November-December 2003 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

8/9/2019 November-December 2003 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

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Big Bluestem FlyerBig Bluestem Flyer

Volume 39, Number 2 November/December2003

Programs

November 20Royce Bitzer

The Mesopotam ia Marshes of Southern IraqThis present at ion will discuss th e Marshes, th eir

wildlife, ind igenous people, water issues of the Tigris-

Eu phr at es river basin, and th e recent efforts of groups

such as th e Eden Again Pr oject to restore the Marsh es to

th eir former splendor. See Page 2 for more background.Royce is a postdoctora l resear ch associate in th e ISU

Depart ment of En tomology. He ha s been working with

the E den Again P roject to restore th e mar shes of

south ern Iraq.

December 18BBAS Holiday for the Birds and BBAS

Member Picture Show(Note: 7 pm - Story County Conservation Building,

McFarland Park)Brin g:(1) bird feed for th e pa rk (cash accepted); (2) a

few slides or CD-ROM pictu res to sh ar e of your yea rs

activities and (3) party t reat s! Extra goodies will be usedat t he dinner after the Ames Christmas Bird Count .

Field Trips

November 7-9Ri ve r s an d Bl u f fs Fa l l B ir d i ng Fes t i va l , Lansing,

Iowa. Tundra Swans, Bald Eagles, and migrating hawks

an d wa terfowl. Field tr ips in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and

Iowa. Progra ms, speaker s, local attr actions, an d mea ls

together a t local r estau ra nt s. $5/person ($2 age 7-17).

Optional boat trip $13/person. Income beyond expenses

will be used for fut ur e bird conservat ion an d education

activities. For more information, contact Ric or BettyZarwell, P .O. Box 299, Lan sing, IA 52151, 563-538-4991,

prefera bly by e-ma il: zar xzar@sa lama nder .com.

November 15Ye l lo w B a n k s P a r k , R u n n e ll s, a n d R e d R o c k

Wildl i fe Are a . View migrat ing songbirds a nd wa terfowl

along the Des Moines River an d a t La ke Red Rock. Meet

at 8:00 am behind WBU.

December14Say l o r v i ll e Chr i s t m as B i r d Coun t . Contact

Leader: Jim Dinsmore: 292-3152. E-mail:

oldcoot@ias ta te.edu .

December 20Am e s C h r i st m a s B i r d C o u n t . Cont act Leader : Dave

Ed war ds: 292-3790. E-ma il: [email protected] et.

January 3, 2004B o on e C h r i st m a s B i r d C o u n t . Cont act Leader:

Mar k Widr lechn er: 233-1532. E-mail: mpws [email protected].

Page 2 Officers and CommitteesPresidents ColumnThe Mesopotamian Marshes of Southern Iraq

Page 3 Christmas Bird Count InvitationField Trip ReportsImportant Bird Areas Update

Page 4 Young Naturalists CampMortensen Mounds

In This Issue

Newsletter of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society

Page 5 Hawk Watch WeekendBBAS Supports Bird Conservation Area

Page 6 Backyard & Beyond - Karl JungbluthPrairie Winds - Mike Meetz

Page 7 New MembersMembership FormCoupons

Page 8 Boone County 4th Grade Birding

For deta ils about r egular field trips,

cont act J eff Nichols for m ore inform at ion a t

515-795-4176 or jnichols1961@hot ma il.com.

Destinations may vary according to birding condition.

Pr ogram meetings ar e held month ly, September-May on

the th ird Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm , Room

2226 Ve t e r i na r y M ed i c ine Bu i l d i ng , Iowa S t a t e

Un ivers i ty , Ame s , Iowa .

If you would like to meet a nd dine with th e speaker a nd

the BBAS Board before th e month ly meeting, please

confirm space and location with J ohn Pohlma n a t

515-232-6816 or [email protected]


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2 Big Bluestem Flyer November/December 2003

Big Bluestem Audubon SocietyOfficers and Committees

OfficersPresident: John Pohlman 232-6816 [email protected]: Linda Thomas 292-7534 [email protected]: Bruce Ehresman 296-2995 [email protected]: Ed Carbrey 292-2404

Board MembersBreanne Marpe, 432-1231 [email protected]

Jeff

:

Nichols [email protected] Jackson 515-964-0140 [email protected] Oesterreich 515-232-3285 (h) [email protected] Wetrich 956-4299 [email protected]

The mission of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society to

enjoy the observation and study of birds and natural

ecosystems, contribute to their conservation and

restoration, engage in educational activities to benefit

hu m anity, and gain a broader understandin g and deeper

appreciation of the world in w hich w e live.

Committee ChairsArchivist: Hank Zaletel 382-427 [email protected] Co-chairs: Karl and Carmen Jungbluth, 432-5057

weatherbird.opencominc.comConservation Chair: Bruce Ehresman 296-2995

[email protected] Chair: Amy Yoakum, 232-2516

[email protected]

Field Trip Chair: Jeff [email protected] Chair: Al Johnson 233-4831 awindj@aol. comProgram Chair: vacantPublicity Chair: Linda Thomas 292-7534 [email protected] & Electronic Media Co-Chairs:

David Edwards 292-3790 [email protected] Bahrenfus [email protected]

BBAS Web Site:http://www.wyalusing.org/BBAS.htmIowa Bird Sightings Hotline 319-338-9881Wildlife Care Clinic 515-294-4900

Presidents Colum n

Many of you m ay ha ve att ended a bird watching event

in the pa st six month s. Perhaps it wa s the P elican Fest

at Saylorville Lake or t he H awk Watch at Effigy Moun d.

It m ight ha ve been our own Bird-a-th on last May. Did

you n otice the lar ge areas of open a gricultu re land th at

is absen t of wildlife, including birds ? I am su re you

noticed an abun dan ce of birds and oth er wildlife

att ra cted t o the adjoining buffer st rips an d woodedlandscapes. While some of these ar e virgin h abitat s,

man y new wildlife habita ts h ave been added th rough

recent farm conservat ion pr ogra ms.

J ames Dinsm ore, recognized bird aut hority and guest

spea ker a t t he P elican Gala r ecently told one of Iowas

wildlife habita t success stories. In th e ear ly 1980s

pelican s star ted to retu rn t o th e Saylorville Dam a rea

after discovering the newly creat ed nat ur al habita t.

Over the years the pelican population h as grown

dra ma tically, an d this year h e observed thousan ds of

pelican s ar e migrating t hr ough centr al Iowa. This is a

build it a nd th ey will come su ccess st ory for rest oringnatural h abitat .

Wildlife habitat in our sta te is great ly affected by t he

level of conserva tion. H igh levels of cons erva tion a re

greatly impacted by political decisions. The national

League of Conservation Voters (LCV) tracks those

political decisions. LCV primarily evaluates national

laws voted on by Congress impacting conservation. LCV

th en ra nks h ow each politician voted and assigns th em a

score. A high score is good for conservation, a low scoreis bad for conserva tion. For th is scoring visit th e LCV

website, www.lcv.org.

If you value bird wa tching, Iowa h as a un ique political

position and is ripe with opportunities to get close to our

na tional politician s at m eetings and fundr aisers as well

as t hr ough our s tat es ear ly president ial cau cuses.

I en cour age you a ll to get a ctively involved, check your

politicians LCV score, cont act yourelected officials with

youropinion of th e condition of wildlife habita t, a tt end

yourIowa caucus a nd interview political cand idates on

theirconservat ion a genda. Good conservation equals

good habitat that equals good bird watching.John Pohlman

(Continued from Program Ann ouncem ent on first pa ge)

Once the most extensive wetlands in t he Middle Ea st,

the southern Ir aqi marshes covered an area larger th an

the F lorida E verglades. For at least five thousa nd years,

this slowly flowing fresh-water marsh-reed ecosystem at

the confluence of the Tigris and Eu phr ates Rivers was

an oasis for the a rid lands of sout hwest Asia. It was an

Ed en n ot only for its ind igenous people but a lso for

abundant and diverse wildlife, including millions of mi-

grat ory birds that stopped to rest a nd feed in theMarshes during their long flight from Africa to Siberia.

Today, only eight percent of the former ma rsh lands

rema in. Beginn ing in 1991, the form er Ir aqi regime de-

liberat ely destroyed th e Mar shes t o persecute Iraqs

souther n S hia populat ion. This wa nt on destru ction deci-

ma ted t he wildlife and dr ove out t he indigenous people.

By constr ucting an extensive network of levees an d ca-

na ls to divert t he rivers water a round t he Marsh es,

combined with a cam paign of burning, poisoning, an d

bombing, the r egime tu rn ed over 90% of the ar ea int o a

salt-encru sted wast eland within twelve years.

Awaren ess of th e Marshes an d interest in rest oringth em has grown substa ntially over the past t wo years.

Royce Bitzer

The Mesopotamian Marshes of Southe rn Iraq


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November/December 2003 Big Bluestem Flyer 3

More th an 50,000 observers par ticipat e each year in

this int erna tiona l, all-day census of early-winter bird

populations. The results of their efforts are compiled into

the longest run ning dat abase in ornith ology,

represen ting over a centu ry of un broken data on tr ends

of early-winter bird populations a cross t he Americas.

Simply put, th e Chr istmas Bird Count, or "CBC", is

citizen science in action.Fr om beginn ing birder t o seasoned ornithologist, all

are welcome to participat e on a ny Chr istmas Bird

Coun t. Par ticipan ts mu st do their counting within a

designated 15-mile CBC circle on the given count day.

The inclusive dates of the Official Count period are

always December 14th t hr ough Ja nu ar y 5th of each

season. Historically, the Am e s c o u n t is held the first

Sat ur day of th e period, D e c e m b e r 2 0 th is year. The

Say l o r v i ll e coun t will be on the earliest dat e, Sunda y

the 14th . The B o o n e co u n t is scheduled for Sa tur day,

J a n u a r y 3r d .

Count circles ar e divided into specific ar eas in which a

group of 4 or more birders plan th eir meth od of search.

Experienced leaders are r esponsible for each area , and

this is a good place for those unsure of their skills to

learn. Most but not all part icipant s spend th e whole day.

Feeder coun ts ar e also mad e on th e same da y in each

coun t circle. At da ys end , par ticipan ts m eet for su pper

and share stories and bird tallies.You ma y sign-up for a coun t at th e November BBAS

meeting or call th e respective count leaders ind icat ed on

th e first page of this newsletter . Past par ticipant s will

likely be contacted directly by the count leaders.

Pa rticipan ts 18 years of age and u nder can pa rticipat e

for free. All oth ers a re a sked t o pay $5.00 to help

Audubon cover CBC progra m costs (such as dat abase/

web development costs, a nd the publication of the CBC

results summ ary).David Edwards

Sep tem ber 27 , 2003

S n a k e C r e e k M a r s h , L a k i n S lo u g h , a n d B a y s

B r a n c h .

Nine pa rticipan ts enjoyed exploring severa l wind-

blown sites in Boone, Greene, an d P olk Count ies. High-

light s were Long-billed Dowitchers, Wilson's Sn ipe, and

Sora a t Ha rrier Marsh; American Bittern a t Sna ke

Creek Mar sh (but no Nelson's Sha rp-tailed or LeConte's

Spar rows or Yellow Rail); Great Egret at Lakin Slough;

and Caspian Terns at Bays Branch and Saylorville Dam.

Forester's Terns were also present a t Sa ylorville, but wecould not locate th e Common Terns reported ear lier in

the week. We also enjoyed a great lunch at Carm ens

Restaurant in Panora.

Octobe r 4 , 2003

Di ve r s i t y Fa r m s /Sav i ng Our Av ian R es our ce s .

Kay Neu ma n, director of S.O.A.R. led seven BBAS

members on a tour of the new ra ptor reh abilita tion facil-

ity, an ener gy-efficient building constr ucted of recycled

ma terials. Raptors curren tly at th e facility were Great

Horned Owls, Peregrine F alcon, Bald Ea gles, American

Kestrels, Eastern Screech Owl, North ern Harr ier, and a

Kriders Red-tailed H awk. After t he t our, Kay an d her

husban d J on J udson invited us to explore th e surround-

ing fields, restored pr airie, and woodlands. Tha nks, Ka y

an d J on! We next t raveled to Car roll for lu nch. After-ward s, several of us explored the Ca rroll Cemeta ry,

where we scoped a perched Common N ightha wk. At

Swan Lake St at e Par k, we observed 100s of Fran klins

Gulls an d a lone P ied-billed Grebe. We ended the day

with 40 species.Jeff Nichols

Field Trip Reports

Christmas Bird Count Invitation

The Importa nt Bird Areas progra m of Audubon Iowa

recently certified 40 ar eas in Iowa a s IBAs. These were

selected from a bout 180 areas t ha t pr eviously had been

given provisiona l stat us a s IBAs. Generally, for an area

to be cert ified as a n IBA, dat a m ust be collected on

either selected breeding species or concentrations of

migran t birds over at least two years. The 40 IBAs are

only the first of what will probably be more t ha n 100

IBAs in Iowa. Among centr al Iowa area s th at were

certified at this t ime were L e d g e s S t a t e P a r k and

Saylorv i l l e Reservoi r . For more inform ation on th e

IBA program including how you can n ominate n ew area s

for IBA status or a dd data to sites tha t h ave already

been selected, check t he IBA website a t:

www.iowabirds.org/IBAJim Dinsmore

Important Bird Areas Upd ate

Kirsten Munson


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November/December 20034 Big Bluestem Flyer

This summ er I ha d the opportu nity to go to the Youn g

Nat ur alists Camp a t th e Y-Camp n ear Boone. The Bi g

B lu e s t e m C h a p t e r g a v e s e v e r a l a r e a k i d s

s c h o la r s h i p s fo r t h e c a m p , which we all rea lly

appr eciated. We did a lot of inter esting th ings during th e

week we were th ere and a lso learned a lot.

When we first got to camp we passed t he time with

some games th at our coun selor, Mad Dog played with us.

Then we went t o th e pool to take th e swimming test. Thewat er wa s r eally cold so we didnt sw im very long. After

we got ba ck to our cabin we got t o know each oth er a nd

made a contr act of good and ba d th ings to do. Next we

ate dinner (camp food is really pretty good!), then went

to the evening program. Bruce and Marlene Ehresmann

were the spea kers. After t elling us about bat s we went to

th e bat boxes an d wat ched them come out. We coun ted

over 100 th at came out of one house. There ar e about

1000 Little Brown Bat s which sum mer in th e many

camp bat houses. That was an exciting end to day one.

On Tu esday we took a bus t o Don Williams La ke

where we saw th e hack tower and ospreys on th e camer a

system. There were two Ospreys in th e tower th atmorning. Two more had already left th e tower. Then we

went to another p art of the lake an d nett ed bugs. I found

boatm en, striders, dr agon fly an d dam sel fly larva e and

others. Kim Bogenshots also talked to us about wa ter

quality.

After lunch, we set u p a tee-pee th at we would sleep in

th at n ight. Then we went to the climbing tower. It is 40

feet high so I ha d to wear a ha rn ess in case I fell. It was

really hard a nd it took me a long time but I ma de it to

the t op. After t ha t we had d inner a t a campfire. We

roasted hot dogs then m ar shm allows.

That evening Karl Ju ngbluth gave a t alk about birds

and weath er rada r. Sometimes the radar ground clutter

is actu ally flocks of birds. It was a good t alk.

We made a fire in the t ee-pee tha t night t o keep th e

mosquitoes out. We only burned toilet pa per.

Wednesday morning J ason OBrien ta ught u s about

na tu re ma pping. Then we did an orienteering project

where we would get hea dings to move toward u ntil we

foun d a flag an d th en get another head ing etc. unt il we

got to the end . That wa s fun.

After lunch we did the low ropes, which are likebouldering, then we went swimming.

That night we went on a hike in pitch-black darkn ess.

It wa s exciting. We saw glow in th e dark mush rooms

an d Mike, the person in charge of th e Youn g Nat ura list

Camp , called Barr ed Owls. None r esponded t hough.

The next day we went on a canoe trip and p icked up

tra sh on the sand bars. Later we had canoe races on a

pond.

Thur sday night we went with Dick McWilliams to

shock fish at Don Williams La ke. Anoth er camper an d I

caught t he biggest fish, a 15 lb. Carp.

Frida y morning we went on a h ike where Mike got

into stinging nett les. We saw yellow war blers a ndredst art s. After our h ike we tr ied throwing spears with

ata latals. It was really hard.

We had a dan ce that night then went to inspiration

point an d ha d a camp fire. Then we hiked. We stopped

several times an d Mike told us s tories about caring,

respect, honesty, an d r esponsibility. Each t ime we

stopped we lit a candle. We also hear d flying squirrels in

the tr ees on th e hike.Saturday was pack up day. I had a great time at camp and

learned a lot. I also made some new friends.Karl Grotheer

Young Naturalists Cam p - My Nature Camp Expe rienc e

Morten sen Mounds h ad its first -ever seed har vest in

mid-October. Collection include d both gr ass es (little and

big bluestem, Indian) and forbes (yellow prairie cone-

flower , oxeye, Pit cher s sage, stiff goldenr od). These

seeds will be sown in th e empt y spots left by t he ea rlier

rem oval of Maximilian su nflower an d crownvet ch. A

flock of goldfinch ha rvest ed Maximilian sun flower du r-

ing the time these seeds were being collected.

A second sign identifying Mortensen Mounds was con-stru cted by David Edwar ds from m ater ials paid for by

Big Bluestem. It wa s insta lled on the n orth side along

the wa lking tra il. It was needed becaus e, although peo-

ple driving past on th e south side can view the origina l

sign, th ose passing on t he nort h side along the walking

tr ail would as k Wha t is going on her e? N ow th ey will

understand.

Additiona l comments indicating en joyment an d appr e

ciation came from six passer sby this sum mer, giving

support t o the idea th at our Audubon project is continu -

ing to be successful in a dding beaut y and contr ibuting to

learning in our commu nity.Jeanne Edwards

Mortensen Mo unds


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Newsletter Material DeadlinesBecau se we would like t o have th e newsletter to each mem ber before t he first da y of its coverage, th e editor

needs to have mat erial at least t wo weeks before that .

Hence t h e d e a d l in e s f or t h e f u t u r e w i l l b e t h e f ift e e n t h o f D e c e m b e r , F e b r u a r y , a n d Ap r i l .

Please be awa re t ha t editing your offering for length an d style is sometimes n ecessar y.David Edwards, Editor

5November/December 2003 Big Bluestem Flyer

Hawk Watc h Weekend

For th ose who ventur ed to Effigy Moun ds Na tional

Monum ent on t he tr aditional last weekend in Septem-

ber, another memora ble event occurr ed. The 19th An-

nua l Hawk Watch Weekend was, as usual, a great ex-

cuse to get outside and enjoy beautiful northeast ern

Iowa woodlands a nd wa tch migrat ing birds of prey.

Most of th e 1700 plus people (including a contin gent of

BBAS mem bers) who came to see ra ptors winging th eirway south ward , were not disappointed. Clearing skies

and a strong northwest wind made Satur day the better

of the two days to observe migrating raptors, flying

south war d above th e bluffs of th e Mississippi River. A

total of 358 raptors (and vultures) of 11 species were tal-

lied during the weekend. For the first time tha t I can

remember, th e bald eagle was the most num erous spe-

cies, with 72 coun ted; followed by 66 Tur key Vultu res,

62 Broad-winged Hawk s, and 46 Shar p-shinned Hawks.

Oth er species seen included : Coopers, Red-tailed, Red-

shouldered, and Rough-legged H awks, a s well as Ospr ey,

American Kestr el, an d Peregrine Falcon. There also

were man y rapt ors tha t flew by whose identity willnever be known!

Besides watching migrating hawks, there were many

other week end a ctivities for people to enjoy. For exam-

ple, ther e were several present at ions about r apt or iden-

tificat ion a nd life h istory given by our local en viron-

ment al educator extra ordinaire, Mike Ha vlik; while Kay

Neum an n, of Saving Ou r Avian Resources, brought live

ra ptors for presenting an d intera cting with th e public.

People were delighted to see live birds of prey a nd

seemed interested in learning what m akes rapt ors

un ique and wha t ongoing program s exist th at ben efit

raptors. M a r l e n e

E h r e s m a n flitted

about t he crowds in

her Barr ed Owl

costume a nd a s-

sisted delighted

youngsters a s th eydissected owl pel-

lets. Iowa DNR

Wildlife Diversity

Pr ogra m st aff gave

several presenta -

tions featuring

Iowas ra ptors .

Plus, they manned the viewing station where migrating

raptors were tallied and interacted with the m any en-

th usiast ic ha wk watchers who joined them. Large

groups of people also delighted in watching the release of

a nu mber of ra ptors which ha d been capt ur ed at a local

hawk banding station du ring the weekend.Ha wk Watch is coordina ted by Pa m Kester an d co-

sponsored by Up per Audu bon Society, Effigy Mound s

National Monum ent, the Iowa Department of Natura l

Resources Wildlife Diversity Pr ogra m, a nd Nat iona l

Audu bons Upper Mississippi River Cam paign. As Pa m

sa ys, It is powered by t he boun dless ener gy of volun -

teers, and operated on a shoestr ing budget. It is the

boundless energy of the people involved with this event

tha t ma kes it so worthwh ile to attend.Bruce Ehresman

BBAS Supports Bird Conserva tion Area Program

The BBAS Board of Directors recently voted to donat e

$1000 toward th e pur chase of a 913 acre par cel in t he

hear t of the Union H ills Bird Conservat ion Area (BCA).

This acreage is located about six miles south of Clear

Lake in Cerr o Gordo County an d will be an importa nt

addition to one of Iowas premiere shorebird areas. Not

only is this area import an t to migrating shorebirds, but

with its appr oximately 3,000 protected a cres, it provides

valuable nest sites for many grasslan d birds an d water-

birds. Although th e appra ised value of th e lan d is

$480,000, the $1000 tha t BBAS is contributin g toward

the pu rchase ma kes us a recognizable partn er in bird

cons erva tion effort s in Iowa. Oth er Audubon groups of

Iowa will be conta cted to invite th eir pa rticipation in

this acquisition, as well.

There also were severa l other projects tha t t he BBAS

Board opted to fun d. The Board app roved $498 for 12

Audubon Adventu res kits t ha t will be distributed for u se

to a num ber of ap preciat ive local school tea chers. Mat t

Wetrich h as designed a very at tr active poster to promote

BBAS locally, an d he will be awa rded a tota l of $150 to

prin t copies of th e post er for distribu tion. And fina lly,

Kay Neum an n will be awa rded $100 in support of Sav-

ing Our Avian Resources (SOAR), which is a pr ogra m

devoted to ra ptor reh abilita tion, resear ch, an d environ-

mental education. Bruce Ehresman


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6 November/December2003Big Bluestem Flyer

The au tum n tr ans ition ha s tak en place, from Orioles

an d mosqu itoes, to colorful falling leaves, Whit e-

th roated Sparr ows, an d ladybugs. The num ber of Dark -

eyed Ju ncos increases every day, but luckily man y of th e

ladybugs have gone away to hu ddle in th e garage. On

the weekend of October 4 an d 5, th ose Asian lady beetles

filled th e air a round our place, and near ly covered th e

walls of th e house and gar ages. Stepping outside lethu ndr eds into the house, and dozens cam e to lan d on

me. They drove me indoors, a prett y tough thing to do!

The day before th e ladybugs hit, I spent a beaut iful

morning down by the creek. Robins were everywhere,

along with one male Scarlet Tan ager st ill sport ing a few

red feath ers. They were eating wild grapes. Then it was

bath time for Robins, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-

crowned Kinglets, Cedar Waxwings and a huge flock of

grackles. It was a real au dio-visual experience.

On Tuesday, I heard a n interest ing story on Pu blic

Radio, The Birds of the Boreal: Canadian Forest is

Home to Billions of Migra tory Birds. The st ory high-

lighted the beautiful songsters that nest in the borealforest a nd give us th rills dur ing migrat ion. Some of

th ese birds h ave American na mes, like Tennessee War-

bler and P hiladelphia Vireo, an d ma ny ar e declining in

nu mber. The reason? Logging to produce newspaper ,

ma gazines and catalogs, and oil exploration. The story

left m e th inking about my consu mer choices once again.

Do I really need to buy tha t 18-pound Sun day newspa-

per th is week? Maybe Ill go out looking for Wh ite-

thr oated Sparr ows and Winter Wrens instead. The story

is online at: http://www.npr.org/programs/re/

archivesdate/2003/oct/boreal/index.htmlKarl Jungbluth

Pr airie Winds is in the midst of the fall migra tion. I

am crouched in my blind tr ying to ha rvest some of our

local waterfowl before they leave for points south. In the

distan ce the dryer fan in a neighbors grain bin dr ones in

a m onotonous tone. Saint, our Golden Retr iever sits a t

my left, teeth chattering. She is wet but temperatures

this mornin g are in th e high 50s. I cha lk her chat tering

up t o her excitement of being out here. I rea ssur e her by

resting my hand on her head.

The calm wat ers get m e to think ing about some of our

visitors seen th e past couple of days. The wat er plan ta in

gently undulates with the wat er movements; earlier th e

plants supported Sora t hat skittered about t he

vegetat ion. Last week, Bruce Ehresma n released a

rehabilitated Yellow Rail which quickly slipped into the

emergent vegetat ion.

On an earlier walk west a pa ir of meadowlarks

flush ed, flew in sin gle file along th e fence line, an d

without a sound dr opped into a sta nd of Common

Ragweed. The lead bird looked like a western ma king

the follower an easter n.

In th e far n orthwest corner m ulberrys and wild plum

provide refuge for a variety of critters. I caught a motionand a flick of black a nd gr ay. Raising the binocular s I

expected to see a Catbird come into focus but imagine

my sur prise to focus on t he r ight ear of a doe Whitetail

Deer. Ear s were t he only thing visible until she bolted

and headed southwest into standing corn.

The pra irie is alive with the mixing movements of

Ha rr is, Tree, and White-Throated Spar rows. A nu mber

of other LBJs (little brown jobs) rise above the plants

an d sta y in view just long enough to frust rat e my I.D.

at tempts .

Last evening I refreshed the sugar wat er in th e

hu mm ingbird feeder for perh aps t he last t ime. Two days

earlier Linda an d I watched a female ruby-throated

plug itself into t he t ap for a jolt of the liquid rocket

candy. Though pa st t he recommen ded time, we keep our

fueling sta tion open for possible str agglers wh o may

need a boost.

We have not seen a Common Nighth awk since the last

week of September. At tha t time scatt ered groups and

individua ls passed overhea d in th e evening sky with

some of th e birds a t a h eight t ha t binocular s were

needed t o get a positive ID.

On t wo recent occasions wa rblers ha ve tum bled into

our oasis of tr ees and bu shes a s ra in an d wind forced

th ese tra velers out of the sky. The most common of the

group included t he lar ger Yellow Rumps. Both Ruby an d

Yellow-crowned kinglets flittered about the cedar trees.

American Redst art s and Black-and -white Warblers were

relatively abundan t. Then t here were a n umber of the

greenish yellow nondescript individua ls tha t wer e

forever m oving, secreting awa y to rem ain un identified.I awaken from my thoughts to the current moment

an d catch a brown flash coming toward me from across

th e water . A female North ern H ar rier glides low like a

well balanced balsam wood glider, moving with the grace

an d allure of a Sally Rand fan-dan cer. The sa fety of

Microtus spp. foun d in th is prairie ma rsh is now in

question. Mike Meetz

Prairie Winds

The Bac kyard and Beyond


7/8

Big Bluestem FlyerNovember/December 2003 7

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New Members


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Wewelcomenewmembers!

September/October 2003Vol 39 No. 2

Once again, BBAS member s sup ported birding classes for Boone Count y 4th gra ders in their Ou tdoor F ield Day

at t he Ledges State P ark . Jon Bah renfus a nd I met 14 classes over two days in ear ly October, each lasting 25

minut es. The sma ll class sections first learn ed a dozen or so comm on birds, u sing questions to show what they

already kn ew. They then each borr owed one of the binocular s th at were given t o Boone Coun ty Conservation by

BBAS a few years ba ck. The remaining 10 t o 15 minutes were spent looking at birds at our location. The h ighlights

were a Red-headed Woodpecker th at was m aking a good show working t hose trees, a nd t he occasional overflight of

Turk ey Vultu res. The stud ents r otated am ong other topics including forestry, orienteering, water , mamm als,

recycling, stream erosion, and soils.David Edwards

BBAS Servic e - Boone County 4th Grade Birding Classes

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November-December 2003 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society