Sunday, March 12, 2017

March 4, 2017: Wolf's February 2017 Wildlife Report




Red-tailed Hawks are a rather common sight at the Park.  This one is an immature (note the striped tail).  The pair that have nested in the Park have established a new nest just west of the Park, along the drainage that empties into Pond G. (Wolf. Oesterreich, 2/7/17)
A total of 63 avian species was recorded this month, ranking this month as the highest February among 20 years of records.  This total is 15 species more than last month and 23 more than February 2016.  February 2013 with 53 species was the former high total, while February 2001 with 17 species remains as the lowest.

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 2 Snow Geese on the 6th may set a new extreme early Spring record (former record set on 13 Feb 2003 at Hallett’s Quarry). Other possible new extreme early Spring records include the following: 1 Ross’s Goose on the 5th (6th Mar 2005 at AHHP), 1♀ American Wigeon on the 13th (19 Feb 1983 at Story Co.). 2♂ + 1♀ Redheads on the 1st (16 Feb 2005 at AHHP), 2 pair of Lesser Scaups on the 1st (17 Feb 2013 at AHHP), 1♂ Bufflehead on the 1st (1 Mar 1981 at Hickory Grove Park), 1♀ Hooded Merganser on the 3rd (18 Feb 2013 at AHHP), 1 Pied-billed Grebe on the 16th (18 Feb 2013 at AHHP), 1 American Woodcock on the 20th (7 Mar 1983 at Ames), and 4+ Brewer’s Blackbirds on the 22nd (7 Mar 2012 at AHHP).  The 110 Trumpeter Swans on the 11th set a new high count record.

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, FY=front yard).  The order follows the 57th Supplement (2016) to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds and the 16th Supplement to the 7th Edition (1998).

AVIAN
     GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE: 2-3 (1), 9 (10), 10 (2), 11 (1), 13 (48), 16 (103+),
          17 (161+), 18 (1), 19 (102+), 20 (16), 21 (160+), 22 (142+), 23 (1), 25 (200+), 26 (300+),
          27
     SNOW GOOSE: 6 (2w), 19 (120+ wb), 20 (150+ wb), 22 (5w + 1b), 25 (150+ wb)
     ROSS’S GOOSE: 5-6 (1w), 13 (1w), 20 (1w), 21 (2w), 22 (4w)
     CACKLING GOOSE: 1, 2 (40+), 3-13, 14 (1), 17 (13+), 18 (3), 22 (4+), 25 (4), 27 (15)
     CANADA GOOSE: 1-28
     TRUMPETER SWAN: 2 (32), 3 (71), 4 (96), 5 (92), 6 (13), 7 (11), 8 (78), 9 (10), 10 (39),
          11 (110), 12 (89), 15 (2), 18 (13), 19 (26), 20 (22)
     WOOD DUCK: 20-21 (1♂), 27 (1♂ + 1♀)
     GADWALL: 5 (1♂ + 1♀), 6 (3♂), 16 (1♂), 20 (2♂ + 1♀), 21 (7♂ + 1♀), 23 (15), 25 (16+),
          26 (80+), 27 (43+), 28 (12)
     AMERICAN WIGEON: 13 (1♀), 21 (2♂), 25, 26 (2♂ + 1♀), 27 (4♂ + 3♀), 28 (1♂ + 1♀)
     MALLARD: 1-23, 25, 26 (400+), 27-28
     NORTHERN SHOVELER: 20 (5♂ + 3♀), 26 (4♂ + 1♀), 27 (3♂)
     NORTHERN PINTAIL: 6 (1♂ + 1♀), 13 (48), 14 (8), 16 (15), 17 (121+), 18 (5♂ + 2♀),
          20 (21♂ + 12♀), 21 (10♂ + 5♀), 22 (3♂ + 1♀), 25 (40+), 26 (11♂ + 5♀)
     GREEN-WINGED TEAL: 2 (1♂), 20 (2♂), 21 (7♂ + 1♀), 22 (3♂), 23 (9), 25, 26 (1♂),
          27-28 (2♂)
     CANVASBACK: 23 (1), 25 (6)
     REDHEAD: 1-4 (2♂ + 1♀), 5-18 (1♀), 20 (2♀), 21 (2♂ + 3♀), 22 (2♂ + 1♀), 25 (1)
     RING-NECKED DUCK: 11 (2♂), 12 (1♂), 17 (2♂), 20 (3♂), 21 (79♂ + 20♀), 22 (16♂ + 2♀),
          25 (2♂), 26 (9♂), 27 (61♂ + 5♀), 28 (75♂ + 16♀)
     GREATER SCAUP: 1-15 (1♂)
     LESSER SCAUP: 1-2 (2♂ + 2♀), 3-7 (2♂ + 3♀), 8-9 (2♂ + 2♀), 10-16 (2♂ + 3♀),
          17-18 (2♂), 19 (2♂ + 1♀), 20 (28), 23 (1♂), 25 (11), 26 (2♂), 27 (14♂ + 7♀),
          28 (14♂ + 3♀)
     BUFFLEHEAD: 1-15 (1♂), 16 (2♂), 18 (1♂ + 1♀), 19 (2♂ + 1♀), 21 (2♂ + 1♀), 25 (3),
          26 (2-3)
     COMMON GOLDENEYE: 18 (5♂ + 2♀), 20 (12♂ + 3♀), 21 (10♂ + 3♀), 27 (2♂ + 3♀)
     HOODED MERGANSER: 3-4 (1♀), 6-15 (1♀), 16 (1♂ + 1♀), 18 (5♂ + 2♀), 19 (2♂ + 2♀),
          20 (3♂ + 3♀), 21 (2♂ + 2♀), 22 (2♂ + 1♀), 25 (2♂ + 1♀), 26 (1♂ + 1♀),
          27-28 (3♂ + 1♀)
     COMMON MERGANSER: 8-9 (1♂), 13 (2♂), 18 (2♂ + 2♀), 20 (7♂ + 5♀), 22 (1♂ + 1♀)
     RING-NECKED PHEASANT: 7 (1♂), 9 (1♂), 18, 19 (1♂), 22 (2)
     PIED-BILLED GREBE: 16 (1), 20 (1), 28 (2)
     EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE: 16 (1), 18-19 (1), 20 (3), 21 (1), 28 (1)
     MOURNING DOVE: 2 (1), 4 (4 BY), 10-12 (1), 15 (2), 18-19 (1), 20 (5 BY), 21 (2),
          24 (2 BY), 25 (3 BY), 26 (2 BY)
     AMERICAN COOT: 20 (1), 26 (1)
     KILLDEER: 19 (1), 20 (2), 21-22 (1), 27-28 (1)
     AMERICAN WOODCOCK: 20 (1)
     RING-BILLED GULL: 17 (7), 19 (46), 20 (26), 21 (2), 22 (14), 23 (1), 25 (1), 26 (2), 27 (25+),
          28 (28)        
     GREAT BLUE HERON: 28 (1)
     BALD EAGLE: 3 (1 ad + 2 im), 4 (1 ad + 1 im), 5 (1 ad + 2 im), 6 (1 ad), 10 (1 ad),
          12 (1 ad + 3 im), 13-14 (1 ad), 16 (1 ad), 17 (2 ad + 1 im), 18 (1 ad), 19 (2 ad + 2 im),
          20 (2 ad + 1 im), 22 (1 ad), 25-27 (1 ad)
     SHARP-SHINNED HAWK: 26 (1 im BY)
     COOPER’S HAWK: 19 (1 ad BY), 26 (1 ad)
     RED-TAILED HAWK: 2 (2), 3 (3), 4 (2), 5 (1), 7 (1), 8-9 (3), 10 (1 + 1 im dark morph
          Harlan”s), 11 (1), 15 (1), 16-18 (2), 19-20 (1), 25-26 (1), 27 (2)
     BELTED KINGFISHER: 10 (1), 27 (1)
     RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER: 17-19, 25-28
     DOWNY WOODPECKER: 1, 4-12, 15-16, 18-20, 23, 25-28
     HAIRY WOODPECKER: 5 (1), 17, 19-20, 26 (1), 28
     NORTHERN FLICKER (Yellow-shafted): 3 (1)
     AMERICAN KESTREL: 5 (1♂), 9-10 (1♂), 12 (1♂), 23 (1)
     BLUE JAY: 2, 5, 9, 11-12, 20, 26
     AMERICAN CROW: 1-2, 4-12, 15-21, 23-28
     BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE: 1-28
     WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH: 4-5, 9, 11-12, 15, 17-19, 21-22
     EASTERN BLUEBIRD: 17 (2), 19, 25, 26 (1)
     AMERICAN ROBIN: 4 (20+), 8 (5 + 25+ BY), 9 (1), 11 (85+), 12 (3), 15 (5+), 16-23, 25-28
     EUROPEAN STARLING: 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10-13, 16, 19-23, 25-28
     CEDAR WAXWING: 4 (50+), 5 (17), 15 (1), 19 (13 BY), 20 (30 BY)
     HOUSE SPARROW: 1-28
     EURASIAN TREE SPARROW: 15 (1♂ BY)
     HOUSE FINCH: 1-2, 4-5, 7-28
     AMERICAN GOLDFINCH: 10 (1 BY), 20 (1), 25
     AMERICAN TREE SPARROW: 1-3, 5-7, 9-14, 16-21, 23-28
     SONG SPARROW: 20 (2), 21 (1), 25-26 (1), 27 (2)
     WHITE-THROATED SPARROW: 9 (1 BY), 19 (1 BY)
     WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW: 9 (1 BY)
     DARK-EYED JUNCO (Slate-colored): 1-28
     NORTHERN CARDINAL: 1-28
     RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD: 17 (1♂ BY), 18 (226+), 19 (1♂ BY), 20-22, 25-28
     RUSTY BLACKBIRD: 27 (2♂), 28 (1♂)
     BREWER’S BLACKBIRD: 22 (4+)
     COMMON GRACKLE: 18 (1), 22, 28

Unless indicated otherwise, the White-tailed Deer were antlerless. 

MAMMALIAN
     Bat sp.: 22 (1)
     WHITE-TAILED DEER: 2 (7), 3 (14 + 2♂), 4 (1 BY), 6 (10), 7 (15+), 8 (12+), 9 (1♂ + 20+),
          10 (1♂ + 22+), 11 (4), 15 (3), 16 (4), 18 (10), 19 (2), 20 (5 + 1♂), 21-22 (2), 25 (2),
          26 (6 BY), 27 (8)
     FOX SQUIRREL: 4-5, 7, 10-12, 17-21, 24-28
     MUSKRAT: 17 (1)
     EASTERN COTTONTAIL: 4-6, 9, 11, 18, 20-22, 24-28

REPTILIAN
     NORTHERN PAINTED TURTLE: 19 (9), 21 (8)
     RED-EARED SLIDER: 19 (1), 21 (1)

Wolf. Oesterreich

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