Birds Mentioned:
GARGANEY
White-faced Ibis
Common Black-headed Gull
Fish Crow
White-winged Scoter
Oldsquaw
Eurasian Collared-dove
Hermit Thrush
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden Plover
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blue-winged Teal
Common Loon
Northern Mockingbird
Sandhill Crane
Ross's Goose
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
American Pipit
Mute Swan
Peregrine Falcon
Rock Dove
Without a doubt the highlight of this week is a GARGANEY at Forney Lake.
Other good birds include WHITE-FACED IBIS, also in the southwest,
BLACK-HEADED GULL in the northwest,
FISH CROW, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, and OLDSQUAW in the southeast, and EURASIAN
COLLARED-DOVE in the central. A number of new arrivals appeared on the south
winds of last week, including several SPARROW species, HERMIT THRUSH, and
BLACK-BELLIED and GOLDEN PLOVER. The most notable migrant, however, was a
BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER in Johnson County,
In the southwest in Fremont County, Rick Schmid discovered a male GARGANEY
at Forney Lake on the 2nd, and it was still being seen there on the 4th.
This would be a second state record. Here are directions: From I-29 take
exit 24 and go east into Bartlett, from where you go south on Western Road
(L-44) to 135th Street. Go east on 135th, eventually along the south shore
of the lake, about a mile and look in the area of the third parking area
from the west. The bird was with two BLUE-WINGED TEAL. A WHITE-FACED IBIS
was at the Waubonsie W A on the 4th, just west of the Missouri River bridge
and south of hiway 2.
In the northwest in Dickinson County, a BLACK-HEADED GULL was last reported
on the 29th from the north end of Big Spirit Lake, and was seen on both
sides of the Iowa-Minnesota border.
In the southeast in Louisa County, a FISH CROW was seen and heard on the
2nd. The bird was along county road X-61 about a mile south of the entrance
to Flaming Prairie Park and just south of the pumping station. On the 31rst,
a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was spotted along Kilpeck Road at the entrance to the
Lousia-Muscatine generating station, and two SANDHILL CRANES were sighted
from the overlook at the Mark Twain NWR headquarters, which is along county
road X-61. In Appanoose County, a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and a COMMON LOON were
observed from Dedication Point at Lake Rathbun on the 29th. In Johnson
County on the 4th, two OLDSQUAWS, a male and a female, two ROSS'S GEESE, and
a EURASIAN TREE SPARROW were at the S & G Quarry, which is along the Sand
Road south of Iowa City. About a mile east of there, AMERICAN PIPITS were
seen in a burned fallow field bordering the Kountry Lane Apartments on the
4th.
In the central in Poweshiek County, one EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was seen at
Grinnell on the 29th, along 16th Avenue at the north edge of the country
club golf course. An adult MUTE SWAN was at Diamond Lake just west of
Montezuma on the 1rst. In Tama County at Otter Creek Marsh, two SANDHILL
CRANES were observed from the east parking lot on the 29th and 1rst, and
eight were seen by looking south from the junction of county road E-66 and R
Avenue on the 1rst. In Story County, a PEREGRINE FALCON was seen harassing
ROCK DOVES near the Siemens (?) Building in Ames on the 31rst.
In the northeast in Allamakee County, PEREGRINE FALCONS were observed and
may be nesting in a nestbox on the east side of the smokestack at the power
plant along the Mississippi River south of Lansing.
Jim Fuller (319) 338-3561
ioufuller@aol.com