The 1st winter Great black-backed gull, first found by Chuck Fuller on January 12, was seen again today on the Mississippi River at the town of Montrose in Lee County. It was sitting on the ice and in the river, and also flying, relatively close to shore. Binoculars work but a scope view would be even better.
In Van Buren County six apparently untagged Trumpeter swans were with Canada and Cackling geese, Mallards and a few Common goldeneyes at Lake Sugema, which is near Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. At Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington, a late afternoon arrival was a Merlin. This is probably the same bird seen on the Burlington CBC. The bird sits on conifer trees near the north entrance of the cemetery off of Sunnyside Avenue. The cemetery closes its gates at 5:00 PM. The bird today was seen at about 4:45 PM. John Rutenbeck Burlington --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/membership.asp. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
