Monday, January 4, 2016

Jan 2, 2016: Wolf's December 2015 Wildlife Report

 
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.

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)
Wolf. Oesterreich

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