[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 77, No. 1, January, 2004] NOVEMBER 2003 BIRD REPORTBy: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne HomeyerIntroduction: Helen Hays, ornithologist and conservationist, has done studies at Great Gull Island, Conn., for nearly 40 years. Seventeen thousand Common Terns and 1800 Roseate Terns, a federally endangered species, nest there. She is one of the first to document the effects on these birds of PCBs and other toxins, which cause eggshell thinning and deformed chicks. Both species tend to be monogamous, one pairing having lasted 12 years. (Natural History, Oct. 2002). Sightings: A Common Loon was sighted at REDA on 11/1 (DB & Sat. Group), 14 were at HL on 11/6 (FH), 7 were at REDA on 11/7 (RAB), and a high count of 60+ were found at Creve Coeur Lake on 11/6 (CM, CA). Two Horned Grebes were present near HL on 11/2 (FH, JZ) and 10 were seen at REDA on 11/12 (CA). Dan Kassebaum found 2 Eared Grebes at the Rieder Sewage Lagoon and a Red-throated Loon and 9 Black Scoters at CL on 11/9. Another Eared Grebe was located at BCA on 11/22 (MT). Sherrie McCowan found 4 Pied-billed Grebes at Jefferson Lake in FP on 11/24. On 11/15, 100 Pelicans were still present at REDA (DB & Sat. Group). Twelve Black-crowned Night Herons were seen at Hwy. 203 and Bend Road on 11/16 (FH, JZ). Great Egrets were reported throughout the month from all over the area (DB, RAB, FH, MT). Between 20 and 34 Trumpeter Swans were observed near REDA throughout November (DB, MT). A WGNSS group led by Mike Thelen encountered 150 Snow Geese at SNR on 11/2. On 11/18, 2000+ Gadwalls were reported along Layton Road, HL (DB) and as many as 5000 had been present after 11/14. Forty Wigeons were observed at Eagle Park on 11/4 (T Be). An extremely large flock of 110 Wood Ducks was present at HL on 11/2 (FH). White-winged Scoters were reported at REDA on 11/2 (DB), 2 at the Reiter Sewage Lagoon on 11/2 (CA) and 2 at CL on 11/2 (CA). On 11/2, 2 Black Scoters were found at REDA (J&CM) and on 11/11, 5 were seen there (FH). An Oldsquaw was reported at the Rieder Sewage Lagoon on 11/12 (DK) and 2 were seen there on 11/15 (BR). On 11/15 at REDA, Kraig Paradise and Jeannie Moe counted 30 Hooded Mergansers. The only shorebird reports for November were from REDA on 11/4, including 2 Dunlin and a Greater Yellowlegs (RAB). On 11/2 & 11/3, Connie Alwood and others witnessed a flock of 100+ Franklin’s Gulls landing at dusk at REDA. David Becher found a Little Gull at REDA on 11/2. Bonaparte’s Gulls included 125 at HL on 11/9 (FH) and 150 at HL on 11/25 (FH). Josh Uffman and Joe Eades found a California Gull at REDA on 11/28 but it was not refound. Currently, several thousand gulls are feeding at the Milam Landfill near HL and roosting on a parking lot at Hwy. 203 and I-70. It’s really encouraging to see the large flocks of crows that have returned to the St. Louis area this winter. A Caspian Tern was found at REDA on 11/2 (DB) and on 11/4 at REDA (FH). Adult Golden Eagle sightings included 1 at BCA on 11/2 (JZ), one at BCA on 11/18 (CM) and 1 at BCA on 11/27 (DB). Somewhat late Ospreys were reported at REDA on 11/8 (MT) and at HL on 11/9 (FH, JZ). On 11/8, the WGNSS Group encountered an apparent Goshawk at Chain of Rocks (DB & Sat. Group) and on 11/29 one was seen in West Alton (DB & Sat. Group). By 11/27 a dark morph Western Red-tailed Hawk had returned to its winter territory along the Levee Road (JZ). A Rough-legged Hawk was seen on 11/12 (T Be) and on 11/16 (JS) at Creve Coeur Lake. Tom Bormann was the only one who saw a Prairie Falcon at LCCL on 11/8. Merlins were reported at REDA on 11/8 (CA, T Bo) and on 11/28 in Granite City (FH). Jerzy Majek is again seeing a Merlin at Lakewood Park Cemetery, where it wintered last year. Short-eared Owls were first reported at REDA on 11/8 (DK) and they continued to be seen there through the end of the month. On 11/29, Josh Uffman found 2 Short-eared Owls at CC. Rufous Hummingbirds were first seen on 11/13 at Mike Grant’s home (MG, Lanny Chambers; a female). Another was banded in Shrewsbury on 11/14 by Lanny Chambers. Dennis Bozzay reported a sight-identified immature male at his home on 11/18 (confirmed by Lanny Chambers). This bird was seen again on Thanksgiving Day. It was nectaring on fall-blooming plants in Dennis’s garden such as Mexican and Pineapple Sage. An apparent Ruby-throated Hummingbird was seen in South County on 11/8 (LC). As many as 20 Red-headed Woodpeckers were found at SNR on 11/2 (MT). Frank Holmes and Jim Ziebol were very surprised when they flushed a Woodcock at close range at HL on 11/9. Both Red-breasted Nuthatch and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker were found at BCA on 11/30 (D Ro). One hundred Bluebirds were counted at SNR on 11/2 (MT). An Orange-crowned Warbler was observed at FP on 11/2 (RK) and one was found at HL on 11/10 (JZ). On 11/9, a Common Yellowthroat was seen at HL (FH). Six to 8 LeConte’s Sparrows were still present near HL, along with a Henslow’s Sparrow, on 11/16 (FH, JZ). Sherry McCowan found 3 Chipping Sparrows at TGP on 11/7 and one was seen at HL on 11/9 (FH). The Barkers reported Vesper Sparrow at REDA on 11/2. On 11/16 at Hazlet S.P., Bill Rowe and his class found 250 Lapland Longspurs. Brewer’s Blackbirds were seen on Bischoff Road on 11/10 (JZ) and 15 were reported at CL on 11/15 (BR). Scott Schuette observed 2 Common Redpolls at CC on 11/15. A typical day in the CL area on 11/15 included 15 Common Loons, 100 Pelicans, hundreds of Ruddy Ducks, 2 Greater Scaup, 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 17 Hooded Mergansers, Snow Geese, a Redhead, hundreds of Bonaparte’s Gulls, 20 Herring Gulls, a White-winged Scoter, 50 Lesser Scaup, 120 Shovelers, 20 Buffleheads, a Goldeneye, and 2 Canvasbacks (BR). A typical day at BCA on 11/21 included 4 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 3 Downy, 1 Hairy, 2 Sapsuckers, 3 Flickers, 8 Bluejays, 10 Crows, 8 Chickadees, 5 White-breasted Nuthatches, 25 Goldfinch, 3 Carolina Wrens, 12 Cedar Waxwings, 12 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 9 White-throated Sparrows, 7 Song Sparrows, 4 Swamp Sparrows, a Horned Grebe, and more (T Be). Comments: On 11/2, a Red-tailed Hawk with a white head and white tail was seen near CL; this was either a partial albino or possibly an immature Krider’s (FH). From 11/6 to 11/12, Margy Terpstra observed an apparently ill Barred Owl near her home that had mucous coming out of its mouth; the owl was harassed by an adult Cooper’s Hawk. She also observed a flock of over 200 Cedar Waxwings near the middle of the month. Randy Korotev sighted a Golden Eagle at his home on 11/16. On 11/24, Jeannie Moe and Kathy Thiele observed a N. Harrier and a Red-tailed Hawk fighting in mid-air at REDA. Contributor: Connie Alwood, George & Terry Barker, David Becher, Torrey Berger, Rose Ann Bodman, Dennis Bozzay, Lanny Chambers, Mike Grant, Frank Holmes, Dan Kassebaum, Sherry McCowan, Jim & Charlene Malone, Jeannie Moe, Kraig Paradise, David Rogles, Bill Rowe, John & Nancy Solodar, Josh Uffman, 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. |