Some of the best birding I have had this year has been in BBA grid blocks ( ag blocks as they are often called). They tend to be less noisy and busy and have had some amazing micro-habitats, and macro habitats. Just goes to show: You build it and they will come.
Some recent highlights: At least 27 Red-headed Woodpeckers - mostly singles and many on telephone poles or the like. should call those pole-peckers. Not nearly as numerous up here. 7 quail singing in different places in Keokuk Co. Pheasant numbers were slightly better. First quail I have heard since the pair that were in my rhubarb patch in the middle of Waterloo a couple years ago. A female RWBB with white outer tail feathers - A red-winged black lark perhaps? A male Ruddy Duck on a farm pond - the most colorful one I have seen this spring. A Dickcissel with a speech impediment. Dickcissels are abundant but this one sounded more buzzy and compact. Many Horned Larks singing - especially in the no-till bean fields with corn stubble. Belva Deer Co. Park in Keokuk Co. 1669 acres with miles of trails, lake, ponds, grasslands. A first rate park. Henlsow's and Grasshopper sparrows. Large TV roost. In Benton Co. - pair of gray partridge (also one by the entrance to Hickory Hills Park in Tama Co.) Upland Sandpiper doing the broken wing distraction and repeatedly circling. Didn't like me or the car near its postage stamp size nest site. Oh yeah, dead end roads have been productive, too. One lead me to one of the most beautiful spots I have seen in Iowa. Grid blocks are about nine miles apart and each one has its own character and birding surprises. Tom Schilke - Waterloo 319-22-8199 --- 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/PayDues.aspx. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
