This Great Blue Heron was observed almost every day this month.
The last confirmed sighting was on the 31st. I searched for it on the
1st of January, but was unable to locate it. However, it may still show
up again, as there are 2 ponds that are still open, along with most of
the south lake and a part of the north lake. 12/29/15 (Wolf. Oesterreich)
A total of 57 avian species (plus 1 sp.) was recorded this month, ranking this month as the 2nd highest December (although tied with December 2005) among 19 years of records.
Wolf. Oesterreich
A total of 57 avian species (plus 1 sp.) was recorded this month, ranking this month as the 2nd highest December (although tied with December 2005) among 19 years of records.
Based on citations in the 3rd Edition of “The Birds of Story County, Iowa,” by
Stephen J. Dinsmore and Hank Zaletel (2001), plus my personal updates to the
records, the male Northern Shoveler, still being seen through the 31st,
may represent a new extreme late Fall record for Story County (former record
set on 29 December 2011 at AHHP). Other new
extreme late Fall records include the male Green-winged Teal, last seen on the
24th (former record set on 21 December 2014 at AHHP), the female
Hooded Merganser seen on the 30th (former record set on 29 December
2007 at AHHP), and the Franklin’s Gull observed on the 3rd (former
record set on 28 November 2015 at AHHP).
Great Blue Herons have been recorded on several Ames Christmas Bird
Counts (usually held mid-month) and the only mid-Winter record is that of 2 on
22 January 1998 found near Gilbert, so the one being seen almost every day this
month, up through the 31st, is quite rare.
Listed below, following the species’ names, are the date(s) of
sighting(s), plus the occasional miscellaneous information regarding numbers,
gender (♂=male, ♀=female), age (im=immature, ju=juvenile, abp=adult breeding
plumage, ad=adult, anb=adult non-breeding), color phase (b=blue, w=white), and
location (BY=back yard). ). The order follows the 55th
Supplement (2014) to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds and the 14th
Supplement to the 7th Edition (1998).
AVIAN
GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE: 1-3 (5), 4 (6)
SNOW
GOOSE: 3 (8), 18 (1)
ROSS’S
GOOSE: 10 (1)
CACKLING
GOOSE: 1, 3 (3+), 4-5, 8, 9-10 (2+), 11-12, 17 (2), 19 (12), 22, 24
CANADA
GOOSE: 1-31
TRUMPETER
SWAN: 19 (3 ad), 25 (4 ad + 3 im)
GADWALL:
2 (4), 3 (2♀), 4 (1♂ + 2♀), 8 (2♂), 11 (8), 14 (1♀), 15 (2♂), 17 (7),
18 (1♂ +
3♀), 19 (7), 21 (1♀), 23 (6♂ +
4♀), 26 (2♂ + 1♀), 29-30 (2♀)
AMERICAN
WIGEON: 18 (2♂ + 1♀)
AMERICAN
BLACK DUCK: 18-19 (2), 27 (2)
MALLARD:
1-19, 21-27, 29-31
NORTHERN
SHOVELER: 1 (3♀), 4-5 (1♀), 11 (5), 17 (1♂ + 1♀), 18 (2♂ + 2♀), 19 (2),
21 (2), 29-31 (1♂)
NORTHERN
PINTAIL: 7-8 (1♂), 18-19 (2♂ + 1♀), 21 (1♂), 26 (1♂)
GREEN-WINGED
TEAL: 4 (4), 14 (1♂), 18 (4♂ + 2♀), 19 (2♂), 24 (1♂)
CANVASBACK:
4 (1)
RING-NECKED
DUCK: 1 (1♂), 2 (2♂ + 1♀), 3-4 (1♂ + 1♀), 5 (1♀), 6 (1♂), 8 (1♂),
9 (1♂ + 1♀), 16 (2♂), 19 (1♂ +
1♀), 22 (1♂), 23-24 (2♂), 25 (1♂), 26-27 (2♂),
30-31 (1♂ + 2♀)
LESSER
SCAUP: 2 (2♂ + 2♀), 3-4 (7), 9 (10), 17 (1♂), 19 (2♂ + 1♀)
BUFFLEHEAD:
3 (4♀), 17 (1♂), 30 (1♀)
COMMON
GOLDENEYE: 2 (3♀), 3 (3♂ + 1♀), 19 (1♂ + 2♀)
HOODED
MERGANSER: 3 (1♀), 4 (2♀), 5 (1♀), 6 (7♀), 7 (4♀), 8-9 (8♀), 10 (7♀),
11-12 (6♀), 15 (1♀), 18 (1♀),
30 (1♀)
COMMON
MERGANSER: 2 (2♂ + 1♀), 7 (3♂)
RUDDY
DUCK: 3 (6)
RING-NECKED
PHEASANT: 1-2, 4, 6, 8-9. 16. 18, 22-25
PIED-BILLED
GREBE: 1-2 (1)
HORNED
GREBE: 1 (1)
GREAT
BLUE HERON: 1-6 (2), 7 (1), 8 (2), 11-12 (1), 14-15 (1), 17-19 (1), 21 (1), 24
(1),
26-27 (1), 29-31 (1)
BALD
EAGLE: 2 (1), 8 (1 ad), 10 (1 ad), 11 (1 im), 14 (1 ad), 15 (1 im), 17 (2 im),
18-19 (1 ad), 22 (2 ad + 1 im),
24-25 (1 ad), 26 (2 ad + 1 im), 30 (1 ad)
SHARP-SHINNED
HAWK: 7 (1 im BY), 10 (1 ad), 16 (1 ad), 25-26 (1 ad BY), 31 (1 ad)
COOPER’S
HAWK: 2 (1 ad), 6 (1 im BY), 10-12 (1 ad), 25 (1 ad)
RED-TAILED
HAWK: 1 (1), 2 (2), 3 (1), 4 (2), 5-6 (1), 8 (1), 9 (2), 10-12 (1), 14 (1), 15
(2),
16-17 (1), 18 (2), 19 (3),
21-22 (1), 23-25 (2), 26 (3), 27 (1), 29-31 (2)
AMERICAN
COOT: 1 (16), 2 (18), 3 (16), 4 (15), 5 (18), 6-7 (15), 8 (16), 9 (15), 10
(17),
11-12 (12), 14 (10), 15-16
(11), 17 (12), 18 (9), 19 (13), 21 (13), 22 (12), 23 (11),
24-27 (13), 29 (15), 30 (16),
31 (27)
FRANKLIN’S
GULL: 3 (1)
RING-BILLED
GULL: 7 (1), 22 (1), 25 (1)
EURASIAN
COLLARED-DOVE: 18 (1)
MOURNING
DOVE: 11 (1 BY), 12 (2), 17 (1 BY), 19, 25 (2 BY + 1), 26 (1), 29 (2),
30 (1
BY)
BELTED
KINGFISHER: 2 (1), 6 (1), 15 (1), 26 (1)
RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKER: 1, 4-11, 13-15, 18-19, 21-22, 24, 30
DOWNY
WOODPECKER: 1-2, 4, 6-19, 21, 23-31
HAIRY
WOODPECKER: 2, 5, 8, 15-16, 18-19, 21, 23-26
NORTHERN
FLICKER (Yellow-shafted): 3 (1)
falcon
sp: 3 (1), 23 (1)
BLUE
JAY: 2-5, 7-15, 17-19, 21-25, 27-31
AMERICAN
CROW: 1-9, 11-12, 14-16, 18, 21-27, 29-31
BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEE: 1-19, 21-31
WHITE-BREASTED
NUTHATCH: 1, 3-7, 9, 11-12, 19, 21-24, 30
BROWN
CREEPER: 4 (1)
EASTERN
BLUEBIRD: 1 (7), 6 (5), 16 (4), 24 (4)
AMERICAN
ROBIN: 2 (7 BY), 3 (3), 8 (1 BY), 12 (1), 14 (2 BY), 15-16 (1 BY), 17 (2 BY),
19, 24 (~30 BY), 25
(15+ BY), 26 (77+ BY), 27 (4+ BY), 28 (14+ BY), 29 (1)
EUROPEAN
STARLING: 2-3, 7-9, 11-12, 14-15, 17-19, 21, 25-29, 31
AMERICAN
TREE SPARROW: 1-12, 14-19, 21-31
SONG
SPARROW: 4 (1), 6
SWAMP
SPARROW: 1 (1), 31 (1)
HARRIS’S
SPARROW: 3 (1), 6 (1 BY), 7 (1), 9 (1 BY)
DARK-EYED
JUNCO (Slate-colored): 1-19, 21-31
NORTHERN
CARDINAL: 1-19, 21-31
RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRD: 9 (3)
HOUSE
FINCH: 1, 3, 5-19, 21-31
AMERICAN
GOLDFINCH: 1 (50+), 3-12, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30
HOUSE
SPARROW: 1-19, 21-31
Unless indicated otherwise, the
White-tailed Deer were antlerless. The
yearlings were just about the same size as the adults. The Least Weasel
was in Winter plumage (all white), the first I've ever seen in this
condition.
MAMMALIAN
LEAST
WEASEL: 11 (1)
AMERICAN
MINK: 4 (1)
WHITE-TAILED
DEER: 6 (1), 9-10 (2), 11 (1), 14 (3 BY), 16 (5), 18 (3), 22-23 (1 BY),
24 (1 +
1 BY), 25 (1), 27 (1
BY), 29 (3 BY), 30 (2 BY + 1♂ BY + 2), 31 (3 + 5 BY)
FOX
SQUIRREL: 1-19, 22-31
MUSKRAT:
1 (6), 3 (1), 4 (3), 5 (1), 7 (1), 8 (2), 11 (1), 15 (1), 18-19 (1), 26 (3), 29
(2),
30 (1), 31 (2)
EASTERN
COTTONTAIL: 3, 6-7, 14, 17, 28, 31-31
REPTILIAN
RED-EARED
SLIDER: 10 (1)
I was really surprised to find two amphibian species this month.
AMPHIBIAN
BOREAL
CHORUS FROG: 23 (1)
NORTHERN
LEOPARD FROG: 11 (1)
LEPIDOPTERA
WOOLLY
BEAR (Isabella Tiger Moth): 10 (1)
No comments:
Post a Comment