Stuart, Cooper and I spent Saturday and Sunday in SW Iowa. Saturday
(6/2) started with my Breeding Bird Survey route from College Springs
(Page Co.) west into Fremont Co. Highlights along the 25-mile route:
Northern Bobwhite - 8
Red-headed Woodpecker - 6
Loggerhead Shrike - 1
Bell's Vireo - 1 (plus a second bird between points)
Northern Mockingbird - 3
Grasshopper Sparrow - 8
Bobolink - 5
We did some atlasing in Fremont Co. on Saturday, and visited the
Chuck-will's-widow site that Keith Dyche reported along Cemetery Rd.
near Green Hollow. We heard two Chucks, along with several
Whip-poor-wills. Before dark we got nice looks at an OLIVE-SIDED
FLYCATCHER along this road.
We camped at Waubonsie State Park and heard a SWAINSON'S THRUSH singing
on Sunday morning.
Sunday we did some more atlasing and also visited Forney Lake. Highlights:
Snow Goose ~15-20
Black-crowned Night-heron - 1 immature
Cattle Egret - 6-8
Great Egret - 6-8 (The egrets and snow geese were in the same area and
behind some vegetation so it was hard to tell how many of each were present)
Black Tern ~100 --amazing to see so many of them in the air at the same
time!
Franklin's Gull ~20
Great-tailed Grackle ~6
We didn't know about the Black Duck, but scanned the water and the only
ducks seen were two male Mallards and a few Northern Shovelers. No luck
on Common Gallinules here or at Nellen Rd. Marsh.
Atlasing was very fruitful both days. Many species are now attending
young or building nests. Some of the highlights:
Yellow Warbler--occupied nest visible from the road
Brown Thrasher--occupied nest visible from the road. This one was built
in a shrub that had been sprayed with herbicide, so the nest was now
exposed, with the birds sitting patiently as we looked at other birds in
the area for 10 or 15 minutes before noticing the nest.
Lark Sparrows feeding a young Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole building a nest
Barn, Cliff, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows building nests.
It's a great time to get out and participate in the Breeding Bird Atlas!
This is the last year so take advantage of the opportunity before it's
too late. It's a lot of fun and you won't regret it!
http://bba.iowabirds.org/
Karen Viste-Sparkman
Des Moines
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