Hi I-Birders, Cooper and I had a birdy walk this afternoon on the Neal Smith Trail along the Des Moines River just east of Johnston. Most notable were 8 SWAINSON'S THRUSHES. Large groups of WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS (>70) and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS (>30) were moving through as well. Also spotted were YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, AM. REDSTART, and N. PARULA. A pair of OSPREY circled over the river, and a BROAD-WINGED HAWK cruised overhead. As improbably unseen orioles toodled overhead and GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHERS zreeped in the woods, a few BARRED OWLS were having a hollering contest nearby. I noted that the regulars have returned and seem to be settling in, including catbird, house wren, gnatcatcher, and grosbeak. Back at home we had this year's first visitor to our hummingbird feeder- a rather hungry female. After supper an additional five SWAINSON'S THRUSHES were foraging on our lawn.
Good Birding. Stuart Sparkman NW Des Moines "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves and wiser people so full of doubt." Bertrand Russell --- 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]
