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Author: Peter Kasper
Tuesday, August 26
I took a very productive walk from the Red Barn to the
sparrow hedge this morning. A couple of
Caspian Terns were
hunting over Lake Law as I started off and a
Sora flushed
from beside the trail soon after leaving the lake. At the
hedge,
Bell's Vireos and a
Black-billed Cuckoo were singing
and early migrants were present in the form of a
Swainson's Thrush and an
Ovenbird. The most surprising find was a
Yellow-breasted Chat, easily the latest site record for this
species.
Sunday, August 24
Easily the best bird of the day was a
Least Bittern that we
spotted flying over the south Eola grasslands. It landed in
the pines bordering the horse paddock but flew off again
when we relocated it. It was a young bird that still carried
traces of down on its head and appeared to come from the
Lake Law area. The only other birds of note were a
Blue-winged Teal on Nepese pond and a couple of
Purple Martins at the Garden club.
Sunday, August 17
For some unknown reason water levels at Swenson rd. pond
were well below normal and mud flats were showing.
Unfortunately, few shorebirds were around to take advantage;
several
Solitary Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper were all
we found. However we did spot a couple of
Soras sneaking
along the edge of the cattails. We found little of interest
after that until we got to the garden club where a flock of
Purple Martins were hanging out on the power-lines and
several
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were chasing each other
among the flowers.
Sunday, August 10
There was a lot of bird activity along the sparrow hedge
this morning as mixed flocks fed on the various fruiting
bushes and trees.
Bell's Vireos were still to be heard
singing in the area and both oriole species were seen. Most of the
Bobolinks have left the Eola rd. grasslands, though
Henslow's Sparrows,
Dickcissels, and
Sedge Wrens were all
still present.
Sunday, August 3
Today we did something a little different. We launched a
canoe in lake Logo and Main Ring lake in order to check out
the reed beds that are hidden on the far sides of these
lakes. The expedition was both enjoyable and fruitful. Good birds that we encountered included a close up
Sora, a
Black-billed Cuckoo, a
Pied-billed Grebe, a close up
Black-crowned Night-Heron,
Caspian Terns,
Purple Martins,
and numerous
Marsh Wrens and
Swamp Sparrows. We also heard
Least Bitterns calling from the reeds at the back of Main Ring Lake.
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