[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 76, No. 3, March, 2003] JANUARY 2003 BIRD REPORTBy: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne HomeyerIntroduction: Following the sighting of the Clark’s Nutcracker in December, another western visitor, a Varied Thrush, was briefly seen at Margy Terpstra’s bubbler on 1/23. Merlins have been plentiful since fall. The Merlin is a powerful, stocky bird and Ralph Palmer writes in The Handbook of North American Birds, Diurnal Raptors, Part 2: “A Merlin in configuration is more or less a diminutive Gyrfalcon.” At close range their speed is astounding. To paraphrase Pete Dunne, if you see a small falcon migrating with other hawks, and it’s not harassing them, it’s probably not a Merlin. Steve Whitworth possibly had one at his feeder in Glen Carbon, IL in January. Sightings: A Common Loon was reported at Creve Coeur Lake on 1/1 (IH, G&TB, m. ob.). A few Pelicans and 2 Tundra Swans were still at REDA on 1/1 (J&CM). By 1/25, 4 Tundra Swans were present (m. ob.). On 1/8, Frank Holmes saw 9 Cormorants at HL. About 56 Great Blue Herons were counted at HL near Granite City Steel on 1/15 (JZ) and 60 were seen near the Mel Price Dam on 1/26 (FH). One Ross’s Goose and 12 White-fronted Geese, 36 Ring-necked Ducks and thousands of Snow Geese were present at Baldwin Lake on 1/17 (JC, Th. Group). A Wood Duck was seen at the slough on Ill. Hwy. 143 on 1/26 (FH). On 1/15, 96 Hooded Mergansers, 150+ Ring-necked Ducks and 100 Gadwall were found at HL (JZ). At HL on 1/19, there were 350 Ruddy Ducks, 150 Common Mergansers, and an immature Peregrine Falcon (FH). Scott Schuette reported 12 Least Sandpipers at Winfield Dam on 1/8. The Barkers started the year off on 1/1 by flushing a Woodcock at BCA and locating the Eurasian Collared Doves on Payne Road. Gull sightings included Lesser Black-backed on 1/5 and 1/15 at REDA (JE, T Be), Glaucous Gull on 1/22 at REDA (JU) and on 1/25 at Chain of Rocks (JM), and several first-year Thayer’s Gulls seen throughout the month at REDA, including on 1/26 (T Be and Sun. group). A small, buff gull seen at REDA was thought to be either a coarse first-year Iceland or a very pale first-year Thayer’s. On 1 /4, Joe Eades discovered a roost of Black Vultures in Ste. Genevieve County near Rocky Ridge Ranch, and on 1/11, Joe Eades and Jim Malone counted 8 Black Vultures and 150 Turkey Vultures in the same location. Eagle numbers peaked at 111 on 1/24 in Madison Co., IL (FH) and 49 were counted along the Levee Road on 1/15 (JZ). On 1/26, while watching a Merlin, Frank Holmes and Jim Ziebol observed an apparent adult Goshawk attack a Red-tailed Hawk and force it to the ground. On 1/25, a light-phase Rough-legged Hawk was observed at BCA (JZ) and on 1/7, Torrey Berger had 2 dark-morph Red-tailed Hawks near Sauget. Jerzy Majka had stunning looks at a pair of Merlins at Lakewood Park Cemetery in early January, and on 1/17, Torrey Berger found a Shrike species there. The Merlins moved back and forth between Lakewood Park and Resurrection Cemeteries and were seen by many observers. On 1/15, Ian Hunt saw a Prairie Falcon on the Levee Road. A Kestrel was observed dangling a snake while perched on a telephone wire at HL (YH, JZ). At Carlyle Lake on 1/19, the WGNSS group, led by Bill Rowe, found Eurasian Collared Dove, Monk Parakeets, Cooper’s Hawk, Barred Owl, a dark-phase Rough-legged Hawk and thousands of Snow Geese. Dennis Bozzay located a Hairy Woodpecker and Rufous-sided Towhee at Castlewood on 1/1. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and 2 Brown Creepers were observed in TGP on 1/19 (S Mc). A Winter Wren was a good find at HL on 1/1 (FH). Mike Thelen observed 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Kingfisher and a Cooper’s Hawk at Lakewood Park Cemetery on 1/12. On 1/5, the WGNSS group, led by Jackie Chain and Rose Ann Bodman, found 2 Harris’s Sparrows at Blue Grosbeak Trail mixed in with a flock of American Tree, White-crowned and Fox Sparrows, and the group found a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Hairy Woodpecker at BCA. A Lincoln’s Sparrow was seen with White-throated, American Tree, and Eurasian Tree Sparrows at Fountain Lake Park in St. Charles Co. on 1/5 (J Mo). On 1/19, an Orange-crowned Warbler was seen with Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Winter Wren at the campground of HL (D Bz). Ian Hunt found a Western Meadowlark at Blue Grosbeak Trail on 1/12. Brewer’s and Rusty Blackbirds were found in small numbers on 1/ 12 at Forest 44 and Route 66 S.P. (JM). Comments: Good backyard birds included a Hermit Thrush and a Varied Thrush at the home of Margy Terpstra. The Varied Thrush did not return. A late report from Jack Harris for November & December included Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks and 20 Eurasian Tree Sparrows. Screech Owls were heard at the homes of Connie Alwood, Josh Uffman, and John & Nancy Solodar. Dennis Bozzay had been seeing a Sharp-shinned Hawk near his home. Joanne Zelch had 2 Bluebirds at her feeder in South County. Sherry McCowan saw an Oregon Junco in her yard in Soulard several times. Cheryl & Don Delashmit had a Harris’s Sparrow coming to a feeder at their home in Franklin County. The Barkers saw Pine Siskins on 1/ 2 and a Carolina Wren on 1/24. Christmas Count Highlights: Orchard Farm 1/1 – 1000 Snow Geese, Merlin, 17 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 3 Eurasian Collared Doves, 7 Great-tailed Grackles. Busch/Weldon Spring 1/ 4 – 7 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 8 Red-shouldered Hawks, 23 Hairy Woodpeckers, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 7 Hermit Thrush, and 184 Swamp Sparrows. Babler S.P. - Sharp-shinned and Red-shouldered Hawks, Brown Creeper, 2 Yellow-rumps, and 12 Golden-crowned Kinglets. Contributors: Connie Alwood, George & Terry Barker, Torrey Berger, Rose Ann Bodman, Jackie Chain, Cheryl & Don Delashmit, Joe Eades, Jack Harris, Frank Holmes, Yvonne Homeyer, Jim & Charlene Malone, Sherry McCowan, Scott Schuette, John & Nancy Solodar, Margy Terpstra, Mike Thelen, Josh Uffman, Jim Ziebol. An asterisk means “documented”. Abbreviations: Busch Conservation/Wildlife Area, BCA; Carlyle Lake, CL; Forest Park, FP; Horseshoe Lake, HL; Little Creve Coeur Lake, LCCL, Lost Valley Trail, LVT; Marais Temps Clair, MTC; Riverlands, REDA, Tower Grove Park, TGP. |