Jan. 15 - Jan. 21

 This week, at work, I was assigned to check our parks. This typically involves picking up trash in parking lots and along the trails. This allowed me to go birding at some of our parks that I don't typically visit often. I submitted checklists from six of our thirteen county parks and was surprised to find that Rock Bluff provided one of the best checklists of the day. Other parks I visited included Eddyville Sand Prairie, Sycamore Natural Area, Devol Wildlife Area, Garrison Rock Resource Management Unit, and Gray Eagle Wildlife Reserve. I also made a quick stop in the bird blind at Pioneer Ridge Nature Area.

It was nice to be able to utilize the areas that I help manage. Our parks yielded 22 species and some fun photography opportunities.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) from the Pioneer Ridge bird blind.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) flushing a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) from the feeder.

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) mid-flight.

My species list for the week included:

1. Canada Goose
2. Mallard
3. Rock Pigeon (invasive)
4. Ring-billed Gull
5. Herring Gull
6. Bald Eagle
7. American Crow
8. Dark-eyed Junco
9. Red-bellied Woodpecker
10. Downy Woodpecker
11. Blue Jay
12. Black-capped Chickadee
13. Tufted Titmouse
14. White-breasted Nuthatch
15. European Starling (invasive)
16. Northern Flicker
17. House Sparrow (invasive)
18. American Tree Sparrow
19. Northern Cardinal
20. Pileated Woodpecker
21. American Goldfinch
22. White-throated Sparrow

This coming week the Iowa county conservation board system will be attending their annual conference, Winterfest, in Iowa City. I'm planning to take my binoculars and camera with me and go birding in some areas that I've never been to before. I'm also hoping to meet some other nature nerds that I can share adventures in the outdoors with. 

Jan. 8 - Jan. 14

A perfect week! This week I was able to bird in some form every day. Whether after work, during work, or an entire Saturday morning, I was finally able to make myself record birds every day. Technically I bird every day anyway, but I only count it if I submit a list on eBird. Recording every day typically leads to lists growing, and this week was no exception. I was able to pick up a Ross's Goose below the hydro while looking for a reported Barnacle Goose. That puts my life list at 246 species!

While birding along the river on Saturday I was also able to meet another photographer. His name is David Yunker, from Ohio, and he was in town to photograph the Bald Eagles. David told me that he's been coming to Ottumwa to photograph the eagles for a couple of years now. I'm glad that our little corner of the world keeps him coming back and I wish him luck in his photography adventures! David sells prints of his photos on Etsy if anyone would like to check them out! It's always great to meet other people that enjoy the gift of wildlife while out birding.

I was also able to capture some images this week. I photographed an American Tree Sparrow and Northern Flicker in the park a few blocks from my home, a Common Goldeneye below the hydro, and more Trumpeter Swans in a corn field while checking my dads bobcat trap. Unfortunately I forgot my camera the day that I spotted the Ross's Goose.

American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)

Male Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Male Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) in an Iowa cornfield.

I recorded a total of 32 species this week and they are as follows:

1. House Sparrow (invasive)
2. Mourning Dove
3. Bald Eagle
4. Red-headed Woodpecker
5. Downy Woodpecker
6. American Crow
7. Black-capped Chickadee
8. Tufted Titmouse
9. White-breasted Nuthatch
10. American Robin
11. House Finch
12. White-throated Sparrow
13. Red-bellied Woodpecker
14. Blue Jay
15. American Tree Sparrow
16. Dark-eyed Junco
17. Northern Cardinal
18. Canada Goose
19. Mallard
20. Canvasback
21. Hooded Merganser
22. Rock Pigeon
23. Ring-billed Gull
24. Pileated Woodpecker
25. Cooper's Hawk
26. Ross's Goose
27. Common Goldeneye
28. Belted Kingfisher
29. Song Sparrow
30. Northern Flicker
31. Cedar Waxwing
32. Cackling Goose

My highlight this week was being able to include multiple of our county parks in my counts. I was able to bird at Sycamore Wildlife Area, Pioneer Ridge Nature Area, and Garrison Rock Resource Management Unit. Utilizing public lands and increasing awareness of them is one way to get people more interested in the wildlife around where they live. Meeting David was another highlight, as I was able to point out some species that I had been watching that morning and help him find some species he may not necessarily have noticed.

Next week I plan to try filling in some of the species that I've been missing for my year list so far and birding in some areas that I don't typically go to. I look forward to sharing more adventures soon!

Jan. 1 - Jan. 7

 The first week of the year! A great week to start birding again. I birded at home and at below the hydro-electric plant in town along the Des Moines River this week, totaling 18 species. I'd been looking below the hydro every day, when we'd drive over the bridge for work, for different waterfowl to be there but was only seeing Canada Geese and Mallards from the road. Then I'd talk myself out of stopping on my way home to take a closer look.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) on the rocks.

Lone male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

On Friday, after work, I decided to finally stop and take a closer look at what was swimming beneath the bridge. I was still only seeing Canada Geese, Mallards, and a ton of Rock Pigeons. After watching a couple of Bald Eagles for a little while and hoping that some new waterfowl species would show up, I decided to head home.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) looking over a large flock of Rock Pigeons (Columba livia).

As I was heading up the bank towards my car, I noticed a smaller duck wading with a pair of Mallards. This small duck kept diving which peaked my interest because Mallards are dabbling ducks and only submerge their heads to feed. This let me know that it was for sure a new species. After many bad, but identifiable photos, I determined the smaller duck to be a female Common Goldeneye and began checking the groups of Mallards more carefully. Doing this revealed that there was a male/female pair of Canvasbacks across the river that I had missed as well.

Female Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)

Male Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)

I completed my checklist, hopped in my car, crossed the bridge, and got some good photos of the Canvasbacks while the light was still good. They may be some of my best and favorite waterfowl photos that I've taken. I'm glad that I stopped to double check myself before calling it quits.

Male Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) swimming away from me.

Male Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) side view

Below are the species that I recorded this week:

1. Canada Goose
2. Red-bellied Woodpecker
3. Downy Woodpecker
4. Blue Jay
5. American Crow
6. Black-capped Chickadee
7. White-breasted Nuthatch
8. House Sparrow (invasive)
9. House Finch
10. Dark-eyed Junco
11. White-throated Sparrow
12. Northern Cardinal
13. Mallard
14. Canvasback
15. Common Goldeneye
16. Rock Pigeon
17. Bald Eagle
18. Belted Kingfisher

I also learned this week that Kirtland's Warblers are no longer listed as endangered! According to the IUCN Red List, their populations were re-assessed in August of 2020 and their status has been lowered to near threatened. I found this news in an Arbor Day Foundation newsletter article. Thanks to conservation efforts, this species has been able to rebound from only 167 breeding pairs in the 60's and 70's to an estimated 4500-5000 individuals in 2020. Exciting news in the world of conservation!

Dec. 25 - Dec. 31

 This week I birded around the Pioneer Ridge Nature Area located South of Ottumwa, IA and Lake Wapello State Park. I got to go out three days and saw a total of 28 species. I was also able to witness a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) sliding down a pond bank, just behind our nature center, to the ice below. It was likely going to fish beneath the ice, but it saw me across the pond and fled back up the hill. This was the first otter that I've ever seen in the wild and, of course, it's the day I didn't bring my camera. I was able to take some pictures on my phone of the slide and some of the otters tracks in the snow along the trails.

Where the otter slid down the pond bank.

Otter tracks in the snow.

Below is a list of the bird species that I observed:

1. White-throated Sparrow
2. Dark-eyed Junco
3. American Tree Sparrow
4. American Robin
5. White-breasted Nuthatch
6. Tufted Titmouse
7. Black-capped Chickadee
8. Pileated Woodpecker
9. Downy Woodpecker
10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
11. Song Sparrow
12. American Crow
13. Red-headed Woodpecker
14. Northern Cardinal
15. American Goldfinch
16. Purple Finch (lifer 245)
17. Eastern Bluebird
18. Brown Creeper
19. Blue Jay
20. Northern Flicker
21. Hairy Woodpecker
22. Bald Eagle
23. Ring-billed Gull
24. Common Goldeneye
25. Mallard
26. Trumpeter Swan
27. Canada Goose
28. Cackling Goose

My highlight was all of the Trumpeter Swans at Lake Wapello State Park. I counted a total of 144 with more likely in the area. They were wading in an open area of the lake with about 200 Canada Geese, 50 Cackling Geese, 22 Mallards, and a few Common Goldeneyes. This was the most swans I've ever seen in one place and reminded me a little of seeing the Sandhill Cranes migrating through Nebraska in past years.

Lone Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator).

Small group of swans displaying mature and immature plumage.

Beginning Again

A few years ago I decided to take a break from the Birding Big Life blog to pursue other blogging interests that I had. Unfortunately, those blogs couldn't keep my interest the way that this one has. I plan on bringing back the Birding Big Life blog in the beginning of 2023 but it won't be quite the same as it was in the past.

For starters, it will no longer take place mainly in Kansas. This is because I completed my degree in wildlife ecology and management at Kansas State University and am now working in Iowa for the Wapello County Conservation Board  as a conservation technician. The birds that I write about most often will likely be different than those that I wrote about in Kansas because the landscape that I will be birding is different.

My plan for now is to post a weekly summary of the birds that I have recorded along with the photos that I am able to capture. This will hopefully be an improvement from the past, as my skills and equipment have improved tremendously from using a pocket camera through my binoculars.

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) scanning between verses.

I hope to be more informative in this newer rendition of the blog as to the conservation status of the birds that I feature and some of the ways in which we can help them. I will also be providing updates on projects that I have going on working with birds.

Lastly, I will be highlighting the places that I go birding more than I used to. I believe that the best way to help wildlife is to get out and experience it. By getting to know wildlife more deeply we can understand more what it need from us. So I hope to get more people out using their public lands to view wildlife.

Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) resting on the bridge at Lake Darling State Park.

So, please join me once again as I live my Birding Big Life.

Year-End-Review

2018 has been an amazing year in birding for me. I really got to see the effects of the studying that I have done and all of the tips that I have gotten from people much more experienced than me. I submitted a total of 255 checklists, documenting 179 species across seven states. 100 of these species are new to my life list, with 73 being added to my Kansas list alone.

I photographed 43 species. My highlight photo is between the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) displaying when I was near the nest, or the Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) that landed in the tree right above me.

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) landed right above me and sat
still long enough for me to snap a photo.

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) displaying as I neared the nest.

My best photo of the year, voted on by my Twitter followers, was the Great Blue Heron through the sunflowers, a photo that I am calling Sunflower Heron.

Sunflower Heron (Ardea herodias).

I am ending the year strong with the Manhattan, KS Christmas Bird Count and bird banding with Dr. Alice Boyle on Konza Prairie. The birds were a bit slow for the count this year, but we were able to find a group of Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) in a small tree-line. Our few days of banding produced the first Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) caught for this project on Konza Prairie and helped me to see how much I learned while helping last year as well.

I hope that everyone has had as great of a year in birding as I have and that next year will be even greater for us all. I plan to post even more next year, as I take Ornithology during my spring semester.

Sunday Summary: November 12-November 18, 2018

It has been a while since I have posted a Sunday Summary, or anything else on this blog for that matter. I apologize for the long break, but I have been very busy with classes and haven't been able to get out and do much birding to report to you all. Luckily, Kansas State gives a whole week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, which will allow me to catch up on some much needed birding and blogging.

Since my last Sunday Summary, I have added four birds to my Riley County list, bringing my total to 112 species observed. New species are as follows: Golden-Crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa), Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), and Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens). The Snow Goose also added t my life list, bringing that total to 190 species. I have again reached my pre-winter goal, and will be setting my new goal to 125 species in Riley County before winter.

My most observed species this week was the Snow Goose with 100 individuals observed. I was lucky enough to spot this group as they flew in their nice V above me just when I arrived at Fancy Creek this afternoon. It was nice to finally see this species while conducting a bird count.

There is no picture of the week this week. With the leaves having fallen and the cold weather species moved in, it is becoming harder and harder to spot birds that I am able to get good pictures of. Most of the species that I observe are in dense clusters of Eastern Red Cedar trees, making it almost impossible to tell that there is even a bird in the picture sometimes.

My highlight of the week is between getting to observe the Golden-crowned Kinglets and seeing a group of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) getting a drink from the puddle of a melting icicle under a picnic shelter. The Golden-crowned Kinglets always make my day when I see them because they are such tiny little birds that seem to have so much energy. The Cedar Waxwings were the largest group of this species that I have observed in Kansas at one time and it was great to see them taking advantage of the melting ice pooling in the shelter.

I would like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. To get rid of that feeling in your gut after the big meal, may I suggest taking a nice peaceful birding walk. Who knows, maybe you'll spot a Wild Turkey.

Also, if you would like to read more from me with a focus less on birding and more on nature as a whole, check out my new blog Journals of a Naturalist at https://journalsofanaturalist.blogspot.com/.