[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 78, No. 1, Jan., 2005] NOVEMBER 2004 BIRD REPORTBy: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne HomeyerIntroduction: Surely one of the most interesting backyard birds that has ever been reported in the St. Louis area was the Dickcissel found at Sherry McCowan’s Soulard feeder. Not only was the bird very late, it was also the first Dickcissel ever seen in someone’s yard, as far as this reporter knows. Sightings: About 10 Common Loons were seen at REDA on 11/3 (CM) and 40 were found at HL on 11/23 (FH). David Becher had a good “loon day” on 11/26 at CL, having seen Common, Red-throated and 2 Pacific Loons. Eight Horned Grebes were seen at HL on 11/23 (JZ) and 11 were seen at REDA on 11/27 (CA, T Bo). Three Great Egrets were found at HL on 11/12 (JC, RAB) and 1 was found there on 11/21 (FH). By 11/18, 28 Trumpeter Swans had arrived at REDA (CM). Frank Holmes found 8 Mute Swans on Hwy. 111 near HL on 11/22. The first White-fronted Goose was reported at CL on 11/7 (NB, m. ob.). Snow Geese were observed, along with a few Franklin’s Gulls, at the Borrow Pit, HL, on 11/3 (FH). On 11/27, a Ross’s Goose was seen in a flock of Canadas in FP (Tom Bailey). Canvasbacks and Buffleheads were reported at REDA on 11/3 (CM). Dave Rogles observed 2 White-winged Scoters at REDA on 11/1. Surf Scoter reports included 1 at Winfield Dam on 11/2 (CM), 1 at Rieder Road Sewage Lagoon on 11/4 (JC, Th. Group), and 1 at HL Borrow Pit on 11/13 (JC). On 11/11, Wally George found 2 Surf Scoters and 5 Black Scoters, all immatures or females, at REDA. Two Black and 2 Surf Scoters were seen at REDA on 11/27 (RAB). Hooded Mergansers were seen in good numbers, including 40 at REDA on 11/13 (J Moe), 45 at BCA on 11/20 (JZ), and 38 at HL on 11/23 (JZ). Jim Ziebol counted 16 Buffleheads at BCA on 11/20 and 24 at HL on 11/23. On 11/28 at CL, the Barkers found Black Duck, Red-throated Loon, and Pacific Loon. Jackie Chain and the Thursday Group found 2 Lesser Yellowlegs and a Stilt Sandpiper at REDA on 11/4. A Woodcock was a good find in TGP on 11/11 (J Cook, Th. Group). On 11/9, 10 Least Sandpipers and 2 Dunlin were observed on the Levee Road (JZ). Another late sighting of 10 Least Sandpipers occurred on 11/23 at REDA (FH). On 11/18 at REDA, Jackie Chain found 100 Bonaparte’s Gulls. A Lesser Black-backed Gull was found at REDA on 11/23 (FH). Also on 11/23, Josh Uffman relocated a Black-legged Kittiwake at CL. The bird of the month was an Ancient Murrelet found by Dan Kassebaum at CL on 11/6 (witnessed by CA, RK and T Bo). On 11/21, Frank Holmes found 2 Cooper’s Hawks at HL and Jim Ziebol found 1 at BCA. A Merlin has returned to Lakewood Park Cemetery for the third winter in a row; it was found on 11/27 by Sherry McCowan. On 11/28, Rose Ann Bodman first heard and then observed a Screech Owl in her neighbor’s Brentwood yard. The first Short-eared Owl was reported at Confluence Road on 11/14 (CM). The latest Phoebe was reported at Tyson on 11/4 (JZ). The Thursday Group encountered a Red-headed Woodpecker in Lone Elk Park on 11/11. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet at HL on 11/23 was somewhat late (JZ). Mike Brady heard a singing Hermit Thrush at CSP on 11/23. A Harris’s Sparrow returned to the Blue Grosbeak Trail on 11/6 (MB). Approximately 100 Lapland Longspurs were found on Confluence Road on 11/27 (JU, CA). A Snow Bunting was also seen there on 11/17 and 11/18 (T Be, m. ob.). By 11/10, Pine Siskins were being seen throughout the area. On 11/5 in north county, Mike Thelen “spotted a massive flock of blackbirds, actually a river of birds in the sky, flowing from one horizon to the next.” A typical day on 11/20 at BCA and the Weldon Spring access to the Katy Trail included 3 Pied-billed Grebes, 30 Snow Geese, 2 N. Harriers, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 20 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Harlan’s Hawk, 2 Kestrels, 1 Merlin, 200 M. Doves, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Sapsuckers, 6 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 2 Brown Creepers, 1 Hermit Thrush, 400 Cedar Waxwings, 20 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Field Sparrow, 1 Savannah Sparrow, 15 Song Sparrows, 5 White-throated Sparrows, 25 Juncoes, and 3 Purple Finches (MT). Comments: At his Ferguson home, Connie Alwood found 2 Purple Finches on 11/3, Pine Siskins on 11/5 and a Bald Eagle soaring over his house on 11/28. On 11/19, Anne McCormack found the first Eurasian Tree Sparrows (2) ever seen at her Kirkwood home in the 20 years she has lived there. Sherry McCowan found a Tennessee Warbler on 11/21 and a Dickcissel on 11/22 at her Soulard home. Both were seen on late dates and are exceptional yard birds. During November, Jack Harris reported Hairy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch and 2 Pine Siskins in his yard. Margy Terpstra reported 2 Pine Siskins and Margie Richardson reported a Red-breasted Nuthatch in their yards. On 11/21, Jeannie Moe saw Carolina Wren, White-throated Sparrow, Junco, House Finch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, and 1 Yellow-shafted Flicker in her backyard. Contributors: Connie Alwood, Nick Barber, George & Terry Barker, David Becher, Tom Bormann, Mike Brady, Jackie Chain, Jean Cook, Jack Harris, Frank Holmes, Jim & Charlene Malone, Anne McCormack, Sherry McCowan, Jeannie Moe, Margie Richardson, Margy Terpstra, Mike Thelen, Josh Uffman, Jim Ziebol. An asterisk means “documented”. Please submit sightings by the last day of the month to Yvonne Homeyer (homeyer@earthlink.net). 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. |