Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:
Monitoring Birds on the Missouri River
“Monitoring Birds on the Missouri River” – original presentation by Ethan Duke, Assistant Director and co-founder of Missouri River Bird Observatory
The Missouri River and its adjacent wetlands are a major corridor for migrating songbirds, raptors and waterfowl. Recognizing the need to monitor and catalogue this massive avian movement, Ethan Duke and Dana Ripper took their collective bird monitoring experience in 2009 and started the Missouri River Bird Observatory. The mission of this bunch of hard working biologists is to contribute to the conservation of Missouri’s migratory and resident birds through scientific research and monitoring, community outreach and education.
Meet Your Presenter
Ethan Duke
, Assistant Director and co-founder of Missouri River Bird Observatory
Ethan Duke shared stories of their work in the Missouri wilds, his take on the state of our bird populations and the successes of their inspiring program.
Related Presentations
Resources & Links
Resources
- Rivermiles TV website»
- Rivermiles trailer»
- List of episodes»
- About Jodi & Scott»
- Check out other Rivermiles clips»
Rivermiles FAQs
(from their website)
Why don’t you let Jodi drive more often?
She drives all the time. I just can’t film it because when she drives I wear 8 lifejackets.
Are you dating?
Jodi: He’s too old for me.
Scott: She’s too old for me.
Who restores your vintage boats?
Russ Payzant is the genius behind the boats on the show. Give him a junk boat and he’ll turn it into a masterpiece of comfort and reliability.
Why don’t you come to our town?
Is your town on the river? Is there neat stuff to see? Can you cook? Can we borrow your shower? Email us for a suggestion!
Can we underwrite the show?
Actually, this isn’t a frequently asked question… it’s very rarely asked. But if you’d like to help with the production costs of the show, we’d be very eager to meet with you.
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City
is hosted by these wonderful partners!
- Little Blue River Watershed Coalition
- Friends of Lakeside Nature Center
- Missouri River Relief
- Healthy Rivers Partnership
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
- Kansas City Digital Video
Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible! Click here for a list of upcoming presentations» The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.
Recordings of Presentations
Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org. Thanks Micheal Morgan and crew for putting this important archive online! The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.
Upcoming Presentations
Leave No Trace Training on the Barge
October 14, 2026St. Louis, MO
Join us for a special Big Muddy Speaker Series on the Living Lands & Waters Barge where Perry Whitaker will lead us in a Leave No Trace Training.
See Event
Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy
November 10, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.
See Event
Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality
November 11, 2026St Charles, MO
Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.
See Event