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[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 79, No. X, XXX, 2006] JUNE 2006 BIRD REPORTBy: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne HomeyerSightings: Yellow-crowned Night Heron sightings included an immature in FP on 6/8 (Steve Ewer) and 1 on Collinsville Road on 6/26 (M Richardson). Frank Holmes reported that the 9 Yellow-crowned Night Heron pairs in Wilson Park fledged a total of 36 young, a very good year. On 6/23, Frank Holmes counted 240 Little Blue Herons in the HL area. Two King Rails, 2 Least Bitterns and a Sedge Wren were present at BK Leach on 6/25 (AD) and on 6/30, Abby found 2 juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons, a Yellow-crowned Night Heron and 2 Sandhill Cranes there. A White-faced Ibis seen on 6/3 on Bend Road/HL was a good find (KL). About 100 Pelicans were present at HL on 6/5 (YH, SM). During June, Greater White-fronted Geese were seen at HL (FH) and at REDA (JU). Two Gadwalls were seen at HL in early June (park staff) and an injured Redhead and Blue-winged Teal also spent the summer there. Mississippi Kite sightings included 7 soaring over Anne McCormack’s Kirkwood home on 6/2 and 1 on a gravel bar in CSP on 6/4 (JW). Mike Brady reported Mississippi Kite, Broad-winged Hawk, and Chuck-will’s-widow nesting on the Chubb Trail. On 6/4, one of the Great Horned Owl chicks in TGP was found dead (believed to have been killed by a off-leash dog). On 6/23, the two Western Kingbirds at 2nd and Barton were seen by Jack Cowan and Julie Randle. An American Pipit videotaped at HL on 6/1 was a very late migrant (JZ). On 6/20 in FP, Sherry McCowan saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch and possible heard another. Several Grasshopper Sparrows and a Blue Grosbeak were seen at BK Leach on 6/18 (M Thelen). Three Prairie Warblers found by the Thursday Group at Robertsville State Park were the best birds on 6/15 (J Cook). On 6/30, 2 Henslow’s Sparrows, a Prairie Warbler, a Yellow-throated Vireo and a Blue Grosbeak were found at Robertsville (SM, JZ). Also on 6/30 at the Katy Access, Sherry located a probable breeding pair of Lark Sparrows. The male Painted Bunting at Katy Access was observed by Steve Ewer, Pete Wise, Ryan Davis and Jeff Wright on 6/18. On 6/29, the Painted Bunting was a life bird for Paul Brockland. The Thursday Group also found a Blue Grosbeak there (J Chain). A typical day on 6/3 at LVT included 3 Wood Thrush, 3 N. Parula, 1 Blue-winged Warbler, 1 Yellow-throated Warbler, 1 Cerulean Warbler, 2 Worm-eating Warblers, 2 Kentucky Warblers, 2 Louisiana Waterthrush, and a Chat (M Thelen). Backyard Birds: In early June, Cheryl and Don Delashmit saw a Whip-poor-will with two young near their home in Franklin County. Mike Thelen had a Cooper’s Hawk from 6/1 to 6/4 and a Mississippi Kite on 6/30 at his University City home. Contributors: Mike Brady, Jackie Chain, Jean Cook, Jack Cowan, Abby Darrah, Frank Holmes, Yvonne Homeyer, Kent Lannert, Jim & Charlene Malone, Sherry McCowan, Mick Richardson, Margy Terpstra, Mike Thelen, Jane Walker, 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. |