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Author: Peter Kasper
Sunday, May 27
It was starting to warm up already at 6:30 this morning and was into
the 80's by 10:00. This did not seem to affect the bird activity
much. There were some interesting birds to be had in several
locations. The
Alder Flycatcher was again located along the Sparrow Hedge. Also found in this area were several
Bell's Vireos while an
American Kestrel was seen carrying food toward the area's nest box.
Outside the northwest corner of the Big Woods we found an
Orchard Oriole and a
Ruby-throated Hummingbird that Peter has been watching
now for several weeks. The Hummingbird is most likely breeding in
the area. In a field along East Wilson Rd. there were several
Horned Larks and
Vesper Sparrows (Peter appeared to flush one of the
sparrows from a nest). We found many more
Savannah Sparrows than I
was able to find
on my last visit. Some of the other birds seen were a
Great Egret (not too frequent around the Lab lately),
Wood Ducks,
Chimney Swifts,
Willow Flycatchers (they're everywhere),
Marsh Wrens (in
good numbers), several
Cedar Waxwings (this is only the second week
this year they have been recorded), and several
Yellow Warblers. Dave
Friday, May 25
A pre-breeding season survey brought me to Fermi this morning for
the first time in over a month. It appears I will miss most of the
eastern migrants this spring if this morning is any indication. Well represented grassland birds were
Dickcissel,
Bobolink, and
Eastern Meadowlark. Not so well represented were
Savannah Sparrow,
Henslow's Sparrow (only one heard in Main Injector area) and
Grasshopper Sparrow (none contacted). The female
Osprey was on the nest and
later the male was seen heading in that area. Male Kestrels were in
close proximity to the nest boxes east of the Sparrow Hedge and at
the end of Swenson Road. These are good indicators of their
continued success. Some other birds of note were a
Cooper's Hawk (along Swenson Rd.),
Cedar Waxwings (in the Sparrow Hedge area), an
Orchard Oriole (Main Ring Woods) and the bird of the day was an
Alder Flycatcher (in the Sparrow Hedge). Dave
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