we've got an opportunity for students to bring their hard work, dedication and imagination to Big Muddy (or several other refuges throughout the region)! Student trainees will be responsible for a broad range of duties, like surveying flora and fauna, monitoring and controlling invasive species, utilizing GIS and GPS technologies, ...and much more! Learn more at the link below! Preview Photo: Biological Science Technician Temp assists wetland plant surveys as part of the Integrated Waterbird Management & Monitoring protocol at the Overton Bottoms South Unit by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

Brrr! It's cold outside! On this chilly #MicroMonday we take a closer look at some of the ways birds stay warm in winter: 1. Fluffing feathers - traps air & heat for insulation 2. Shivering - quick muscle contractions generate heat 3. Cuddling - surface to volume ratio results in heat loss 4. Tucking - by tucking their bills or legs into their feathers, birds benefit from numbers 1 & 3, even if others aren't nearby.... Learn more at http://ow.ly/fVBk50CZunO Photo: A dark eyed junco sits in a tree during winter with its feathers fluffed to stay warm on the Overton Bottoms North Unit in Boonville, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

2020 was rough, but as we ring in 2021 we want to thank you all for your support by commemorating our top post of 2020. 1: #HummingbirdMigration We hope this year's better than your last, and when the going gets tough just remember...it's only 90 days until thousands of hummingbirds are back ... Did you know hummingbirds have played a role in mythological folklore, and that some cultures believed they were a sign of luck and a symbol for hope? What do you think of hummingbirds?

Goodbye 2020, hello 2021! Get a jump start on your New Year’s resolutions with a winter wonderland hike on a refuge unit near you today! And while you wait for a companion to get ready or for the flurries to subside, check out this great article on how wildlife refuges make life better Here’s to 2021!

This year's been rough, and as it winds down we would like to take this week to thank you all for your support by commemorating our top 5 posts of 2020. 2: #LightsOutChallenge* *This is a great way to help birds during both spring and fall migration season

Check out this great live broadcast from the National Conservation Training Center on sturgeons! Our Big Muddy staff work closely with Fisheries and other partners on habitat restoration and management projects for the endangered pallid sturgeon. Learn more about these unique and ancient creatures here

It's #TriviaTime! Several aphids were found feeding on a plant's phloem fluids with curious "horn-like" structures on their posterior. What are these structures called? A. Cornicles B. Cerci C. Ovipositors... Photo: Aphids feeding on a plant on the Berger Bend Unit in Berger, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

#WhatsInBloomWednesday is toothcup or redstem! This native annual wetland herb is common in tidal marshes and typically blooms from June through October, but can sometimes bloom later if conditions are right. Toothcups are also important plants for dabbling ducks! Learn more http://ow.ly/cQbx50CavEt. Photo: Toothcup plant (likely Ammannia coccinea) blooming with pink flowers on the shores of the Missouri River on the Berger Bend Unit in Berger, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

We hope your coffee's strong and your day a #TranquilTuesday, from the Overton Bottoms South Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge! Video: Steam rises from our biological science technician's coffee mug beside tallgrass prairie with a National Wildlife Refuge boundary sign in the background on the Overton Bottoms South Unit of Big Muddy NFWR before beginning waterfowl surveys for the day by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

It's #MicroMonday, and today we take a closer look at the winner of Nature's Best Halloween Costume 2020the bee fly! Members of the Bombyliidae family imitate bees, but these flies neither bite nor sting. You can identify these tricky mimics by their single, rather than double pair of wings, and their large compound eyes. Learn more at http://ow.ly/w8Q350C8EDQ. Photo: A bee fly on white blooms (likely Symphyotricum sp.) at the Berger Bend Unit in Berger, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

#HappyHalloween! Whether tonight brings you tricks or treats, we hope you have a safe holiday and recommend you begin your festivities with this #spooktacular #wildwebcast on the top 10 #NotSoCreepyCritters in Missouri by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation!

With Halloween creepin’ up, check out this great celebratory activity you can go batty over from the comfort of your own home

It's #Spooktacular #ISpyFriday! And I spy, with my little eyea wolf spider in ambush mode! Did you know these spiders still produce silk even though they chase their prey down like wolves rather than catching them in webs? Some females will even lay drag lines of silk laced with pheromones to flirt with lackadaisical males. They're also unique in the parenting department; unlike most spiders with a lay-and-leave policy, some female wolf spiders carry their young on th...eir back. And although they may look scary, they're harmless to humans. Learn more about these, and other "Little Wolves of Missouri" at http://ow.ly/6Y4450C6wax. #SpooktacularSpotlight #NotSoCreepyCritter Photo: A wolf spider (Tigrosa sp.) on a log at the Berger Bend Unit in Berger, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

It's almost #Halloween! Did you know? "Paddlers enjoying a canoe trip down a Missouri stream may float right over one of the continent’s largest and most imperiled salamanders...These fantastic beasts are actually gentle giants." #SpooktauclarSpotlight #NotSoCreepyCritter

It's #TriviaTime! This #spooktacular, and surprisingly edible mushroom is undergoing a biological process. What is the name of this process? A. Desiccation B. Deliquescence C. Fragmentation... #SpooktacularSpotlight Photo: An ink cap mushroom (Coprinus comatus) on the Berger Bend Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Berger, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

#WhatsInBloomWednesday is Fever Plant! These #spooktacular flowers remain closed during the day and only open in the dark hence their more common name of evening primrose. Interestingly, their seeds contain gamma-linolenic acid, which has been used for medicinal purposes since the 1600s and gave rise to its fever plant moniker. PHOTO CHALLENGE: Can you spot the treehopper or the spider web in the photo Photo: Yellow fever plant/evening primrose blooms on the Berger Bend Unit by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

It's #TranquilTuesday, where we bring Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge to you, but it's also #NationalBatWeek so today we'd like to share a #spooktacular video of FWS biologists working through a dichotomous key with volunteers to identify this endangered mouse-eared bat caught during mist net surveys on the refuge last fall. Can you guess which species it is? Check your answer in the video caption below! Wanna learn more? Check out this article about bats' i...mportance at http://ow.ly/WvOu50C40oy, or our post from last year about the adorable species featured here at http://ow.ly/jLBh50C41fw. #SpooktacularSpotlight #NotSoCreepyCritter Video: A biologist holds an endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens) as a volunteer points to a dichotomous key for species identification in 2019 on the Overton Bottoms North Unit in Boonville, Missouri by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.

It's #MicroMonday and today we'd like to take a closer look at the #spooktacular daddy longlegs! These arachnids are commonly mistaken as venomous, but in reality they're harmless and lack venom glands altogether. Instead, as a defense mechanisms daddy longlegs will emit a foul odor, and once detached, their (non-regenerative) legs can twitch for up to an hour to distract potential predators. Learn more at https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ent-68. #SpooktacularSpotlight #Not...SoCreepyCritter Photo: A daddy longlegs (Opiliones sp.) on vegetation cleaning one of its legs using its chelicerae at the Berger Bend Unit by Ashley Riedel/USFWS.