Spring migration wrap-up

Summer is closing in and the birds are on their territories.  In northwest Iowa, that mean most of the ducks, geese, warblers and shorebirds are gone for now.

However, there are still plenty of birds to see through the area.  According to 1st The Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas (1985-1990), 121 birds were observed during the breeding period in Dickinson County.  During the 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas (2008-2012), almost every block in Dickinson County had 70+ birds recorder and the west end of Spirit Lake had 112.  I don't see a total for Dickinson County, but I assume with numbers like that it had to be close to or better than the first BBA.

The summer season is a great time to watch and photograph birds living life in what they consider their summer home (just like many people in the Iowa Great Lakes area).



2014 TOTALS (as of June 5th):

World: 237
United States: 222
Iowa: 192
Dickinson Co.: 186

Warblers!

Well, the warbler migration finally arrived and I managed to get out on a couple of good days.

Mini-Wakan State Park has been my favorite spot this spring with a total of 19 species of warblers.  It is nice and small, making it easy to stop by quick and check out without having to spend too much time if things are quiet.

Hales Slough and the trails of Kettleson Hogsback have been very productive also.


2014 TOTALS (as of May 12th):

World: 217
United States: 202
Iowa: 171
Dickinson Co.: 162

Things are starting to pick up a bit

The spring migration is starting to pick up a bit over the last week.

Notable new arrivals this week:

White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Black and white Warbler
Palm Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-crowned Night-heron

Green Heron - Elinor Bedell SP

Marbled Godwit
Long-billed Dowitcher
Baird's Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper - Elinor Bedell SP

Broad-wing Hawk (lots at Elinor Bedell SP)
Forster's Tern


While I'm starting to see new species showing up, the numbers are still low and I assume that everything is a little bit delayed this year due to the long winter and seasonally cold weather.  Southern Iowa seems to be looking good, so it should only be a few more days before migration really hits it's stride up here.


YEAR TOTALS (as of 5/3/14):

World: 179
United States: 163
Iowa: 130
Dickinson Co.: 120

Dickinson County Easter Birding

Finally had a beautiful spring day in the lakes areas (low 70's and little to no wind!) so I decided to spend a chunk of it birding around the county.

Started off with a trip around Big Spirit Lake, scoping out the lake in various areas and checking out most of the parks and sloughs.  First highlight of the day was hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants in the northeast corner of the lake (Trickle Slough area).  From there I checked out a couple of areas with little activity but I did spot a Common Loon and Horned Grebe from the boat landing at Hales Slough.

Made a pass through the Spring Run Complex without seeing a whole lot of activity.  The duck and goose migration is more or less finished up and while there are still ducks around, the numbers and variety are far from what was being seen a few weeks ago.

While it is disappointing to see the waterfowl migration coming to an end, that only means that sparrows and shorebirds are just showing up and I saw my first wave of them today around Cayler Prairie and Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve.  First nice find was a small muddy pond a mile or so west of Highway 86, along 210th Street (turn west at Oh Shucks Bait Shop).  I found both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers and a pair of Wilson's Phalaropes.  This little muddy pond looks very like it could be a very good shorebird spot over the next month.

At Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve, I found a singing Field Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark and then found Vesper and Savannah Sparrows along the roads near Cayler Prairie.

Finished the day with 62 species of birds and 5 FOY birds.

YEAR TOTALS (as of 4/20/14):

World: 156
United States: 140
Iowa: 101
Dickinson Co.: 93

Dickinson County Nature Center: Osprey Nest Cam

Earlier today after driving by the nature center, I thought I saw something on the Osprey Nest Platform.  I didn't have time to stop and check it out, so I made a mental note to check the next cam website when I got home.

Sure enough, there was an Osprey on the nest.  Unfortunately it flew off a minute or so later and did not appear to return the rest of the evening, so I don't know if the previous Osprey returned of if a different one was just stopping by to check it out.

Here is a screenshot from earlier today (thanks to Berkley Bedell for catching it):

OSPREY NEST CAM

Dickinson County Nature Center

Spring Migration!

While spring has yet to arrive to the Great Lakes area (as I type this it has been snowing for a few hours), the spring bird migration has arrived!

Last week saw large numbers of geese and ducks arrive on the mostly ice-free small ponds and sloughs throughout Dickinson county and nearby areas.  I saw thousands of Greater White-fronted and Snow Geese eating in fields and flying overhead.  I also saw a lifer Ross's Goose just over the border into Minnesota, about half a mile north of Spirit Lake (lake, not town).

While most of the geese have continued on north, the area is still full of ducks.  Most of the bigger lakes are still iced over, but almost every small prairie lake and pond is ice free and most of them are covered in a wide range of duck species.

In fact, so far for 2014, I'm only missing a few of the commonly seen ducks: (Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, and Greater Scaup).

Shorebirds: Only Killdeer yet this year.

Sparrows: The usual first arrivals (American Tree and Juncos) plus Song and Fox

Blackbirds:  Lots of Red-winged with a scattering of Rusty Blackbirds.  Many Common Grackle also, but no Great-tailed yet.

Birding Hot Spot: "The Grade"

"The Grade" as it is known to local residents, is a short stretch of  County Rd 2 (700th Street) that intersects the north end of Big Spirit Lake and is also essentially the state line between Minnesota and Iowa.

While "The Grade" is probably best known as a great place to fish during the summer months, it is one of my favorite birding spots to check starting in early spring, throughout the summer, and into late fall.

"The Grade" - North Shore of Big Spirit Lake

Starting in early to mid March, the ice around the channel leading out to the main lake starts to open up and attracts early geese and ducks (Common Mergansers and Scaup are frequently seen).  Within a few weeks, Ring-billed Gulls start showing up to feed on small fish that died over the winter and as the ice recedes even more, a wider variety of ducks show up.

By April, the ice is usually gone from the small bay and American Pelicans, Cormorants, and large numbers of American Coot and Northern Shovelers start to arrive.  By early summer, Forster's Terns can be found feeding in the shallow water and it is not unusual to see Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets along the shoreline hunting for food.

During the summer, it is usually crowded with people fishing from shore or the pier, but is still worth checking out.  I've been lucky to catch views of Osprey diving for fish within 50 yards of the road.  You may also get lucky and find a Spotted or Solitary Sandpiper hanging out on the rocks.

"The Grade" has also had it's share of rare birds show up.  For a few years, a Black-headed Gull was an annual fall visitor, a Magnificent Frigatebird spent an afternoon in September of 2009 exploring Spirit Lake and attracted birders from Iowa and Minnesota (hoping to catch it crossing the border into MN), and in 2006, a Brown Pelican spent some time hanging out in the area.

While "The Grade" might not be one of the best places to pad your numbers for the day, it is probably the best spot to stop and catch a view of some lake birds.

Plus, it is only a couple hundred yards away from one of the best birding spots in the area and the next Hot Spot that I'll cover:  Mini-Wakan State Park.