[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 78, No. 6, June, 2005]

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APRIL 2005 BIRD REPORT

By: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer

Introduction: Spring migration in March started off well, and it continued steadily but somewhat slowly into mid-April. The last 10 days of April were very slow, especially in the city parks, with adverse weather and adverse winds being dominant that entire time. Don’t forget to keep feeding your backyard birds, because there are far fewer caterpillars and other insects for the babies than there used to be.

Early Arrivals:

Sightings: An Eared Grebe was seen at HL on 4/24 (FH). Paul & Barbara Johnson reported an American Bittern at LCCL on 4/17. On 4/20, Jackie Chain observed 2 American Bitterns at LCCL and on 4/24, she saw a Least Bittern there. An American Bittern and 7 Black-crowned Night Herons were located at REDA on 4/22 (JU). Sherry McCowan found a Green Heron in FP on 4/8 and a Little Blue Heron on 4/25. On 4/2, a Little Blue Heron and Fish Crows were seen at BCA (JZ). On 4/17 in FP, Clarence Zacher reported Great Egret, 4 Green Herons, Black-crowned Night Heron, 3 Blue-winged Teal, 7 Wood Ducks, and 3 Marsh Wrens. A strange, dark mallard was present at BCA on 4/9 and David Becher said it fit the description of a Cayuga Duck mentioned in Birding Magazine. The duck appeared blackish or dark green with purple gloss on the head. The Sunday group led by Sherry McCowan and Yvonne Homeyer on 4/17 at CSP encountered a Spotted Sandpiper, 9 Great Blue Herons, 5 Pileated Woodpeckers and a Broad-winged Hawk. Two Solitary Sandpipers and a N. Waterthrush were present in FP on 4/28 (SM). On 4/30, an estimated 50 Long-billed Dowitchers were seen at both LCCL and REDA (KP, J Moe, DB). On the same day, Wilson’s Phalaropes were seen at both locations. On 4/24, an Upland Sandpiper was found at Columbia Bottoms (DR) and later that day, two were seen there (CA). On 4/10, Connie Alwood and Tom Bormann reported hundreds of Pecs and Great and Lesser Yellowlegs at Parking Lot #3 and Tamalco, CL. On 4/15 at REDA, Josh Ufmann observed 25 Bonaparte’s Gulls as well as Forster’s and Caspian Terns. The Thursday Group found an adult Herring Gull at the Borrow Pit, HL, on 4/21. On 4/25, 2 Caspian Terns and a Solitary Sandpiper were seen at REDA, along with 2 Cattle Egrets at Columbia Bottoms (J Ch). A Peregrine Falcon was seen at Point DuSable on 4/27 (J Moe). On 4/30, Mike Thelen had a very good hawk day at SNR, including Sharp-shinned, 2 Cooper’s, 1 Broad-winged, 3 Red-shouldered and a Merlin.

The Great Horned Owls in TGP fledged 3 birds this year; their breeding success was undoubtedly aided by the lower number of crows and Bluejays in the park (MR, J Ch). On 4/10, Mike Thelen found a Great Horned Owl in CSP and Jeanne Moe saw one at Fountain Lakes on 4/12. On 4/17, Connie Alwood had a 3 Barred Owl day, with 2 sightings at CL and one in his yard. Randy Korotev reported the daily sighting of a Barred Owls in Kennedy Forest and Nick Barber found one there on 4/21. On 4/23, two Barred Owls were seen on the Grotpeter Trail at CSP (MB). Randy Korotev saw all 5 swallow species in FP on 4/26. A pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches was reported at Lafayette Park on 4/19 (SM). A male Prothonotary Warbler, always a good bird for the city parks, was seen in TGP on 4/13 (J Ch, MR); the following day, Ian Hunt found two there. A female Cerulean Warbler was closely observed in TGP on 4/13 (MR, CA, IH). A male Cerulean was sighted on 4/30 at SNR (MT). Prairie Warblers were reported from BCA on 4/15 (CM), SNR on 4/16 (WG, P&BJ), TGP on 4/19 (SC), and TGP on 4/26 (J Ch, J Cook). On 4/29, Ron Goetz reported the following from SNR: Pine Warbler, 2 Pine Siskins, Yellow-throated Warbler, N. Parula, L. Waterthrush. On 4/16, David Becher and the Saturday Group found Pine Warbler, Broad-winged Hawk, Orange-crowned Warbler and Black-capped Chickadee at Olin NR. A Pine Warbler seen in TGP on 4/25 was a somewhat late migrant (T Be). A male Spotted Towhee, a Harris’s Sparrow, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow were very good finds at TGP on 4/22 (P&BJ). An extraordinary 8 Lark Sparrows were found at B.K. Leach on 4/21 (T Be). The Harris’s Sparrow was the latest addition to the TGP list. Congratulations, Paul and Barbara!

Because of the poor migrating conditions, the Spotted Towhee in TGP was still present on 4/30, 8 days after it was first noticed (G&TB, m. ob.). The first Grasshopper Sparrow was reported at Columbia Bottoms on 4/25 (J Ch). On 4/10, 6 Henslow’s Sparrows were seen along the Chubb Trail (CA, T Bo) and by 4/17, 14 were seen there (MB). Dave Rogles found a Lark Sparrow in Wentzville on 4/18 and the Barkers had one on Confluence Road on 4/28. Three Vesper Sparrows were sighted at SNR on 4/12 (WG). On 4/21 in TGP, Sherry McCowan and others saw a Lincoln’s Sparrow. Ian Hunt reported hundreds of White-crowned Sparrows, plus Swamp, Field, White-throated and a Clay-colored Sparrow, at LCCL on 4/25. Bobolinks were first found at CL on 4/23 and on 4/26, Torrey Berger found them at HL, 203 side.

A typical day at TGP on 4/13 included Green Heron, 25-30 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 Hermit Thrush, several Brown Thrashers, 6 Sapsuckers, Orange-crowned Warbler, 2 N. Parulas, female Cerulean, Yellow-throated Warbler, 3 Yellow-rumped, 2 Juncoes, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and many Chipping Sparrows (MR, CA, IH).

Backyard Birds: An exotic species from SE Asia and Africa visited Jack Harris’s yard on 4/30; Mike Flieg identified it as a Yellow-collared Lovebird, Agapornis personatus. David Garcia had an E. Towhee in his yard in early April. Cheryl & Don Delashmit of Franklin County reported a Carolina Wren fledging 4 young, a Red-shouldered Hawk nest at the edge of the woods behind their house, and Prairie and Blue-winged Warblers. Mark Paradise found a Cooper’s Hawk nest in Forest Park near the ballfields. Mary and Carl Campbell saw a Prothonotary Warbler at their home for a week.

Contributors: Gail Ahumada, Connie Alwood, Mary Anne Auer, George & Terry Barker, David Becher, Torrey Berger, Tom Bormann, Mike Brady, Jackie Chain, Shawn Clubb, Jean Cook, Joe Eades, Wally George, Ron Goetz, Frank Holmes, Ian Hunt, Paul & Barbara Johnson, Randy Korotev, Kent Lannert, Vivian Liddell, Betty Lobos, Pat Lueders, Jim & Charlene Malone, Anne McCormack, Sherry McCowan, Mark Mittleman, Steve Mitten, Kraig Paradise, Mark Paradise, Mick Richardson, Dave Rogles, John & Nancy Solodar, Mike Thelen, Debbie Trowbridge, Josh Uffman, Jane Walker, Clarence Zacher, and Jim Ziebol. An asterisk means “documented”. Please submit sightings by the last day of the month to Jim Ziebol or 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.

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