April Is Off With A BANG

BLACK-NECKED STILTS

3 of us birded Gibson County, Indiana on Monday and Tuesday of this week and totaled 73 species for the two days.  We spent most of our time at Cane Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, Tern Bar Slough Wildlife Management Area and Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge.  Shore birds were everywhere but not a wide variety of birds.  The best birds of the week so far were the above Black-necked Stilts.  They are so elegant in stature and stark in coloration.  Reports are coming in from locations throughout the Tri-state region of warblers, vireos and other neo-tropic migrants so the next weeks will be chocked full of new species.  Stay tuned bird lovers!

All Work and No Birding Makes Tim A Very Dull Boy

It has been 26 days since I have been out birding for more than an hour but between home and a couple of store bird hikes I have been able to add a few more birds to my annual total. We had our first Ruby-throated Hummingbird at our feeders on the 20th of March! That is about 3 weeks earlier than normal. The same morning I heard and then saw a Wood Thrush in our yard, which again, is about 3-4 weeks earlier than normal.
Over the weekend I had two bird hikes that again added a few birds to the yearly total. March was a 104 species month, which is about 20 more than normal. April is usually a 125 species month so we will see what the weather blows in. March was the second warmest and 4th driest on record. All of the flowering trees and shrubs are now past their prime and the tree canopies are well on their way to full leaf. It is going to be extremely difficult to find warblers this year.
Some very good birds are showing up over the past few days. More and more Warblers are being reported in the Tri-state. Prothonotary Warblers have been reported in central Kentucky so it is not long before my favorite bird will be here.
Get out and enjoy nature. Spring is the best time of year to see the best nature has to offer!

EAGLE SLOUGH MARCH 16th

I decided to do a little scouting for tomorrow's bird hike at Eagle Slough. It was too nice to just stay inside this morning. I found 35 species with a FOY (first of year) sighting of Brown Thrasher and a lone Winter Wren (FINALLY). I think it is very interesting that I did not see a Winter Wren during December, January or February but finally find one during a record-breaking March day. What a strange year!
Other birds of note were Fox Sparrows, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Rusty Blackbirds, Hooded Mergansers, lots of Flickers, Eastern Towhees and Brown Creepers. Spring/Summer weather continues with highs in the upper 70's to lower 80's for the next week. Good things should start showing up soon!

Why Do I Need To Leave Home To Watch Good Birds?

FEMALE PILEATED WOODPECKER

This morning as we were preparing to fix breakfast I heard a familiar song among the dozens of loud voices in our yard. It was a song not heard normally in our neighborhood but one that brings the blood pressure up whenever I hear it. It was the song of a Pileated Woodpecker. I ran to the window and sure enough, a female Pileated Woodpecker was busy excavating a nesting cavity in a Sweet gum tree in our back yard. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped off a couple of poor photos before Mr. Pileated called and she dutifully flew off to find what he had to offer.

The Pileated Woodpecker is our largest woodpecker in Indiana and rare enough that everyone has it on their must see list each year. We have been lucky enough to have them in our backyard habitat about 3 or 4 times each year but never during nesting season. Perhaps this will be the year. In Southwestern Indiana the best place to find the nesting Pileated Woodpecker is Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve, Eagle Slough Natural Area and Howell Wetlands, on Evansville's west side. You can also find them at Burdette Park and along the new University of Southern Indiana bike trail.

Spring has sprung about 2-3 weeks early in Southwestern Indiana. We set a record for a March high temp yesterday with a high of 82 degrees. This streak of "hot" weather is forecasted to last through the end of next week! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT! More and more trees are flowering and shrubs are busting out with buds and blooms. By the time the wood warblers make their way back to the tri-state the leaves will be full and we will be hard pressed to find them. The good news is that the insect hatch is really early and the birds who layed their eggs early will have plenty of good eating for their young. We need to cross our fingers, toes and eyes to make sure it continues. A hard freeze now will be catastrophic!

EARLY SPRING BRINGS GREAT BIRDS TO PATOKA

WILSON'S SNIPE

Steve Gifford, Jim Campbell and I birded the Patoka National Wildlife Refuge in northern Gibson County, Indiana on Tuesday, March 6th. We were in search of water birds that might have come in on the heavy southern winds of the previous 3 nights. We were not disappointed. The species count for the day was 73! That was the second highest March species count in my record books. The only one that was higher was 75 but it was taken on March 31st three years ago. 73 species for an early March day is excellent.

Highlights for the day were the close encounter of the Wilson's Snipe kind (pictured above), hundreds of Pintail Ducks, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpipers and a very early American Golden Plover. We also were able to view 7 immature Bald Eagles. All-in-all a very productive and enjoyable day with two great birding friends.

Patoka National Wildlife Refuge is a collection of wetlands, fields and lowland river bottoms along the Patoka River in Southwest Indiana. During the winter months it holds thousands of ducks, geese and other water birds. It also is the only nesting area for the Interior Least Tern in the state of Indiana, at it's Cane Ridge unit in western Gibson County. For those of us who love the sight of Pintails, Wigeons, Mallards, Gadwalls, Ruddy Ducks, Wood Ducks and the dozens of other ducks and geese found in the Mississippi Flyway, Patoka National Wildlife Refuge is the place to go in the first 3 months of the year. It never disappoints, and you never know what wandering avian delight might show up or when.

CHANGES IN THE WEATHER

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

FINALLY! I finally found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Howell Wetlands this morning during our weekly bird hike. Sapsuckers typically spend the winter in the Tri-state area but this year they were few and far between. The photo on the left was taken at our feeder in 2010 and is a male. The bird we spotted today was a juvenile female, just getting her breeding season plumage.

The other event for the day were 3 Northern Flickers trying to determine who was going to take possession of a nesting cavity. Quite the donniebrook.

With the passage of the storm front yesterday, the temperatures dropped dramatically from the 70's yesterday to the upper 20's this morning. We are hoping a significant number of early spring migrants will hunker down here until the weather warms up again. Reports of many shorebirds at Cane Ridge and Oaksville Bottoms has brought smiles to most birder's faces.

PHEBRUARY PHOEBES???

EASTERN PHOEBE

OK, things are officially getting weird around here! Today I had a little time to kill so I birded Eagle Slough and found 2 First Of Year birds. Both of them should not be here for this time of year and both were are February firsts. The photo is of an Eastern Phoebe which normally shows up around the 20th of March. The second bird were 3 Lesser Yellowlegs who normally show up around the end of March. As far as the official 2012 count goes these two are numbers 102 and 103 for the year. In addition they are numbers 92 and 93 for the month of Phebruary. (notice the little pun there?) With temps scheduled for the lower 70's today and a strong cold front coming in later this evening, maybe even more EARLY migrants will get dumped into the Tri-state area, just in time for our weekly bird hike at Howell Wetlands this Saturday. A Phoebe Phebruary! Who'd a thunk!

WHERE'S THE BIRDS???

ADULT SHARP-SHINNED HAWK

This morning as I was doing my Bible study I was struck by the fact that there were no birds at any of my feeders. After about 30 minutes on zero activity I figured our resident Cooper's Hawk must be on the prowl for breakfast. I walked out on the deck to look for him in his usual perch, which is high in a Sweet Gum tree in the front yard. But no Coop. Instead I found an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk sitting less than 10' from our deck. He paid little attention to me so I slowly walked back inside and grabbed the camera. His cooperation was greatly appreciated!

This is the first Sharp-shinned Hawk I have seen in the 8 years we have owned our home in Newburgh. These birds are in the Tri-state area only during the winter months and then head north for the nesting season. I hope he decides to head north early. The birds are getting hungry!

Environmental Ethics?

I am presenting a symposium tomorrow on Environmental Ethics at a local college. The symposium is being given to a group of freshman science majors and I am struggling to present something that is truly relavent.
There are so many different directions to take the presentation and so many ways to present it. My current position is to suggest to the audience that Environmental Ethics is as personal as any other ethical decisions they must make on a daily basis. Ethics is based on position, responsibility and so much more.
In a previous life I had to struggle on a daily basis with the ethics of turning an agricultural company into a potential ticking genetic time bomb or to continue to stress genetic diveresity in our hybrid corn lineup. I chose diversity and was given the opportunity to change professions, which I am most greatful for by the way. Still, most of our food sources today are at great risk because of the continued decisions to go away from genetic diversity and toward a mono-culture that could potentially cause a major disaster should some type of disease put our present crops at risk. Enough of that.
My topic tomorrow is important but must be presented with a balanced and logical approach that young minds can comprehend. Prayer is needed!

A SUCCESSFUL GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT!

OWL PROWL CROWD - 2/19/12

Another Great Backyard Bird Count has come to a close and once again our area has rivaled Indianapolis as one of the best reporting areas. The Tri-State area had over 135 checklists submitted through Wednesday.

We were very busy over the weekend with 4 hikes scheduled and I even worked in 4 other counts before the end of the 4 day event. Our "Owl Prowl" crowd was HUGE with 32 people in attendance. People from all ages were able to get good looks at 4 owl species, Great-horned (on nest), Barred, Short-eared and Long-eared. The Great-horned Owl nest on Wasson Rd is in use for the 5th straight year.

The crowd also got some VERY good looks and listens to a rare event, the courtship rituals of the American Woodcock. We have been able to find American Woodcocks the past 2 GBBCs but this year the main body of migration was smack dab during the GBBC. We counted over 20 different birds along our birding path. We were able to observe 3 displays VERY CLOSE. That got the crowd buzzing (or peenting in this case).
February is coming to a close and once again I have been able to set a record for most species found during a February. Birding usually slows down this time of year but strange, early warm weather has brought in some very interesting early migrants so instead of taking a breather for the next couple of weeks, we will continue to bird heavy.

Spring is just around the cornere and it appears we will be able to continue with our twice weekly birding trips. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

A GREAT - GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

HERMIT THRUSH @ Wesselman Woods

This morning I walked Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve for the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is the 16th annual GBBC and it got off to a great start. Finding 2 Hermit Thrushes was a first for me in February. Wesselman Woods is always a good place for Hermits but not this early in the year. To find 2 in one day was really a treat. I think we will be finding a lot of early visitors this weekend. There are still 3 days remaining in the GBBC and I have bird hikes scheduled for all 3 days. Saturday will be at Howell Wetlands at 8:00am, Sunday will be at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area (OWL PROWL) at 4:00pm and a rare Monday morning hike at Eagle Slough Natural Area, once again at 8:00am.
Other birds of interest this morning were 2 pairs of PILEATED WOODPECKERS. Both pair were busy in courtship behavior and chipping out nesting cavities. Now I can watch them raise their families this spring and summer.
Get out soon and see what nature has to offer! The best way to feed your passion for nature is to spend time in it.

OK, NOT SO SLOW BIRDING!

WHOOPING CRANE

Four of us headed to Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, near Linton, IN, yesterday for my birthday party. (so to speak, some people like cake and ice cream, I like bird watching)

The morning started with a significant cover of fog, which didn't burn off until mid-morning. When it did we were thrilled to find 16 Whooping Cranes in, and around, the Goose Pond property. We also found 16 Tundra Swans along with 54 other species of birds. We were able to find 5 life birds for Philip Lax and 7 life birds for Steve Briscoe. It is always a great day of birding when we can find new birds for our friends.

Other great birds for the day were over 5,000 Sandhill Cranes, numerous Bald Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Pintails, Wood Ducks, thousands of Snow Geese and many Green-winged Teal. Goose Pond continues to attract thousands of waterfowl each winter and is becoming one of the midwest's premier birding locations, no matter what time of year you go. We are going to continue to try to bird Goose Pond at least once per month during 2012. My goal is to find at least 165 species of birds at Goose Pond, Cane Ridge, Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area, Eagle Slough and Howell Wetlands. If I reach these goals, I should surpass my 225 species per year average. Total goal for the year is 300 species. I would like for 260 of those to be found in our immediate birding sphere.

We do have 2 trips scheduled outside of Indiana this year where we will be doing some serious birding (and relaxing). Our first trip of the year will be to Savannah, GA for our annual WBU convention and then later in September to our beloved Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area. Together they should help me come up with at least 30 species not found in our area.

All is well in the birding community of Southern Indiana and Northwestern Kentucky.

SLOW BIRDING IN SOUTHERN INDIANA

Most of us consider the last week of January and the first week of February to be the prime season for waterfowl in southern Indiana. Not so much this year! The best waterfowl looks this year were at the beginning of January. Since then we have had 3" of rain and the rivers are all at flood stage, with lots of water standing in the fields. This has scattered the ducks and geese far and wide. There is also no ice in Indiana. In fact there is not a major amount of ice on lakes and rivers until you get to central Michigan and Wisconsin. That has led to a wide dispersal of waterfowl throughout the midwest.
Last evening we held one of our winter Owl Prowls in northern Warrick County. Our target birds for the Owl Prowls are always the Short-eared Owls but they have been few and far between this year. Instead we parked our vehicles on a hill overlooking the major Long-eared Owl roost found earlier in the week by Steve Gifford, and waited for them to come off their roost. We were not disappointed. While waiting for the LEOW we were able to listen to a very vocal Great-horned Owl in the distance. Most were thrilled with that nature moment.
The LEOW started hooting about 10 minutes before they left their roosts and the main flight out of the pine trees came at 5:45pm. We spotted 9 individuals as they left their roosts.
The other excitement for the evening were 2 American Woodcocks peenting in the area. We also were able to see one at a separate location do their display flight. This is about 1 month early for these guys. Another sign of global warming?? Probably not but an interesting winter, or lack there of, none the less.
Tomorrow 4 of us will head up to Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area to try to find a Hooded Crane in with the 5,000 or so Sandhill Cranes. No one has found the bird yet but it stands to reason that the rare bird should be around Goose Pond somewhere. Maybe I will have something exciting to share tomorrow evening!

A LIFER FOR EVERYONE!

LONG-EARED OWL

Yesterday a friend called to say he had found 3 strange looking owls at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area. His description of the birds led me to believe he had found a group of migrating Long-eared Owls. Today he returned to the same tree and found them again. He called us and Margi and I headed to Bluegrass to find these life birds. We met Steve at the site and sure enough they were beautiful Long-eared Owls! These beautiful birds are not typically found here in southern Indiana but they are probably migrating through the area now. Steve later called back to tell us he had found 22 more in the same areas we typically find the Short-eared Owls each winter.
Long-eared Owls are found in pine, spruce and cedar forests and unlike their Short-eared cousins, do most of their hunting during the evening hours. They prefer to roost during the day in dense evergreen trees. Steve found the majority of the birds roosting in Eastern Red Cedar trees on reclaimed surface mine land. They will roost in groups of 2 - 8 and tend to flush easily.
We were blessed to be able to finally see these wonderful birds so close to home. I'll bet several southern Indiana birders will get good life birds this weekend.

93 SPECIES IN JANUARY!!

WOW! What a month! I finished the month of January today with a trip to Cane Ridge/Tern Bar Slough, Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area and the Newburgh, IN Lock and Dam. I added 3 new species to the list increasing the already record count to 93 species. Today's trip added Greater Scaup, Peregrine Falcon and Herring Gull.
The trip to Cane Ridge National Wildlife Refuge ended with 56 species. My home count this morning was 24 species and I added another 14 at the lock and dam. Total species for the day was 64. Not bad for the last day of January.
One of the most interesting observations for the day occurred at Cane Ridge/Tern Bar Slough where the waterfowl numbers have crashed over the past 14 days. On the 17th Steve Gifford and I counted over 100,000 geese, ducks and other waterfowl. Today we would have been lucky to count 2,000. There is so much open water in the tri-state area that waterfowl have their pick for resting and feeding. When you factor in that there is open water almost all the way to the Michigan border, there is very little reason for waterfowl to congregate in small areas right now. It really is fascinating how populations can fluctuate this time of year.
The highlights of today's trip were the number of Bald Eagles continuing at Cane Ridge/Tern Bar Sloughs. Today I found 5 adult Bald Eagles and 3 juvenile eagles. I also got to observe an adult Bald and adult Golden Eagle sharing a tree at Tern Bar Slough. There seemed to be some discussion going on concerning who got there first and the Bald Eagle decided to take his argument elsewhere. Go Goldie!
The second highlight for the day was watching an adult Peregrine Falcon take a lunch break at the Newburgh, IN Lock and Dam, on the Ohio River. I no sooner arrived at the park when all of the Rock Pigeons came off the dam and starting scattering in all directions. I have seen that behavior enough times to know what was coming next and he didn't disappoint. In a matter of seconds the falcon came rocketing through the mass of pigeons and succeeded in grabbing one unlucky fellow. The falcon then tried hard to get the bagged lunch back to it's perch atop the light standard at the locks and had a very difficult time flying into the wind. He finally succeeded and settled down for his hard-earned meal.
Lots of fun things still going on in the tri-state!!

WINDING UP JANUARY

With only a couple of days remaining in January, I thought I would review the month. Don't think it will be a monthly thing. It is just that I have had an outstanding month with a total of 90 species found during the month. That is the highest January in my birding history. Most of the success can be attributed to the HUGE influx of waterfowl we have currently at Cane Ridge National Wildlife Refuge and Tern Bar Slough Fish and Wildlife Area in western Gibson County.
We also have had good success with perching birds at Eagle Slough Natural Area and Howell Wetlands in Vanderburgh County.
Cane Ridge and the surrounding area is by far the winner when it comes to birding right now. Three times this month I have had a 50 species + day. Total species count for the area through today (Sunday, January 29th) is 65. The only common waterfowl/waterbird I have missed this month is the Blue-winged Teal and that is not unusual. I typically do not find that bird until the early parts of March.
The real draw for the area is the large number of Bald and Golden Eagles. Today I found 9 Bald Eagles (2 adults and 7 juveniles) and 2 GOLDEN EAGLES. I have been told there may be as many as 4 Goldies in the area, but it is difficult to determine species with so many immature Bald Eagles flying in the same area. The two I got glasses on this morning were both perched and easy to ID.
Yesterday (Saturday, Janaury 28th) was a good day at Eagle Slough. We had 8 people join us for the monthly bird hike there. We tallied 22 species but the highlight was good looks at Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers. (first for the year) We are also starting to see larger number of northern visitors since there has been more snow in the northern areas of the country.
It will be tough for February to eclipse January but we won't stop trying. I have at least two trips to Cane Ridge planned and at least one trip at the end of February to Goose Pond.

OWL PROWL January 22nd

FEMALE NORTHERN HARRIER

Owls were few and far between last evening as we held our bi-weekly OWL PROWL in northern Warrick County. However, Northern Harriers were everywhere and very active. Like the Short-eared Owls, these beautiful birds of prey spend their summers in the northern grasslands of the U.S. and Canada and then come down for a few meals here in Warrick County.
The real treat for the evening was the large number of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts that joined us, with their parents. They were very well behaved and were thrilled to get to see the Harriers fighting with each other over the grasslands and reclaimed surface mines. The best thing we can do for our future is to imprint nature on our youth. These young boys will soon grow up and take their place as the protectors of our natural world. Keep them indoors and they have no reason to make sure Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles and Short-eared Owls continue to visit southern Indiana.
Tell your congressmen and senators to support the NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE legislation!

Only In January!

Today I birded several areas in Warrick and Gibson counties. I started the morning at a small county park about 2 miles from home. Temperatures were in the lower 60's (that's right! lower 60's at 7:30am.) I had been in the park for about 1 hour when the storm sirens went off and the storms rolled in. Of course, there was very little bird activity at the park with only 9 species and 12 individual birds. Somehow I think they knew what was coming.
As I was headed back to the car before I got my tush wet, the cell phone rang and Steve Gifford wanted to know if I wanted to join he, Lee Sterrenburg and Kathy McClain on a trip around Gibson County.
So, off I went in a driving rain storm.
I hooked up with Kathy, Lee and Steve and we headed to Cane Ridge to look for rarities. What we found were thousands of Snow Geese, Mallards, Pintails, Shovelers and other ducks, geese and water birds. We totaled 36 species at Cane Ridge and the surrounding areas including at least 6 Bald Eagles.
After lunch we headed to the Fransisco Mine area, Wheeling Bottoms and the area surrounding Pakotak National Wildlife Refuge. Again, we were able to view approx. 30 different species including a juvenile Mute Swan.
As you can see by my yearly species count at the upper right hand corner of this page, my 2012 species total thus far is 85 species. 67 of those species have been found in the Gibson County area alone. Cane Ridge, Tern Bar Slough and the surrounding area is becoming a great place to find interesting birds this winter. If you have never been able to view large numbers of waterfowl and other water birds you must take a short trip to western Gibson County. It is absolutely terrific!

Early Bird? or Lagging Behind?

Chipping Sparrow

Sometimes things just don't make a lot of sense! This morning we held our first WBU Bird Walk of the year at Howell Wetlands. Philip and I were joined by 5 other hardy folks. There were not a lot of birds to look at, especially in the wooded areas. Most of the activity was along the prairie areas and marshes. The bird of the day were 2 CHIPPING SPARROWS (see left). For those who are not familiar with our area or this little guy, this is either 60 days early or 120 days too late for this bird to be at the wetlands. I'll let you choose which one.
Our recent snow and colder weather should bring a lot more of the wintering birds but this late in the season will hamper the large numbers we normally see. A lot of migrants will opt to stay where they are now and try to survive the rest of the winter.

WINTER HAS RETURNED TO THE TRI-STATE

FOX SPARROW - Red Phase

I had a tv interview on the west side of Evansville this morning so I took 45 minutes and walked through the eastern part of Howell Wetlands just to get a feel for what we will find tomorrow morning during our monthly bird walk.
Last night's snow did not drive the birds down as I had hoped but it was a very enjoyable stroll through the snow covered wetlands. I only found 19 species but I did pick up one new bird for the year, the red-phase FOX SPARROW. This is a beautiful bird that comes to the wetlands and other wooded areas during our winter months. This guy played hide and seek under the boardwalks and I was convinced I would not get a photo until the very last minute of the walk. Other birds of interest at the wetlands were the American Tree Sparrow, Carolina Wrens and Northern Mockingbird, who was aggressively defending a Winterberry Bush. Not a lot of birds but it is always refreshing to get a walk in the woods no matter how much birding activity there might be.
Speaking of a walk in the woods. During my tv interview today we discussed Nature Deficit Disorder. Whether you want to believe in such a medical issue or not is really not the issue. Today's youth spend less than 5% of their free time outdoors. Congress is actually debating a bill right now called the No Child Left Inside Act and the senate has blocked the progress of the bill. President Theodore Roosevelt once said, "That which we are passionate about is that which we protect." My question to whomever wants to listen (including our illustrious senators and congressmen). How can we expect our future generations to want to protect our environment if they have no contact with it? Who will be here to save nature from our own neglect and ambivalence? Just asking??

Our Little Buddy Is Back

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Our little buddy the Red-breasted Nuthatch came back this morning after a 2 week absence. This little guy is always welcome at our feeders. They nest in the coniferous forests of the upper parts of the U.S. and all of Canada and for the past 3 years have shown up at our feeders during the winter months. This year the first RBNU showed up in late September and has been on and off at the feeders since.

The RBNU is very gregarious. At times they are waiting for me to fill the feeders and are very talkative as I go about my morning feeding chores. A couple of times they have been so bold as to land on my arm and shoulder as I was hanging the peanut feeders back on the deck.

There is always a smile on Margi's face when these guys visit us. If you want a RBNU at your feeders make sure you have plenty of peanuts or Black-oil Sunflowers. They prefer tray feeders so they can pick through the offerings but will come to mesh feeders as the photo shows.

Cold weather is finally here but is not scheduled to last through the weekend. Maybe we will get a good dose of cold weather and the bird walk at Howell Wetlands on Saturday will have lots of migrants. Here's Hoping!

Cane Ridge-Tern Bar Slough Home Run!

BALD EAGLE AT CANE RIDGE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Today was a home run when it comes to birding. Steve Gifford and I started the day by driving around the surrounding areas of the Gibson County power plant. We ended the day at Cane Ridge National Wildlife Refuge and Tern Bar Slough Fish and Wildlife Area. The total species count for the day was 60! Most of the new birds for the year were waterfowl with ducks and geese making up the majority of the species. We spotted virtually all of the geese found in Indiana and almost all of the "dabbling" ducks, such as Pintail, Mallard, Gadwall etc. The interesting part of the day was the lack of "diving" ducks. We only found 1 grebe and 2 ring-necked ducks. A complete list of the birds can be found on my post on In-Bird Listserve.

Steve is an excellent guide and since he travels the roads around Cane Ridge on a weekly basis he knows all of the "hot spots' and what birds will be found there. I simply told him what birds I wanted to find and he took me to them. It always helps to have a good guide.

On another note, the federal government finally got their heads out of their collective a$$es and gave a waiver to the pilots of Operation Migration, so they could continue their trip south. I recognize that there must be rules but surely this was one of those ridiculous rules that simply needed to be changed. How can a person not need a license to fly and ultralite for fun but need one if you get paid from a non-profit organization trying to save a species from EXTINCTION!

Come On Man!

If you want to add to your lists Cane Ridge is the place to hit a HOME RUN!

Eagle Slough Hard Birding

When the going gets tough the tough go BIRDING!
Birding thus far this year has been very difficult so I headed out to Eagle Slough this afternoon to see if I could change my luck. I did not see a bird for the first 40 minutes. Things finally got a little exciting when I reached the path to the photographer's blind. Ended the day with only 19 species but got some really good looks at both the Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Still very little activity from waterfowl or small migrants.
Tomorrow I will be taking my first trip of the year to Cane Ridge NWR and Tern Bar Slough FWA.

OWL PROWL A SUCCESS - Finally

SHORT-EARED OWL

Yesterday's OWL PROWL was a success in so many ways. We started the PROWL with 36 participants, which is a little big for our venue, but by splitting the group into two we were able to make sure everyone got a good view of the owls. We ended up with 5 Short-eared Owls, one Barred Owl and a dozen other birds of prey. One bird posed on a tree so we could set up scopes for everyone to get a good look. We still need some really cold weather to get more birds down here and to have the birds more active earlier in the day.

This year's lack of snow and cold weather has allowed the resident birds to continue to forage in the outlying areas. Couple the weather with the wet spring weather and you have perfect conditions for a LARGE weed seed crop. Birds have more than enough natural food right now. Northern birds have not had a significant amount of snow to deal with thus birds are hard to find. We will have a bird hike at Howell Wetlands this coming Saturday at 8:00am. Dress warmly! T

So It Begins

PRAIRIE MERLIN

Here we are one week into the new year and this is my first post. Not a very good start is it? I have been birding only once since the first of the year and that was last Friday afternoon, scouting for today's Owl Prowl. There was very little activity at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area (BGFWA) and surrounding surface mine sites. I did run into a group of Northern Harriers that were harrassing a Prairie Merlin on Wasson Rd. Harrier numbers seem to be about normal but Merlin and Short-eared Owl numbers are way down! Here's hoping that this afternoon's Owl Prowl has some activity. I plan on getting some much needed birding therapy this week with some days off finally. Check back to see if anything interesting shows up.