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[From Nature Notes (the journal of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society), Vol. 79, No. 10, Dec., 2007] OCTOBER 2007 BIRD REPORTBy: Jim Ziebol and Yvonne HomeyerIntroduction: A Yellow Rail found at B.K. Leach on 10/6 was the best bird of the month. Prairie Falcon, Long-tailed Jaeger, and Eurasian Goldfinch were also notable. Otherwise the migration was ordinary and uneventful, and the numbers of birds are definitely down. Sightings: A Common Loon was seen at HL on 10/27 (FH).
A juvenile Red-throated Loon, seen at CL on 10/28, was a very good find;
a Lesser Black-blacked Gull was also seen that day (DK). On 10/2, a Horned
Grebe was observed at CCL (D Rogles). Josh Uffman visited Riverlands
on 10/28 and found 6 Trumpeter Swans, 3 Franklin’s Gulls, and a Bonaparte’s
Gull. Six Ross’s Geese, a few Snow Geese, and thousands of Pintails were
seen at B.K. Leach on 10/21 (D Rogles). Also on 10/21, David Rogles observed
several White-fronted Geese and Lesser Scaup at Riverlands. By 10/14,
many hundreds of Gadwalls, scores of Shovelers, a few Ring-necked Ducks,
a few Ruddy Ducks, and one Wigeon were seen at HL (FH). On 10/21, 12
Redheads and 2 juvenile Black-bellied Plovers were observed at Riverlands
(JU). By 10/28, 5,000+ Gadwalls were present at HL near the RR tracks
along Bend Road, and 30 Killdeer were seen in the HL area (FH). A visit
to Riverlands on 10/7 produced 3 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Willet, Least
Sandpipers, 5 Dowitchers sp.?, 3 Pectorals, and 7 Sedge Wrens (D Rogles).
The SLAS took a field trip to Riverlands on 10/13, where they observed
4 Long-billed Dowitchers, a juvenile Black-bellied Plover, and a few
Vesper Sparrows (N Brown). Some of the lakes are really low at Busch
CA, and on 10/2 at Lake 33, Jim Ziebol observed 3 Greater Yellowlegs,
Solitary Sandpiper, 3 Snipe, a Baird’s Sandpiper, 40 Blue-winged Teal,
2 Green-winged Teal, Gadwalls, Shovelers, and a Green Heron. A Yellow
Rail was the target bird of a field trip to BK Leach on 10/6, where one
was briefly spotted in flight, along with American Bittern, Marsh Wrens,
14 Soras, and 2 possible Virginia Rails (JU). Dan Kassebaum reported
a Long-tailed Jaeger, 3 Sabine’s Gulls, and 30 Franklin’s Gulls On 10/3, 2 Cooper’s Hawks were seen drinking at the bubbler in the WGNSS/Gaddy Bird Garden in TGP (GA), and Jean Cook has seen them bathing there. Clarence Zacher reported a Cooper’s Hawk at Bissle Point and a Kestrel on N. Broadway on 10/20. A Rough-legged Hawk seen at CL on 10/14 was an early date (DK). The Harlan’s Hawk has returned to the tree line at Sand Prairie Lane and it was observed there on 10/28 (FH, JZ). Jurek Majka had a very good look at a Prairie Falcon at B.K. Leach on 10/14. On 10/9, Jim Ziebol and Jean Cook observed a Barred Owl at close range in TGP. Jean Cook also found 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets there that day. Dan Kassebaum found a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Flat Branch Road, CL, on 10/14. House Wrens were reported in fairly good numbers, with 2 observed at HL on 10/12 (FH) and 1 seen at FP on 10/19, along with Marsh Wren and Brown Creeper (SM). Chris Ferree observed multiple Marsh Wrens and 10 White-crowned Sparrows at FP on 10/3. On 10/15, Mike Thelen was still seeing dozens of Chimney Swifts in University City. A Blue-headed Vireo seen at Weldon Springs CA on 10/27 was a little late (Erin Jungbluth, Marvin Staloch). A Cape May Warbler was seen in TGP on 10/6 (RW) and two were seen at HL on 10/7, along with a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (FH). Joe Eades reported 10 species of warblers at TGP on 10/3, including a nice Canada (male). Also on 10/3, a Red-breasted Nuthatch was seen in TGP (GA). The Solodars went to B.K. Leach on 10/6 and found Henslow’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and many Swamp and Savannah Sparrows. A Clay-colored Sparrow was observed at B.K. Leach on 10/6 (JE, JU), and one was also seen at Riverlands, along with a Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, on 10/7 (YH). On 10/14, Frank Holmes observed LeConte’s, Lincoln, Chipping, 10 Song, 30 Savannah, 10 Swamp, 1 Henslow’s, and White-crowned Sparrows at HL, along with a Catbird, and a Bobolink. David Rogles had a very good morning at the Blue Grosbeak Trail on 10/1, finding LeConte’s, Clay-colored, Vesper, Field, a few Lincolns, White-crowned, and Song Sparrows, plus 2 Towhees. Sherry McCowan observed 4 Field, 12 White-throated, Song and Swamp Sparrows in FP on 10/26. A Fox Sparrow was seen at HL on 10/28 (FH). A Spotted Towhee seen by Joe Eades and Connie Alwood in TGP on 10/4 was a very good find. Three Towhees were observed in FP on 10/3 (SM). On 10/20, the Saturday Group went to Busch CA and found Pine Siskins and Purple Finch (D Becher). Four Pine Siskins were found at B.K. Leach on 10/24 (D Rogles). A flock of 100 Goldfinches plus one Pine Siskin were also seen that day in FP (SM). Sherry saw a Purple Finch in FP on 10/25. Jim Jackson found a European Goldfinch at Busch CA on 10/26 (possibly an escaped cage bird). Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Marsh Wren, Swamp and White-throated Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and 2 Pied-billed Grebes were seen in FP on 10/9 (SM). The Sunday Group visited Castlewood SP on 10/14, where they observed Swamp, Song, Lincoln, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Nashville Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warblers, 40 Turkey Vultures, Hairy Woodpecker, and 3 melodious Carolina Wrens (Sherry McCowan and Margy Terpstra, leaders). A typical day for the Thursday Group on 10/25 included 2 Franklin’s Gulls, Redhead, Ruddy Ducks, Gadwall, female Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle, Double-crested Cormorants at Creve Coeur Lake, and later at Busch CA, they saw 2 Pine Siskins, 3 Purple Finches, House Finch, Goldfinch, an injured Lesser Yellowlegs, a Red-shouldered Hawk, and an adult Cooper’s Hawk (Jackie Chain). A typical day for Riverlands on 10/7 included American Pipit, a juvenile Virginia Rail, an Ibis sp.?, 2 American Bitterns, Soras, Marsh Wren, 4 Sedge Wrens, a “pink-winged” white bird (which turned out to be a leucist Red-winged Blackbird), 5 Palm Warblers, 7 Bobolinks, Vesper Sparrow, 2 Lincoln’s Sparrows, 2 White-crowned, many Swamp and Savannah Sparrows, Willet, 2 Short-billed Dowitchers, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle (David Scheu). At TGP on 10/7, David saw Wilson’s Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch, 2 Juncoes, and a striking partially leucistic Robin. Back Yard Birds: A House Wren, 2 Indigo Buntings, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Nashville, and a White-throated Sparrow were seen in Sherry McCowan’s yard on 10/9. Sherry also reported Junco, Swamp Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat on 10/16, a House Wren on 10/19, and Junco, Nashville, and an immature Cooper’s Hawk on 10/27. Mike Thelen found an injured Virginia Rail in University City which he took to Wild Bird Rehab on 10/3. Margy Terpstra reported Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-throated Green, and a Blue-headed Vireo the week of 10/10. White-throated Sparrows were seen at Clarence Zacher’s home on 10/17, and on 10/24, he observed Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White-throated, White-crowned, and a Towhee. Jeannie Moe reported a Red-breasted Nuthatch at her St. Charles home on 10/14, and a Brown Creeper on 10/23. Mark Paradise reported a Red-breasted Nuthatch in mid-October. Kraig Paradise had a fly-over of 6 Pelicans at his home on 10/25. Contributors: Gail Ahumada, Connie Alwood, David Becher, Jackie Chain, Jean Cook, Joe Eades, Frank Holmes, Yvonne Homeyer, Dan Kassebaum, Sherry McCowan, Mark Paradise, Kraig Paradise, David Rogles, Margy Terpstra, Mike Thelen, Josh Uffman, Rad Widmer, Clarence Zacher, Jim Ziebol. Abbreviations: BCA, Busch Conservation Area; CC, Clarence Cannon NWR; CL, Carlyle Lake; CSP, Castlewood State Park; CB, Columbia Bottoms; FP, Forest Park; HL, Horseshoe Lake; LP, Lafayette Park; LCCL, Little Creve Coeur Lake; MTC, Marais Temps Clair; RMBS, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, SNR, Shaw Nature Reserve, TGP, Tower Grove Park. |