I spent about 1 1/2 hours this afternoon at Jester Park (Polk County), one of the few places left within a reasonable drive that still has shorebird habitat. The possible Sabine's Gull was an added draw. All birds listed below were viewed from the Boat Ramp area.
The juvenile SABINE'S GULL was present at least until 3 p.m. when I left. It spent most of its time feeding on the mudflats like a shorebird -- interesting to see it this way instead of the usual in-flight views. It flew briefly a couple of times but kept coming back to the mudflats to feed. It only seemed to fly when the Peregrine came over. I am not as adept at identifying long-range shorebirds as some, so my numbers are smaller than those reported previously. I was able to ID 7 shorebird species (nothing that hasn't been previously reported, and I did not see the Ruddy Turnstone). Also present were: --2 juvenile Peregrine Falcons, still very inept at hunting --1 Northern Harrier --Caspian Terns --1 Forster's Tern Also, before going to Jester this morning, I was at Hawkeye Wildlife Area in Johnson County briefly (before getting a flat tire) and saw a MERLIN, nice treat, one of my favorite raptors! Diana Pesek Cedar Rapids --- 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]
