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October, 2021 Bird Sightings at Fermilab

Friday, October 29, 2021

Wally provided a very nice list of waterfowl for the last week of October but, as he stated, "Water levels are still very low, so waterfowl are getting more diverse but in low numbers". His waterfowls list included: Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, American Black Duck, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser. Although the trend at this time of year is leaning toward waterfowl highlights, the bird of the week was an early Snow Bunting found on a gravel road inside the Main Ring. Still highlights from other families are still being found around the Lab. Wally's other finds for the last week of October were: Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Lesser Yellowlegs, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Dave

Friday, October 22, 2021

Even though Wally's best represented family of birds during the third week of October was sparrows, most other families produced some striking highlights. The impressive list of sparrows included Field Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Savanna Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow and Swamp Sparrow. Cackling Goose highlighted the waterfowl list followed by Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Mallard and Ruddy Duck. Both Pied-billed Grebes and Horned Grebes (3) were found on Lake Law. The Blackbird family was represented by Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle and, best of all, a flock of Rusty Blackbirds (in the A.E. Sea area). As far as Waders go, Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were found as expected, but the highlight of the week was finding Cattle Egrets (3) following the bison. Other interesting birds included American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Double-crested Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren (another high-quality bird), Eastern Bluebird, Palm Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Dave

Friday, October 15, 2021

Wally's list this week included some birds sighted on the "eBird Big Day" Oct. 9th, with the help of Donna. Waterfowl still dominate the list with Greater White-fronted Goose as the highlight of the list. Others found were: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green- winged Teal and Ruddy Duck. All 5 of the Fermi woodpeckers were found including: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. Raptors, again, were well represented with: Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel. Other sightings from a very impressive middle of October list were: Pied- billed Grebe, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow, House Wren, Winter Wren, Marsh Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, Tennessee Warbler (a stunned bird in the road, apparently struck by a car), Nashville Warbler, and Palm Warbler. Dave

Friday, October 8, 2021

It's that time of year when waterfowl become the dominate family of birds sighted. However, other families are usually represented but more sparingly. Wally's waterfowl list for the first week of October included: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged Teal and Ruddy Duck. Raptors, also later migrants, were also well represented with: Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel. Other notable birds found included: Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Gray Catbird, Eastern Bluebird, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and Palm Warbler. Dave

Friday, October 1, 2021

From Wally's report for the last week of Sept. and into Oct., there appears to be a transition from the early migrants into the later migrants. This is evident from the reduction of shorebirds and warblers to an increase in sparrows and waterfowl. Even though there has been a degradation in the shorebird habitat at A.E. Sea, Wally came up with Killdeer, Pectoral Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs. Warblers found around the Lab included Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Wally didn't mention waterfowl numbers but I'm assuming their numbers are on the increase. Waterfowl found were Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Mallard and Green-winged Teal. Sparrow species increased and included Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and Eastern Towhee (not a sparrow but close). Note - this was the first and only Dark-eyed Junco of the season, thus far. Other interesting birds found during this period were Pied-billed Grebe, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Marsh Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Dave

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