I made an excuse to get outside this morning since the weather was so beautiful, and was rewarded with many good birds. Highlights were: Sandhill Crane--heard calling from the ground behind some trees, couldn't get into the area before it stopped calling. Merlin Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs (any shorebird other than Killdeer is noteworthy here!) Cliff Swallow (FOY) American Pipit 8 species of sparrows: Savannah, Chipping, Field, Song, Swamp, Henslow's, American Tree (1), and Clay-colored Sparrow (2) Brewer's Blackbird (~20) Yellow-headed Blackbird (1)
The blackbirds were with a flock of about 80 cowbirds and a few Red-wings in the recently burned area around the Tallgrass Trail, near the Visitor Center. Clay-colored Sparrows were at the Savanna parking lot. Enjoy this wonderful day! -- Karen Viste-Sparkman Wildlife Biologist Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge P.O. Box 399 9981 Pacific Street Prairie City, IA 50228 515-994-3400 "There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter." --Rachel Carson --- 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]. Unsubscribe at http://iowabirds.org/Reporting/Listserv.aspx.
