Hello Birders, I have had a great time out atlasing this summer and have most recently visited areas in Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Palo Alto, & Pocahontas Counties. The wetlands in these areas were very dry, and many are quickly turning into moistlands. Waterfowl & other wetland bird numbers were low, and the diversity proved to be even lower, but despite this I still managed to find some nice species. Some species I confirmed nesting multiple times, but that I will not go into detail about are Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Redstart, Grasshopper Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Bobolink, Yellow-headed Blackbird and a whole lot more. Migrant shorebirds were numerous at the mudflats I came across. Semipalmated, Bairds, and Least were the most common, with a few Pectoral Sandpipers, Stilt Sandpipers and Short-billed Dowitcher mixed in.
Below are the highlights, sorted out by block. Buena Vista County Conservation Park (Buena Vista): -Brown Creeper pair -Acadian Flycatcher on territory -Cooper's Hawk fledgling -Yellow-throated Vireo fledging -Wood Thrush & Scarlet Tanager singing Bertram Reservation (Clay): -3 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, one pair -2 Upland Sandpiper, one feigning a broken wing Fen Valley WMA (Clay): -Henslow's Sparrow pair -Willow Flycatcher nest with eggs Hawk Valley WMA (Clay): -1 Least Flycatcher -Grasshopper Sparrow fledgling that ran over my foot! Dugout Creek (Dickinson): -1 Virginia Rail at Yaeger Slough -Located a Black Tern colony and got mobbed by the parents, swooping down within just a few inches of my head... -Clay-colored Sparrows Lower Gar Lake (Dickinson): -Coopers Hawk attending young (confirmed in 2 Dickinson Co blocks and 1 Pocahontas Co block) West Lake Okoboji North (Dickinson): -American Coot brood (surprisingly scarce this trip out) East Lake Okoboji: -Blue Grosbeak pair Spirit Lake North (Dickinson): -Henslows Sparrow pair at Hales Slough -Clay-colored Sparrows Fort Defiance (Emmet): -Black Tern nest with young-was fun to watch parents feed the tiny brown fuzzball! (Also confirmed at Four-mile Lake in Dickinson) -Trumpeter Swan pair -Gray Partridge brood with 12 fledglings West Swan Lake (Emmet): -Least Flycatcher pair attending recently fledged young Ingham-High Complex (Emmet): -Acadian Flycatcher singing at Waldorf Park -Double-crested Cormorant and Great Blue Heron colony on High Lake South Twelve-Mile Lake (Emmet): -1 Henslows Sparrow -3 Clay-colored Sparrows -Savannah Sparrow fledglings -Northern Harrier female -American Kestrel fledglings Deweys Pasture North (Palo Alto): -2 pairs of Northern Harriers, one pair attending young -5 Great Egrets (have been very scarce this summer) -2 Bald Eagles Burns Prairie (Palo Alto): -Gray Partridge fledglings -2 Upland Sandpiper pairs Fallow Marsh (Palo Alto): -Trumpeter Swan pair -one Hooded Merganser Whitetail Flats (Palo Alto): -11 Henslows Sparrows, eight were singing males, 3 had mates; most were at West Fork Wildlife Area south of Emmetsburg, one pair was at Whitetail Flats WA -A flock of 60 Grasshopper Sparrows at West Fork WA (plus a dozen or more singing birds), followed by another flock totaling 30 to the south. Easily one 100+ in the area! -One Northern Harrier female at West Fork WA -Barred Owl Robert Mulroney Area (Palo Alto): -lots of Hooded Mergansers, probably nested but no fledglings - Barred Owl Struthers Wildlife Area (Pocahontas): 1 singing Carolina Wren Good Birding, Tucker J. Lutter Bronson, IA --- 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]
