[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 76, No. 6, June, 2003] April 2003 BIRD REPORTBy: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne HomeyerEarly Arrival Dates: 4/1 Laughing Gull, Sauget Marsh (T Be) Introduction: Only time will tell what West Nile Virus does to the birds of the New World. The landbird migration in April closed very positively. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Winter Wren, and Hermit Thrush were abundant, while sparrows such as Field, Song and Swamp were hardly evident, at least in TGP. Randy Korotev states about Forest Park: “I am certain, however, that the number of Crows is at most a quarter of previous years, presumably from the almost total decimation of the city population last summer by West Nile Virus.” Crows have completely disappeared from TGP and Bluejays are rarely seen, to the point where a pair of Great Horned Owls has been seen perched in the open with no birds harassing them. A late report: Paul Bauer counted 6 Eared Grebes at HL on 3/23. Sightings: About 30 Pied-billed Grebes were found at CC on 4/6 (T Be) and 12 were seen in FP’s Jefferson Lake on 4/10 (SM). American Bittern was found at REDA on 4/5 (P&BJ) and up to 3 were found on 4/23 (SC) and 4/24 (PB). On 4/5, the WGNSS Group found Snowy Egret and 3 Little Blue Herons at Indian Lake, several Vesper Sparrows at HL, and a very cooperative Winter Wren at TGP (DB et al.). 150 Great Egrets was a good count at Collinsville Rd/I-55 on 4/5 (MT, DR). A Mute Swan was seen at BCA on 4/26 (YH, JZ) and 1 is still present at HL. Ian Hunt reported a pair of Cinnamon Teal and a male Great-tailed Grackle at CC on 4/6. Shawn Clubb’s Cinnamon Teal, found at HL on 4/28, was seen by many birders; this new species for HL brings the total species found there to 304. Sherry McCowan found 10 Hooded Mergansers at Indian Lake on 4/13 and 10 Blue-winged Teal at FP on 4/14. A Marbled Godwit was hotlined from REDA on 4/25 (CM). Paul Bauer found a Willet at BCA on 4/29. Good shorebirds at CL were a Western Sandpiper on 4/19 and a Wilson’s Phalarope on 4/20 (DK). Another Wilson’s Phalarope was seen on Bruns Road on 4/28 (LB, BK). Upland Sandpiper is becoming harder and harder to find in St. Louis; the only sighting was at Levee & Ziebold Roads on 4/8 (B Ru). Excellent shorebird habitat was available at CL, REDA and MTC. Gull reports were sparse, but 500 Bonaparte’s Gulls were seen at CL on 4/5 (MT, DR). The most terns reported on any date were 5 Forster’s and 2 Caspian’s at REDA on 4/26 (J Co). Two Cooper’s Hawks displaying courtship behavior were seen in Jefferson County on 4/12 (MP), 2 were observed in TGP on 4/19 (SM, DG), and Randy Korotev reported an adult at a nest on 4/29 in FP. Red-shouldered Hawks were observed in both FP (MT) and TGP (T Be) in April. Jackie Chain and others saw 2 Red-tailed Hawks building a nest in TGP. Sherry McCowan saw an Osprey flying over TGP on 4/27. Two Great Horned Owls have been observed in TGP throughout April (J Co, T Be, GA) and one has been seen in FP (RK). Mick Richardson found a rufous morph Screech Owl in TGP on 4/29 and a week later, branchlings were seen (RAB). On 4/5, Mary Anne Auer found Barred Owl, Cliff Swallows and Red-shouldered Hawk at Howell Island. The Winter Wren peak occurred on 4/14 & 4/15, with 6-10 individuals observed at the Gaddy Bird Garden in TGP (MM, T Be, Mary Huber). Bewick’s Wrens were reported from TGP on 4/2 (JZ), Shaw Nature Reserve on 4/18 (SM), Howell Island on 4/12 (MAA), and from the Busch Shorebird Area (MM). Bewick’s Wren is a rare and local breeder in the St. Louis area. Mike Brady’s first Prothonotary Warbler was seen on 4/10 at Castlewood, and he reported resident breeders in low numbers at that time. Black-and-White, N. Parula, Black-throated Green, and Yellow-throated Warbler came in early and in good numbers. There were 3 reports of Yellow-throated Warbler from FP, 3 from TGP, and 1 on the SLU campus (SM, RK, NB, T Be, Jim Hickner). Three singing male Ceruleans were found at Castlewood on 4/27 (MB) and as many as 10 at LVT on 4/29 (P&BJ). Hooded Warbler reports included 1 at BCA on 4/19 (LB, CA), 1 at TGP on 4/22 (T Be), 1 at FP on 4/26 (RK), 1 in Margy Terpstra’s yard on 4/26, 2 males and a female at TGP on 4/29 (m. ob.), and 1 was turned into Wild Bird Rehab and later released. Good counts of Worm-eating Warbler were 4 at Rockwoods on 4/19 (CM) and as many as 8 at LVT on 4/29 (P&BJ). The WGNSS group led by Dale and Nancy Delaney on 4/28 at LVT found Cerulean and Yellow-throated Warblers and 4 species of Vireos (J&NS). On 4/27 at TGP, there was a particularly strong movement of Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Gray Catbird. There were several sightings of Henslow’s Sparrows, the first being at BCA on 4/15 (JU), 2 other sightings at BCA on 4/18 (CM), 3 at the Blue Grosbeak Trail on 4/19 (CA), and up to 14 singing males at Castlewood on 4/20 (MB). It was a particularly good year for Lark Sparrow, with 1 on Bruns Road on 4/19 (BW), 1 at Katy Trail Access on 4/24 (CA, KL), 10 on Bruns Road on 4/25 (T Be), 1 on Cora Island Road on 4/26 (MAA), and 1 on Bischoff Road on 4/27 (LB). Chipping Sparrow peaked in TGP on 4/27 but Bruce Wetteroth commented that Fox, Song, Swamp and Field Sparrows were being seen in low numbers in the park. White-throated Sparrow peaked around 4/21, with 200 individuals in TGP (m. ob.). Mary Anne Auer found several Grasshopper Sparrows in Chesterfield Valley on 4/29 and the Johnsons refound them on 4/30. On 4/19, there were 2 Harris’s Sparrows at Blue Grosbeak Trail (P&BJ) and on 4/22, Torrey Berger reported 4 there. Rad Widmer found a Yellow-headed Blackbird at REDA on 4/26 and Shawn Clubb hotlined one from the HL area on 4/28. One hundred Rusty Blackbirds were seen at Cahokia Mounds on 4/5 (BW) and 18 were found at HL on 4/8 ( D Bz). A typical day at TGP on 4/14 included 6 Winter Wrens, 28 Hermit Thrush, 8 N. Flickers, 5 Sapsuckers, 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets (T Be). A typical day at REDA on 4/25 included 2 Marbled Godwits, 2 Willets, 1 Avocet, 14 Semipalmated Plovers, 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 2 Least Sandpipers, 4 Spotted, 12+ Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Bonaparte’s Gull, 1 Forster’s Tern, 5 Snipe, 2 Snowy Egrets, and a Common Loon (DR, J&CM). A typical day at CL on 4/19 included 800 Lesser Yellowlegs, 50 Greater Yellowlegs, 500 Pectorals, 15 Baird’s, 1 Western, 11 Semipalmated Plovers, 4 Long-billed Dowitchers, approx. 80 Am. Golden Plovers, and others (DK). Comments: A White-eyed Vireo was at Jane Walker’s home on 4/17. A Bald Eagle was a flyover at his home on 4/18 (JZ). Three wild Turkeys and a Pheasant have been seen in FP. Jack Harris reported Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned, and Red-shouldered Hawks in his yard for Project Feeder Watch. Margie Richardson found a pair of Flickers on 4/26. Randy Korotev observed an adult Cooper’s Hawk nesting in FP. On 4/30, Margy Terpstra found a Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Least Flycatcher, Tennessee, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Orange-crowned Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Swainson’s Thrush and more. Wilma Kennell had Veery and Palm Warbler on 4/30 and a Brown Thrasher and Gray Catbird have been seen in her yard all month. On 4/30, Kraig Paradise found 2 Gray Catbirds in his yard and 1 was seen near his store (D Bz). Contributors: Gail Ahumada, Connie Alwood, Mary Anne Auer, Bob Bailey, Loy Barber, Nicker Barber, George & Terry Barker, Paul Bauer, David Becher, Torrey Berger, Rose Ann Bodman, Dennis Bozzay, Mike Brady, Jackie Chain, Shawn Clubb, Jean Cook, Jack Cowan, Joe Eades, Bill Ford, David Garcia, Patrick Harrison, Frank Holmes, Yvonne Homeyer, Ian Hunt, Paul & Barbara Johnson, Dan Kassebaum, Wilma Kennell, Kent Lannert, Jim & Charlene Malone, Sherry McCowan, Mark Mittleman, Kraig Paradise, Mark Peters, Margie Richardson, David Rogles, Bill Rudden, John & Nancy Solodar, Margy Terpstra, Mike Thelen, Josh Uffman, Jane Walker, Bruce Wetteroth, Rad Widmer, Jim Ziebol. An asterisk means “documented”. Abbreviations: Busch Conservation/Wildlife Area, BCA; Carlyle Lake, CL; Clarence Cannon, CC; Forest Park, FP; Horseshoe Lake, HL; Little Creve Coeur Lake, LCCL, Lost Valley Trail, LVT; Marais Temps Clair, MTC; Riverlands, REDA; Shaw Nature Reserve, SNR; Tower Grove Park, TGP. |