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Iowa Birding

Updated on Tuesday, December 11 at 09:53 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

Video of an immature cooper's hawk that snagged a sparrow this
morning. She scattered the 50 or so house sparrows from the feeders,
then plunged into the brush pile to pluck one out.
This is in Ames, IA a couple blocks from downtown - also an adult
hanging around this year.

http://www.vimeo.com/428657

Joe

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Since Christmas Bird Count season is almost here, the following web sites may 
be useful to brush up on bird counting. 


http://ebird.org:80/content/ebird/news/Bird_Counting.html
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/Bird_Counting_201.html

This article is also useful for CBC compilers and counters:
http://home.pacifier.com/~mpatters/cbc/acbc.html

Have fun counting!

Karen Viste-Sparkman
Des Moines

"That the situation appears hopeless should not prevent us from doing our 
best." 

-Aldo Leopold

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I have had 16 Wild Turkeys coming into the yard for corn, and seed  for past 
five days. They are most enjoyable to watch, and they keep the crows at  a 
distance. We have a lay of ice cover up here in north Iowa so the turkeys are  
having some difficulty finding food. Today a pheasant approach the corn, and it 

was chased across the creek and into the woods by bully  turkey.
 
Still have several White-throated Sparrows, and two Fox Sparrows.
 
Carolyn Fischer
Mason City
Cerro Gordo County
 



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The male White-winged Crossbill was seen a couple of times yesterday after my
posting.  He has also been present this morning, off-and-on, since 0930.

Wolf

Wolfgang Oesterreich
Ames, Story County




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If there is anyone who wants to participate in the Red Rock CBC this Saturday 
and hasn't heard from me yet, please send me an email. We are more short-handed 
than usual this year. 


Thanks,
Aaron Brees
Des Moines, IA
abrees AT hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/ab6/birdpics
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At about 12:30 PM today () l looked out our sliding glass doors and  
saw a huge Wild Turkey tom about 20 feet away scratching and pecking beneath 
the  feeders.  The only other time I have seen turkeys in our backyard was 
about 8 years ago when two young toms came passing through. I should mention we 

live in the Skycrest addition just north of town overlooking the Skunk river  
valley.  
 
Then around 3:00 PM through the same glass doors saw a brightly colored  
adult Sharp-shinned Hawk preening itself while perched on a sumac limb about 15 

feet away. 
 
Steve Maloy
Ames, Story County, IA  



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Will there be a CBC this year for Union County?

Inquiring minds want to know.
Matthew

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I checked several Quad City area spots this morning. Lots of gulls but nothing 
remarkable. Highest concentration on floating ice below I-280 Bridge. Best 
viewed from end of Big Island Road off HW67 in Milan IL. Easier to view at a 
distance from Iowa side along Concord Street. 

Remarkable Birds:
Long-tailed Duck (juv) with group of Goldeneye below L&D 14 viewed from 
Fisherman's Corner North on IL Side 

Tundra Swans (six) on Mississippi River near Village East Davenport. Two neck 
banded Trumpeter Swans were also here Saturday but not seen today. 

Harlan's RT Hawk between I80 and L&D 14 on IL side

Cheers,

Steve Freed
Milan IL
Rock Island County

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About noon today there was a Northern Mockingbird on my mothers 
sunflower seed feeder, at the Good Samaritan Village in Le Mars. I 
have never seen them around here before.

Pete Vander Meer
808 Plymouth St S E
Le Mars, IA 51031


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This morning was the first day that I attempted to ride around the lakes at Ada
Hayden.  Fortunately, there was some snow on top of the ice.  The north lake is
completely ice-covered, while there are still a couple of small openings on the
south lake.  I counted 7 swans and assumed they were all Trumpeters...the mist
and lighting was poor.  (Yesterday was the first time that I counted 7 swans.)

However, I rechecked the swans from my study and one's bill just didn't look
right.  So I put my scope in my backpack and laid the tripod on my handlebars
and headed back to the north side of the south lake.  The "odd" swan was a Mute
Swan, while the others were all Trumpeter Swans (no collars and no visible leg
bands).

As Teresa mentioned, there were a few other species present.
   a few Canada Geese (Cacklers appeared to have left), most had left to feed
   a few Mallards
   1 ♀ Common Goldeneye
   3 Hooded Mergansers (1♂ & 2♀)
   10 American Coots
   1 Northern Shrike (sw corner of south lake)

After I returned home, I looked through the window of my study and checked out
the feeders in the backyard.  To my surprise, perched in an aspen was a male
White-winged Crossbill (#246 for the yard/park list).  Unfortunately, he
disappeared after 1 minute.  However, I'll keep watching for him.

I've also had an adult and an immature Cooper's Hawk visit the yard today.

Wolf

Wolfgagn



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Greetings all

Mark Orsag spent Sunday standing on the tower at Hitchcock in the cold, damp
and windy but was rewarded by the one and only Ferruginous Hawk this season!
It was a dark morph immature and he had a good look at it. Documentation
pending. 

A total of 12 raptors were seen all day. Also seen were 2 immature Northern
Harriers and 2 roughlegs, one light and one dark. 

I apologize if this is a double posting.

Jer Toll 

Hitchcock Hawkwatch

Honey Creek Iowa



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Greetings all

Mark Orsag spent Sunday standing on the tower at Hitchcock in the cold, damp
and windy but was rewarded by the one and only Ferruginous Hawk this season!
It was a dark morph immature and he had a good look at it. Documentation
pending. 

A total of 12 raptors were seen all day. Also seen were 2 immature Northern
Harriers and 2 roughlegs, one light and one dark. 

I apologize if this is a double posting.

Jer Toll 

Hitchcock Hawkwatch

Honey Creek Iowa



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This morning I saw a short eared owl on Quinlan Ave., between 250th St and 
260th St, which is the gravel road on the SW side of Dallas Center.  It was on 
the east side of the road sitting on a fence post, closer to 250th St.   I 
first observed it at 8:30 when going to Dallas Center, it was still sitting in 
the 

same location at 9:20. 
 
Andy Schmitz
 
The Brenton Arboretum
25141 260th St.
Dallas Center, IA 50063


_http://www.thebrentonarboretum.org/_ (http://www.thebrentonarboretum.org/) 



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I found the spot where the Iceland Gull has been yesterday morning (around
10 or so) and managed to see it.  Along with the Iceland Gull were two
Thayers ( 1 juv and 1 adult) and about 2 dozen Ring Billed Gulls.

I was having trouble locating the Iceland Gull until a juvenile Bald Eagle
flew upstream over them and stirred them up.  After that, he was front and
center for quite a bit.  If I hadn't known to look up Iceland Gull, I
would have probably overlooked him.

If you haven't seen it yet, the new Petersons Gull Guide is a fantastic
book to have in situations like this.  It's just loaded with all kinds of
pictures and information.  Sometimes I need more info than the average
field guide can give.

Anyway, sorry for the late post.
Matthew Torres
Leon, IA

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
"Jerry Toll" 
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 6:29 PM
Subject: Ferruginous Hawk


>I had only 12 raptors today. Actually, only 11 (8 of those in one 18 minute 
>span) on the sheet and one Harlan's RT (could somebody add that please) 
>powering through low after I left the tower, but one of them was an 
>immature dark-morph Ferruginous Hawk. Great look as it powered down the 
>east ridge over the shop, hit the spur, crossed the valley and headed 
>toward Crescent-- could someone who has access to IA-Bird post that? 
>Besides that two Rough-legs (one light and one dark) were also of note 
>along with two immature Northern Harriers.
>
> Mark O
> ---- Jerry Toll  wrote:
>
> =============
>
> Greetings all, look at the attchment. I think you will like it.
> There were two in the net, One escaped as I approached. This was on my 
> first
> attempt. I will try 3 more times in the coming week or two.
> jer
>
>
>
>
> Your message is ready to be sent with the following file or link
> attachments:
>
> P1010142
>
>
> Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent
> sending or receiving certain types of file attachments.  Check your e-mail
> security settings to determine how attachments are handled.
>
> 



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I had about 300 canada geese fly over today.  

Steve Anderson
Milford, Iowa

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I braved it and took a walk around the south portion of the lake this
morning; it is still mostly open water.  Along with hundreds of Canada
Geese, I saw:

1 Cooper's Hawk
2 Red-tailed Hawks
2 Hooded Mergansers (1 male/1 female)
3 Mallards (1 male/2 female)
1 American Coot
~5-6 unidentified Gulls
and 4 Trumpeter Swans.

Teresa Testroet
Ames, IA

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There are several Christmas Bird Counts coming up in the Quad Cities area and 
there's always room for more volunteers. All of the counts listed below are 
centered on or near the Mississippi River. It is not necessary to be an expert 
birder to participate in a Christmas Bird Count (CBC). If you are a beginning 
birder or not familiar with the area, we will team you with an experienced 
birder. CBCs are a great way to improve your birding skills, learn about the 
habitats in the area, and meet some neat people. 


Feeder watchers are always welcome too. They count the birds that visit their 
feeders during the day of the CBC. 


If you would like to participate, contact Kelly McKay, the coordinator, at , email - KellyJMcKay AT aol.com, or Tim Murphy at , 
email -molinemurphy AT sbcglobal.net. 


Quad Cities - Sunday, December 16 
Clinton - Tuesday, December 18 
Princeton-Cordova - Thursday, December 20 
New Boston - Friday, December 21 
Muscatine - Saturday, December 22 
Andalusia - Saturday, January 5 


Walt Zuurdeeg
Quad Cities Audubon Society
www.quadcityaudubon.org

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Woodbury Co-December 9, 2007:
Hello Everyone, my parents and I went birding for a short time today in
hope of finding longspurs and buntings. We started out our trip by
stopping by The Square Wetlands just north of Luton. We didn't find any of
our target birds here but we did see several Ring-necked Pheasant as well
as a hunting Northern Harrier. We decided to head south on K-42, which
goes south out of Luton. We noticed large flocks of Horned Larks as we
approached a cattle farm called "Sioux Jersey Cattle". I noticed several
Snow Buntings in with the larks but didn't see any longspurs. The owner of
the place (or something like that) said that it was ok to come in. We
pulled our car in and saw hundreds of larks and buntings. I scoped them
out for only a minute and saw my first Lapland Longspur (LB #245). On the
way back we saw 1 Red-tailed Hawk which was a beatiful western
intermediate plumaged bird (see Sibley Guide page 122) as well as more
larks and buntings.

Good Birding,

Tucker Lutter
Bronson, IA
lutter AT netins.net


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Yesterday (December 8, 2007)I had
1 Mature Bald Eagle
2 RB Nuthatches
3 WB Nuthatches
30 Starlings (they found my feeders after 5 months)
7 Chickadees
11 Juncos
5 Blue Jays
2 Cardinals
1 Mallard

Today (December 8, 2007 as of 2:00pm) I have had

1 Mature Bald Eagle
2 RB Nuthatches
3 WB Nuthatches
27 Starlings
5 Chickadees
3 Blue Jays
1 Coopers Hawk
1 Kingfisher

I have glad the coopers is around, I hope it will help with the starling
situation.

Steve

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I drove the gravel roads in Boone Co. today in search of Gray Partridge for 
my year list.  On my way home I stopped at Maffitt Reservoir in Des Moines.  
The open country birds (larks, longspurs, Snow Buntings) were hard to find 
today.  Most of the Horned Larks were along the paved highways instead of the 
gravel.  I did find one big mixed group feeding on some spilled grain along a 
gravel road.
 
Boone Co.
-------------
11 Gray Partridge-- intersection of 290th St. and Y Ave.
1 Northern Shrike-- along county road R18 south of 230th St.
149 Horned Larks
32 Snow Buntings
53 Lapland Longspurs
2 meadowlark spp.
 
Maffitt Reservoir is just now starting to freeze up with some ice along the 
edges.  There was 13 species of waterfowl present (1-5 of each except for 
geese, Mallards, and goldeneye), along with 15 American Coots and one 
Pied-billed 

Grebe.  
 
Good birding...
 
Jay Gilliam
Norwalk, IA
jacobtee AT aol.com
http://jayspix.smugmug.com/Bird%20Photos/176462




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This morning the holes in Saylorville were considerably smaller than a couple 
days ago and there were far fewer gulls around. I could not find the 
Black-tailed Gull. 


1 Glaucous Gull -- juv off Cherry Glen w/ ~35 Ring-bills and 15 Herrings
970 Common Mergansers
600 Common Goldeneye
4 Hooded Mergansers
1 Lesser Scaup
1 American Wigeon
5 swans below the dam were flushed and flew down river before I could ID them, 
but presumably were Trumpeters 

1 Killdeer -- below the dam
1 Great Blue Heron -- below the dam
1 Northern Shrike -- Big Creek, 100th St.

There were only small numbers of gulls in downtown Des Moines this afternoon. 
The highlight was a Glaucous that was probably a 2nd year bird. 


While the Black-tailed could have been hiding in the most distant hole at 
Saylorville, it is probably time to look for it at Red Rock. 


Aaron Brees
Des Moines, IA
abrees AT hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/ab6/birdpics
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Pine siskins appeared in my yard yesterday. I had a flock of 10
feeding on a thistle bag. Overall, it was a pretty good day for
winter birds, with a red-breasted nuthatch, carolina wren, hairy,
downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, tufted titmouse, chickadee,
several goldfinches and flock of juncos.

Cathy McMullen
Tonawanda Drive






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I found 5 Sandhill Cranes yesterday at Riverton. I also found 2 Loggerhead 
Shrikes. 


Keith Dyche
Shenandoah

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Iowa RBA birds reported from Saturday, December 1st  through Saturday, 
December 8th, 2007:

-RARE Species Mentioned (documentation required)

UNRECORDED:
***BLACK-TAILED GULL***



ACCIDENTAL:
**YELLOW-BILLED LOON**




CASUAL:
*MEW GULL*
*BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE*
*ICELAND GULL*




-Additional Species Mentioned
Northern Pintail X Mallard
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Merganser X Hooded Merganser
Pacific Loon
Northern Goshawk
Prairie Falcon
Sandhill Crane
Glaucous Gull
Thayer's Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Rusty Blackbird
Red Crossbill
Common Redpoll



***NEW!****************
For more up to date information on rarities in the state of Iowa, visit the
Iowa Birds and Birding website at www.iowabirds.org. A list of rare birds is
placed on the home page with the location of the rarity and most recent date
of observation. This is updated several times per day. This is a handy tool
for anyone making a birding trip or otherwise into the state of Iowa.
************************

Species in ALL CAPS can be classified into three categories in the state of 
Iowa: 1) UNRECORDED, ACCIDENTAL or Casual; 2) A RARE but regular species; or 
3) record early or late date or unusual for time of year. Any species with 
three asterisks (***species***) would represent a first record for Iowa 
(UNRECORDED) and should be observed and documented very carefully. Species 
with two asterisks (**species**) are species that are either ACCIDENTAL, 
CASUAL, or a rare regular species, and should also be documented. Species 
with one asterisk (*species) should have some details of the observation 
provided.


It has been another outstanding week for rare birds in the state of Iowa. I 
cannot remember a fall that has been better in terms of numbers of 
Unrecorded/Accidental/Casual species. Cold, ice, and snow dominate the 
weather headlines this week with 2 storms providing light to moderate 
accumulations across the state. Cold temperatures are rapidly locking the 
reservoirs with ice, and birds are concentrating in the remaining holes. So 
far, the winter finch "superflight" is not materializing very much in Iowa, 
which is a surprise considering there is evidence of an irruption in 
surrounding states, and southern states in particular. One of the big 
non-rarity highlights for this week is the incredible number of SNOW 
BUNTINGS being reported around the state. Numbers totaling well over 100 are 
becoming routine. Rarity highlights include the continuing BLACK-TAILED GULL 
at Saylorville, a YELLOW-BILLED LOON at Saylorville, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE 
and MEW GULL at Red Rock, and ICELAND GULL in Des Moines.




EAST:

JOHNSON COUNTY:
A LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen on the north arm of Lake McBride on the 2nd.

A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was attending an Iowa City feeding station on the 
8th.



SOUTHEAST:

APPANOOSE COUNTY:
A COMMON MERGANSER X HOODED MERGANSER hybrid was seen at Rathbun on the 2nd.

MARION COUNTY:
The Red Rock MEW GULL was last seen on the 2nd.

Highlights from a trip to Red Rock on the 5th included 3 GLAUCOUS GULLS, and 
a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE. The BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was seen as recently as 
the 8th.

Highlights from a trip to Red Rock on the 8th included BLACK-LEGGED 
KITTIWAKE, 4 GLAUCOUS GULLS, 3 THAYER'S GULLS, a NORTHERN PINTAIL X MALLARD 
hybrid and a SURF SCOTER.

Highlights from a trip to Red Rock on the 7th included 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS, 2 
THAYERS GULLS, and 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.


CENTRAL:

POLK COUNTY:
The Saylorville BLACK-TAILED GULL has been seen as recently as the 8th.

A YELLOW-BILLED LOON was found at Saylorville, and was last seen on the 2nd. 
This bird was originally seen off Cherry Glen in late November, but moved 
around quite a bit during the latter days of its stay.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was seen at Saylorville on the 30th.

A PACIFIC LOON was seen at Saylorville on the 1st, and was last seen on the 
2nd.

A PRAIRIE FALCON was seen on the southeast side of Des Moines on the 64th 
St./Army Post exit of the bypass.

Gulls seen at Saylorville on the 5th included BLACK-TAILED, 2 GLAUCOUS, and 
a THAYER'S.

A BLACK SCOTER was seen at Saylorville on the 2nd.

Gulls seen at Saylorville on the 3rd included GLAUCOUS, 2 THAYER'S, and 1 
THAYER'S or possible ICELAND.

Highlights from a trip to Saylorville on the 6th included 2 GREATER SCAUP, 2 
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS, 3+ THAYER'S GULLS, and the 
BLACK-TAILED GULL.

A 1st winter ICELAND GULL was seen in downtown Des Moines on the 6th. It was 
again seen on the 8th . The particular locations it was seen are Gray's 
Lake, and below the dam behind city hall.

A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen below the dam behind city hall in 
downtown Des Moines on the 7th.

Gulls seen along the Des Moines river in downtown Des Moines on the 8th 
included 4 THAYER'S, 1 ICELAND, 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED, and 1 GLAUCOUS.

STORY COUNTY:
A SANDHILL CRANE continues in Ames as recently as the 6th. Its being seen 
associated with Canada Geese within the city limits.

BOONE COUNTY:
A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was seen at a private residence on the 6th.


NORTHWEST:

SIOUX COUNTY:
A COMMON REDPOLL was seen at a feeding station in Sioux Center on the 1st. 
It was last seen on the 6th.

A RED CROSSBILL was seen at a feeding station in Sioux Center on the 3rd.

WOODBURY COUNTY:
RUSTY BLACKBIRDS have been visiting a Bronson feeding station over the RBA 
period.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next scheduled report of the Iowa Rare Bird Alert will be for Friday, 
December 14th, 2007 for the weekly report. Should any UNRECORDED or 
ACCIDENTAL species be reported, an update will be posted.


John Bissell
Grimes, Iowa
jabissell AT mchsi.com
 



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I drove the gravel roads in northern Polk Co. (Moeckley Prairie, Alleman, 
Sheldahl areas) this morning then stopped downtown on the Des Moines River to 
check out gulls. The numbers of Snow Buntings I saw was incredible. Easily the 

most I've ever seen in Iowa.  There was only a handful of gulls at the Center 
St. dam; the bulk of them were above the Scott St. dam across from the ball 
stadium.
 
Gravel roads
----------------
135 Horned Larks
40 Lapland Longspurs
436 Snow Buntings-- biggest groups were 135, 105, 90, and 52
 
DSM River
--------------
~140 Ring-billed Gulls
~310 Herring Gulls
4 Thayer's Gulls-- 2 juv, 2 adult
1 Iceland Gull-- juv
2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls--juv, 3rd yr
1 Glaucous Gull-- juv
 
There was one other gull that I couldn't figure out.  It appeared to be a 2nd 
year bird, either a pale Thayer's or a Iceland (Kumlien's) Gull.  The bill 
seemed too stubby for a Thayer's and it had patterned tertials.  I sent out a 
few photos and am waiting on other opinions on this bird.
 
Good birding...
 
Jay
 
Jay Gilliam
Norwalk
jacobtee AT aol.com
http://jayspix.smugmug.com/Bird%20Photos/176462




**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
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This a.m. a YB Sapsucker joined the crew at my suet feeder.  The RB
Nuthatch is also still a daily visitor.

For those getting ready for the upcoming CBC season, you might find
the following links useful when writing up your owling reports:

http://www.acme.com/planimeter/  - Use this for finding the total area
covered in your searching (beware, you only want to use this if you
are thoroughly canvassing an area).

http://www.runningmap.com/ -  Use this tool for finding the total
miles driven/walked while looking for owls or other birds.

I found both these links via eBird's (www.ebird.org) site.  They've
also added a pretty snazzy widget for use in your iGoogle page, you
can track the entries that get flagged in eBird (meaning the rare
sightings).  http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/Google_Gadget.html

Jason Paulios
Iowa City, IA

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Birders,
I checked out some gravel roads between Grimes and the Brenton Arboretum in 
Dallas County. I found several small and 1 medium sized flock of 
Larks/Longspurs/Buntings. Overall I tallied around 400 birds with Snow Buntings 
and Lapland Longspurs representing the highest numbers. 


~150 Snow Buntings
~150 Lapland Longspurs
~100 Horned Larks

Good birding,
John Bissell
Grimes

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Birds at Red Rock this morning:

36 American White Pelicans
4 Bonaparte's Gulls
1 Black-legged Kittiwake -- juv roosting in the snow below the dam
4 Glaucous Gulls -- 1 ad, 3 juvs
3 Thayer's Gulls -- adults
~9300 Common Mergansers
1 Surf Scoter -- imm. below the dam opposite the boat ramp
single Hooded Merg, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, American 
Wigeon, American Black Duck, Wood Duck 


A Carolina Wren was calling opposite the boat ramp and a stunning Northern 
Pintail x Mallard drake was hanging out with the Mallard flock. 


I spoke to an out of state birder this morning who was fairly confident that he 
had seen the Black-tailed Gull this morning, but noted that gull numbers at 
Saylorville were much lower than yesterday. 


Aaron Brees
Des Moines, IA
abrees AT hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/ab6/birdpics
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Bronson-December 8, 2007:
Hello Everyone, I checked the feeders this morning and found a few
blackbirds. 2 were Red-winged Blackbirds, 2 were Brown-headed Cowbirds,
and 1 was a Rusty Blackbird. I also saw Harris's Sparrow as well as a
House Finch (I haven't seen many lately). I also saw many of the other
regular birds. I also saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk when I went outside to
retreive a junco that ran into the window (unfortunately he didn't survive
the impact).

Tucker J. Lutter
Bronson, IA

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Forgot to mention: I live in Davenport.

Walt Zuurdeeg
kaisersosa AT earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Walt Zuurdeeg 
To: Iowa List Serve
Sent: 12/8/2007 12:07:39 PM 
Subject: sick Cardinal


I saw a female cardinal at my feeder today with what appears to be mycoplasmal 
conjunctivitis or avian pox. Has anybody heard of either of these diseases 
occurring in cardinals? 



Walt Zuurdeeg
kaisersosa AT earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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I saw a female cardinal at my feeder today with what appears to be mycoplasmal 
conjunctivitis or avian pox. Has anybody heard of either of these diseases 
occurring in cardinals? 



Walt Zuurdeeg
kaisersosa AT earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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Birders-

While showing my photography on the First Fridays Art Walk in Fairfield
this evening a woman who I have known for years approached me with a
common remark that I'm sure many of you get.  "I have a bird question for
you..."  She had a couple actually. One was about a bird that ended up
being a Northern Harrier.  The other started out.  "Did you see in the
paper about that bird..."  I blurted out "The Fork-tailed
Flycatcher?"  "Yeah, I think I had it in my front yard."   She thought
she had it identified correctly but read that the bird lives in Central
America etc.  She didn't know what else it could be.  She described it
perfectly and oberserved it flycatching as well! 

So, here's the skinny:

It was in her front yard in Fairfield (Jefferson County) for about a
week, 6-8 weeks ago.

She doesn't think she took a picture, but is going to email me if she
happened to. 

She's definetly a novice birder but when she described it to me I had no
doubt about what she saw. 

I suggested that she check out the pics on iowabirds.org for an exact
reference.

She has my card and hopefully will be keeping in contact.  I'm going to
press her a bit more about the dates and she if she can narrow it down
any closer.  Obviously this is most likely the same bird that showed up
recently.  Fairfield to Clutier is about 80mi. NNW as the flycatcher
flies, fyi. 

If I get any more info, you will be the first to know.

Very exciting!  Another great benefit to being out and about talking with
people about nature. 

BIRD ON...

matt

Matthew T. Wetrich
www.naturebymatt.com
 - c
Jefferson,IA Greene County
Carroll County Naturalist
Swan Lake State Park
Carroll, Iowa
 - w


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There were 2 very large flocks (75+) of Snow Buntings working Hwy 14 about
3-4 miles south of Newton.

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I had about 15 minutes to look at gulls at Red Rock this morning before being 
unexpectedly called away. In that brief time I saw the following below the dam: 


2 Glaucous Gulls -- 1 ad, 1 second year
2 Thayer's Gulls -- adults
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull -- second year
34 American White Pelicans

There were 2-3 thousand gulls below the dam which was quite a spectacle. Even 
better is that there were another 8-10 thousand sitting on the ice above the 
dam that I did not have time to look at. Undoubtedly there are several more 
rare gulls to be found in a flock of that size. 


Also, if anyone saw the Black-tailed Gull today, an update to the list would be 
appreciated. There are still a number of out of state birders coming to look 
this weekend. 


Good birding,
Aaron Brees
Des Moines, IA
abrees AT hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/ab6/birdpics

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Driving on the east side of Lower Gar Lake today (Pelican Ridge Road) I
saw a very black bird.  It was sitting at the sub-station along the road. 
It was totally black, including the beak and was about the size of a
Red-tailed Hawk.  It took off an flew and there was some white under the
wings.  I was able to get one phote while it was in flight and the wings
gave it away.

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At about 10 AM there were Snow Buntings mixed in with the probable horned 
lark and longspur flocks on County Rd E57 in Boone County between the 
DesMoines River and  East to the town of Luther.  I was on my way to work 
late and forgot to throw my binoculars into the car, so could only verify 
the obvious Snow Buntings.  Suspect many in the flocks were longspurs. One 
flock had at least 12 buntings, another 20 or more.
Larry Dau 


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At 2 pm this afternoon, John Mottet and I found a Short-eared Owl perched on a 
fence post southwest of Eldora. The location is on P Ave approx. 1/4 mile north 
of the bridge across Tipton Creek, northwest of Lawn Hill (De Lorme 30:I1). We 
also found 3 flocks of Snow Buntiings during our rounds today. Approx. 10 birds 
were on US-65 1 mile north of Hubbard, and two separate flocks (~40 and ~80 
birds) were observed on S27 north of D41 (southwest of Buckeye). Lots of Horned 
Lark flocks along the roadsides as well today. 

 
Jeff Nichols
Boone County
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We had our first (for this fall/winter) Common Redpoll here on the window 
thistle sock this morning...just one bird. Have had two adult Bald Eagles on 
Waterman Creek across the road out front intermittently this week, and a 
Rough-legged Hawk has been hanging out the past several days a half mile south 
of us and 1.5 miles west on 410 Street. 


...Bruce Morrison, SE O'Brien County
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A sunny, windless afternoon prompted some Sioux County birding. The  
snow storm that came through much of Iowa yesterday missed us. Road  
and field conditions remain quite icy.

A Northern Shrike was near the Rock River, 13 miles west of Sioux  
Center. A flock of 10 Snow Buntings was along B-40 11 miles west of  
Sioux Center.

Some of the other birds observed:

Bald Eagle: 2 (adults)
Northern Harrier: 1 (juvenile)
Red-tailed Hawk: 6
American Kestrel 1
Ring-necked Pheasant: 12
Horned Lark: 3 large (100-150) flocks (one flock feeding in a field  
-- no Lapland Longspurs among them)
Lapland Longspur: None observed. Some more diligent searching would  
undoubtedly turn them up.
Meadowlark: 8 (presumably Western -- Eastern Meadowlarks are very  
rare in Sioux Co).

The female Red Crossbill returned to our feeders yesterday (Dec 6).
The number of Harris's Sparrows joining our feeder flock has  
increased to 6.

John Van Dyk

Sioux Center, Iowa 51250


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 Sorry I forgot to give location.

         Sac Fox trail
         Linn County 
         Cedar Rapids  
         Bob Strickland

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Skiing in December hasn't been possible the last three winters so it was
enjoyable to get out and also do so birding. I was rewarded with a pair of
stunning eastern bluebirds contrasted with a fresh coating of snow. Also
seen were a Carolina wren, four Pileated woodpecks, five Bald Eagles and
three red-tailed hawks with one being a very dark morph.It was a great day
to be out!

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I am a birder working in Ames for the presidential caucuses, and I was
hoping to get out to do some birding on Sunday, especially to see the
Black-tailed Gull.  If anyone from Ames happens to be heading to see the
gull on Sunday, I would certainly appreciate a lift (I am without a
vehicle).

Many thanks, and good birding.

Douglas Carver

-- 
Dilexi iustitiam et odivi iniquitatem, propterea morior in exilio.

(I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile.)

   -- the last words of Saint Pope Gregory VII (d. 1085)


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Question: Are Towhees normally around this time of year? I have had one at
my feeders(on the ground) for a week now.

Randy Skilling
Manson

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Birders,
I checked the dam behind city hall again today, and the 1st winter 
ICELAND GULL was still present as of 11:30. Also present was an adult 
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

Good birding,
John Bissell
Grimes

-- 
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This bird was roosting on Gray's Lake this morning from about 9-10am when it 
departed in the direction of the river. It seems that many of the birds feeding 
at the downtown dams are loafing on Gray's for part of the day, so it is 
definitely worth a look. Also present was an adult Thayer's Gull. A bad photo 
of the ICGU is at: http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/birdpics/iowa.html 


Aaron Brees
Des Moines, IA
abrees AT hotmail.com
www.angelfire.com/ab6/birdpics
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Birders,
I birded the dam behind city hall in downtown Des Moines over lunch before the 
snow started flying. Amongst the numerous Ring-billed and Herring Gulls was a 
1st winter ICELAND GULL. It was foraging away from the main group of gulls, and 
I had great views through my scope. The bird was between the size of a 
Ring-billed and Herring Gull, and was extremely pale, almost a creamy white 
with a neat checkered pattern on the mantle. The dark eye and small black bill 
were easily seen. I watched the bird for about 10 minutes, when it decided to 
take off, and head south, perhaps to the Scott St. dam. 


Good birding,
John Bissell
Grimes

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Join us next Thursday, December 13, for the Quad City Audubon Society monthly 
meeting. Brent Langley, the Chair of our newsletter Mississippi Currents, will 
make a presentation on the birds of Maine and the Canadian maritime provinces. 
The December meeting is also our annual pie and cake party, where members bring 
and share their favorite desert dishes (you need not bring a dish to partake!). 
The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Butterworth Center, 1105 8th Street, 
Moline, Illinois. Everyone is welcome. 



Walt Zuurdeeg
Quad City Audubon Society
www.quadcityaudubon.org


kaisersosa AT earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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Hi all,

I have posted the answers to my rather lengthy (srry about that) photo quiz.


http://web.mac.com/stoneageoutpost/RC_Birding/My_Albums/Pages/Photo_quizzes_.html 



Hope everybody that viewed it took a guess at most of the birds and I
hope you all learn at least something.

Thanks for playing!

Happy Birding! --Chris W, Richland County WI
http://web.mac.com/stoneageoutpost/RC_Birding/RC_Birds.html
http://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/

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Hi all,

I have posted the answers to my rather lengthy (srry about that) photo quiz.


http://web.mac.com/stoneageoutpost/RC_Birding/My_Albums/Pages/Photo_quizzes_.html 



Hope everybody that viewed it took a guess at most of the birds and I
hope you all learn at least something.

Thanks for playing!

Happy Birding! --Chris W, Richland County WI
http://web.mac.com/stoneageoutpost/RC_Birding/RC_Birds.html
http://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/
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Hello,
 We had an immature Northern Goshawk show up under our feeders yesterday 
morning (12/5). Oddly enough, it perched on a downed limb in the same spot 
where a Sharp-Shinned consumed a Junco a week ago. The limb looked a lot 
smaller with the Goshawk gripping it! The bird was last seen flying down the 
Des Moines river valley toward Ledges State Park. 

 A partial-albino female Northern Cardinal has been hanging around in our yard 
since early November. It is a very shy bird, but it has been coming out into 
the open more and more often the past few days. I even saw it splashing in the 
bird bath today. I have uploaded two photos of the bird to 
http://www.iowabirds.org/photo-gallery/ From the photos, you may be able to 
guess my trademark digiscoping technique: holding the camera up to my binocular 
eyepiece. 

 I also have at least 3 Red-Breasted Nuthatches visiting my feeders, along with 
a Carolina Wren with a predilection for my homemade suet. I haven't seen a Fox 
Sparrow or any other sparrows (except Juncos) at my feeders for at least two 
weeks. I'm hoping today's snow will bring in a few more customers. 


Good Birding,
Harley Winfrey
Boone County
hsbhwinfrey AT hotmail.com
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Checked my feeders after work and I have a Fox Sparrow with the Juncos. And the 
usual feeder birds. 


Suzanne B
Evansdale

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