I don’t get to the upper Midwest very
often, so when a business trip to Minneapolis came up in July I naturally
started to think about statebirding possibilities. My MN list was at 226, which was 8 over the
old ABA reportable threshold of 218. One
of my original statebirding goals was to be over the ABA threshold in each
state. Those thresholds, last published
by the ABA in 2011, were one half of the total list for each state. And since the overall state lists slowly inch
up as new species are added, the thresholds slowly rise as well. As a result of this slow rise in the state
thresholds, I revised my goal to be 15 over the old 2011 ABA threshold in each
state – I call it “Reportable Plus 15”.
Although somewhat arbitrary, my hope is that by reaching that goal I
would stay above the state threshold for many years to come.
Now it was time to do some research. I set up an eBird Needs Alert for MN which
revealed that there were quite a number of possible new statebirds within a
couple hours’ drive of Minneapolis. But
then I realized that a few of these potential targets southeast of Minneapolis
were actually not too far from IA. I’ve
only birded in IA twice before, and with a statelist of just 178, my
statebirding potential was of course even greater there than in MN. Now I started to consider coming into
Minneapolis a couple days early to be able to bird in IA as well as MN. Like I said – I don’t get to this part of the
country often so I may as well take advantage of these trips when I get them.
I did a quick search through the range maps
in the field guides and made a long list of possible IA statebirds by
season. Not surprisingly I had gaps
throughout my list that could potentially be filled on a summer trip. However, July is frequently thought of as a
slow month for birding - landbird targets can be tough to find since it is late
in the season for breeders to still be singing, and it is early for most
shorebirds that might be passing through.
Then again the optimist might find this as a great time – breeding birds
are still around plus the early shorebirds are just arriving – a nice
confluence of both breeding and migration seasons. Ever the optimist, especially when it comes
to statebirding, I was hopeful that I could find quite a number of new birds
for my IA list, as well as for my MN list.
My first IA eBird research focused on the
northern tier of IA counties to minimize driving time. And one of the first sightings I keyed in on
was of a Red-necked Grebe just south of the MN-IA line at Silver Lake WMA. The range maps in the field guides show that
species as a rarity in IA at any time of the year, and certainly not a breeder
that far south, so I started to dig a little more. That’s when I also found recent eBird reports
of multiple Red-necked Grebes to the west at Trumbull Lake. And when I opened those checklists I saw that
Western Grebes were being seen there as well, along with Eared Grebes (though I
already had that one on my IA list) – and all were breeding at the lake! Then I noticed nearby reports of a great
shorebird spot with a lot of diversity especially for this early in the
year. And another spot had several of my
target grassland sparrows. Then the
icing on the cake was a report of a King Rail nearby. All told that gave me 24 possible targets
reported from this prairie pothole country in Clay, Palo Alto, and Dickinson
Counties. Although this was farther west
than I was originally planning to travel, needless to say I now needed to
include this area in the IA portion of my itinerary. And my chances of finding these birds picked
up significantly when I was able to contact a couple of the local birders in
the area who offered to take me around to help me find my targets.
I also needed a number of landbirds for my
IA list, and some were reasonably common breeders throughout the state, such as
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Wood Thrush, and Ovenbird. Although these might be possible in the area
where I hoped to find all those grebes and shorebirds, that area is more known for
its prairie and farming than for its woodlands.
In addition I needed a few landbird breeders that are limited to the
eastern part of the state, including a number of warbler species. So I wondered if I could also do some
woodland birding in the eastern edge of the state on this trip. It would make for a long drive across IA, but
it would put me nearly directly south of several of my southeastern MN targets,
resulting in a nice loop through MN, IA, and back into MN. Then again, it was late July and I continued
to worry that my target breeders might prove too difficult to find.
The alternative to the eastern IA woodland
sites was to head to southcentral IA including Hawkeye WMA where excellent
numbers of shorebirds had been recently reported, including several rarities
like Avocet, Piping Plover, and Marbled Godwit.
I could also do some landbirding in the area and potentially pick up
some of my more southern landbird targets.
But on the day before my trip there was a post from the area that
mentioned water levels were way up and shorebird numbers were much lower, with
Avocets being the only rarity that remained.
I sure hated to pass up the opportunity for good shorebirds, but it
seemed like my timing wasn’t the best, and decided on the eastern IA woodland
stops instead.
After digesting all that research I came up
with this itinerary making a large loop down to IA and back –
- Day 1 – land in Minneapolis midday, bird in MN toward the southwest in the afternoon and evening
- Day 2 – bird in north-central IA for prairie birds, drive to the eastern end of the state that evening
- Day 3 – start in northeastern IA for woodland birds, then try for targets in southeastern MN on the way back toward Minneapolis
With that itinerary I expected to get 19
new species for my IA list. Though I
sure hoped to be able to stretch that total a bit to 22 to get my statelist to
200.
And then while on the plane to MSP I
realized that my planned stops in eastern IA would put me just across the
Mississippi River from WI. I’m 14 over
threshold in WI, so just 1 bird shy of that magical Reportable Plus 15
goal. With some quick eBird research I
found Wyalusing State Park right across the river from one of my IA stops had
recent reports of no less than 8 possible WI statebirds. Though with a very full itinerary, I didn’t
think I would actually be able to squeeze in a stop at the park. At the very least it was something to keep in
the back of my mind as the trip unfolded…
This post details the northcentral IA
portion of my trip. The previous post
detailed the MN part of the trip and my next post will summarize the eastern IA
and WI portion of the trip.
Day 1 – Southern MN, and a Little Time in
IA
I made multiple stops in MN adding 5 birds
to my statelist as I worked my way south.
And although I didn’t leave my last MN stop until 7:30 PM, and still had
an hour to go to get to my hotel in IA, my statebirding wasn’t over yet for the
day. One of the species I needed for my
IA list was Common Nighthawk. And since
I was arriving so late into IA I was going to be passing through several towns
at dusk when Nighthawk might be a possibility.
Sure enough the first larger IA town I came into was Estherville and I
quickly spotted 3 Nighthawks flying through the downtown area (IA statebird
#1). Plus I had several a few minutes
later in Emmetsburg. I’ve now seen this
species in 45 states (see my statebird map below).
With this bird disappearing as a nester
back home in New England, sure nice to see this species is still a common
breeder in this part of the country. And
a nice start to the IA portion of my trip.
Day 2 – Northwestern IA
My plan was to bird through mid-afternoon
in Clay, Palo Alto, and Dickinson Counties where so many targets birds had been
recently reported, including several that are rarities for IA. Local birders Lee Schoenewe and Joe Jungers
had offered to bird with me that day.
And since they knew the area so well, I was very optimistic about my
chances for finding many of these birds.
We met just after 7 at Lost Island Prairie
Wetland Nature Center. I say “just after”
7 because although I arrived before 7 I went to the wrong part of the park to
wait for Lee and Joe. As a result I
wasn’t with them a short distance away when they had a calling Black-billed
Cuckoo as they waited for me. By the
time I figured out the correct spot to meet, the Cuckoo has stopped
calling. Ugh. But things would pick up I’m sure.
Our first stop was at a small marsh in
Dewey’s Pasture WMA on 350th Avenue north of Ruthven where Lee and
Joe had found King Rail just a couple weeks before. As we arrived we were greeted by a Black Tern
flying low over the marsh (IA #2). Although
this species is seen across the country, I still need it in a few Midwest and
northwest states.
Then we had several Virginia Rails quickly
respond to a bit of tape (IA #3). But
the key target here was their larger cousin, so we positioned ourselves along
the edge of the marsh and Lee played some King Rail calls. While we waited the first of many Marsh Wrens
came to the edge of the marsh (IA #4).
Joe got several shots of these most cooperative birds, including this
bird right in front of us.
And while we were watching the Wrens a
Clay-colored Sparrow called from the dry hillside to the north (IA #5). But despite playing tape from several
locations we couldn’t get the King Rail to reply.
Next we were on to Trumbull Lake where
breeding had been documented for 4 species of Grebes and Forster’s Terns this
summer. Apparently local authorities had
recently done a lot of work to rejuvenate the wetlands, and the new conditions
were most attractive to these and other more common nesters like my other
targets the Common Gallinule and both Bitterns.
One minor challenge was that viewing was getting more challenging of
late as the cattails rimming the lake had gotten taller, so we might need a bit
of luck to help us see birds out on the water.
As we drove along we passed through several
wetlands, though we only made a couple brief stops so we could concentrate on
Trumbull Lake up ahead. But one stop was
most fruitful – we flushed an American Bittern right next to the road (IA #6). At our first lake stop on the east side of
the lake we set up our scopes on a bit of a high spot to peer over the
cattails. I quickly picked up a rare
Eared Grebe (an eBird rarity) and several Pied-billed Grebes along with several
Ruddy Ducks. Then Lee got me on a pair
of Red-necked Grebes (IA #7). IA is only
my 4th state where I’ve seen this species as a breeding bird (along with ID,
ND, and MN).
We couldn’t come up with any of our other targets here so we headed to another overlook a bit to the north. Here we had a broader view of the lake, though again the tall cattails blocked our view of the near shore. Lee picked out a couple Western Grebes mostly obscured by the vegetation. I wasn’t tall enough to see them, though I heard them calling. Luckily we all had views of this target a couple minutes later (IA #8). I’ve now seen Western Grebe throughout most of its western range along with a few eastern and 1 Midwest state as a rarity.
Another target we searched for here was Forster’s Tern which nested at the lake and had been quite easy to see in Joe’s and Lee’s recent trips to Trumbull Lake. We found numerous Black Terns dancing over the lake at these first stops, but no Forster’s. Then Joe picked out a juvenile Forster’s flying among the Blacks in the distance. Unfortunately I didn’t pick it out. But we weren’t worried because our next stop was at the north end of the lake where they had been easiest to see in the past. But again we came up empty – sure wish I had spent more effort to find Joe’s bird. Though we did pick up a cooperative Willow Flycatcher (IA #9) driving to one of our overlooks. And then our last stop on the lake was at a portion of the marsh where Common Gallinules were regular that summer. We went to “the” spot for them, played some tape, and one called back right away (IA #10). Another example where I wouldn’t have found one of my targets without the local birders’ help.
One of our other targets that had been
regular at Trumbull Lake earlier in the summer, but had eluded us so far, was
Least Bittern. We made stops at lots of
great cattail habitat where they had been heard regularly that summer but
couldn’t scare one up. So we headed to
Dan Green Slough, and specifically the boat ramp near the southern end of the
lake. This spot too had lots of
cattails, but most importantly had numerous openings in the vegetation where we
might spot a Bittern. We played some
tape, but to no avail. Then just as we
were leaving the boat ramp a Least Bittern took off from one of the edges just
a short distance away (IA #11). It must
have been there the whole time. Although
I’m slowly filling in my statebird map for this species, I still have quite a
number of gaps – especially in the southeast.
We left the wetland habitats very happy to
have spotted all but 2 of our targets, though we were all surprised that we
hadn’t found a cooperative Forster’s Tern.
Next we were on to a couple sheetwater
pools northwest of Spencer. These
flooded fields had attracted some nice rarities recently, though there had been
no recent reports from this spot. Before
we even got out of the car we could see quite a number of peeps moving about
along with a few larger shorebirds. With
several scans we picked out good numbers of Pectoral and Semi Sands, and
smaller numbers of Yellowlegs, but none of the rarer species jumped out at
us. But then slowly we started to pick
out some of my targets. First we spotted
a Semipalmated Plover (IA #12). Then we
added a Short-billed Dowitcher to the list (IA #13). And a nearly breeding plumage Stilt Sandpiper
was nice, though not a new statebird for me.
We then drove over to the other pool just a
couple hundred yards away. One of the
first birds I spotted was a basic-plumaged Western Sandpiper (IA #14). While we were scanning the birds here a
couple different shorebird flocks dropped in both to this second pool as well
as the first one. So we headed back over
to the first pool and added another half dozen Short-billed Dowitchers, a
second Semi Plover, and several more Stilt Sands, but nothing new. Although diversity was lower than a couple
weeks earlier, we still were able to spot 12 shorebird species at the pools.
Our next stops were at some natural prairie
and planted pasture fields nearby to try for Upland Sandpiper. They had nested in these fields this year,
and had been reasonably reliable earlier in the season. But in late July I wasn’t too optimistic –
even if they were still around they would likely not be calling, and grasses
would be quite high by now. So it could
be a needle-in-a-haystack kind of proposition.
We slowly drove down the road passing along the edge of a very nice
prairie habitat, but couldn’t spot an Uppie.
Then we got to the field planted in pasture grasses and saw that about
half the field had just been cut. I
wondered if the cut grass might attract Uplands since their food might be
easier to find. Not to mention the birds
would be easier to see in the short grass.
And sure enough, a short distance down the road there was an Upland
Sandpiper standing in the field near the road (IA #15). Joe got this great shot right from the car.
Then it was on to an adjacent natural field
of prairie grasses where Henslow’s Sparrows had nested earlier in the
year. It was now late morning, and of
course late summer – not the best timing to hear singing passerines, so again I
wasn’t overly optimistic. We pulled over
and listened – I was pleasantly surprised to hear quite a bit of song – there
were a number of Sedge Wrens and Grasshopper Sparrows along with a single
Clay-colored Sparrow, and of course the ever-present Dickcissels. But no Henslow’s. We pulled up a bit farther and listened again
but heard pretty much the same mix of birds.
Then I played some Henslow’s tape and we listened some more. Again no luck. Just as we were about to pull away I heard a
single “tslick” of a Henslow’s Sparrow (IA #16). I still have a long way to go to find this
species in the states in its range throughout much of the eastern US.
Next Lee took us to a small sod farm just a
couple miles away to check for early Buff-breasted Sandpipers. There had been no reports from this spot so
far this year so this location wasn’t on my radar screen. But within seconds of pulling up Lee spotted
3 Buff-breasteds close to the road that joined 2 others farther back on the sod
(IA #17).
I still needed Vesper Sparrow for my list so
Lee next took us to a dirt road that dead-ended at the Spencer Municipal
Airport where he said he almost always has Vespers. We drove slowly down to the end but only
picked out a few Dickcissels. We then
turned around and headed back down the road and flushed a sparrow off the ground
that had white outer tail feathers – a successful side-trip for a Vesper
Sparrow (IA #18).
We then headed back to Lee’s house for a
lunch break. Plus Lee had hummingbirds
coming to his feeder – another of my targets.
That’s one I had hoped for the next day in woodlands in the eastern part
of the state. But getting it today would
take the pressure off having to randomly run into a bird tomorrow. We had not been back at his house for more
than 5 minutes when a Ruby-throated Hummingbird came in to drink at his feeder
(IA #19). Another of Lee’s stakeouts
came through for us. IA fills one of the
last gaps in my statebird map for this species.
After a quick lunch we were off again, this
time to Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve near the MN border which has
been a traditional spot for Blue Grosbeak.
Along the way I got a quick view of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo as it flew
right in front of the car – not the best views but good enough for my 20th IA
statebird on the trip. As we approached
the preserve we came upon a small flock of Lark Sparrows in the road as if to
welcome us to this new habitat. When we
got out of the car we were serenaded by a nice mix of Grasshopper, Clay-colored,
and Field Sparrows, and Dickcissels, but no Grosbeaks. We had waited a couple minutes when we all
spotted a chunky finch-like bird fly over the road and into a nearby brushy
tree. A bit later the bird popped into
the open and it was a female Blue Grosbeak (IA #21). And just a minute later we heard one singing
– a male had flown in as well and was singing from the powerlines overhead. I now have only a couple gaps in my statebird
map to fill in for this species that stretches across the southern and central
states.
That was the last of my target birds, and as
we walked back to the car I quickly reviewed my notes and realized that my IA
state list now stood at 199. I shared
that detail with Lee and Joe and none of us wanted to call it a day one short
of 200. Lee mentioned that we might
still have a chance at finding Forster’s Tern if we added some stops around
Spirit Lake. So we started with a couple
stops overlooking the lake from the west side but with no luck. Then we made a stop on the north end of the
lake right at the MN/IA line but only found some roosting gulls. Now we were on the east side of Spirit Lake
and Lee navigated us to one last spot where he had seen Forster’s in the
past. We got out of the car and scanned
a distant shoreline and at first only spotted a flock of gulls. Then I noticed what appeared to be a smaller
roosting bird worthy of a scope view. A
few seconds later we confirmed an adult Forster’s Tern (IA #22). With that target bird under my belt IA became
my 48th state with at least 200 species (I’m under 200 only in MT and HI – and
also Washington, DC).
That ended a remarkable day where we found
all but 1 of my staked out target birds.
Needless to say I couldn’t have done it without the help of Lee
Schoenewe and Joe Jungers. Great birders
who know the birds of their area like the backs of their hands. As we parted ways I mentioned that I hoped to
bird with them again someday, perhaps on a return trip in spring some year to
work on passerine migrants in western IA.
My next post summarizes my statebirding
stops in eastern IA, and a brief stop in WI.
No comments:
Post a Comment