Tue 15 May 2007
Hi there!
We are going to partake in an event to claim
Winnebago County
as the
birdiest county
in the interior of the USA. We have some strong competition such as Texas...but hey! it will be loads of fun anyway! The
Bioblitz
on Saturday should help with the species count too.
Our goal is to amass over 150 species. If anyone would like to join us in this fun bird search, send an e-mail to veery@birdfreak.com. If you are birding anywhere in Winnebago County on May 18th, 19th, or 20th, please post or e-mail your sightings. We don't want to miss any!
Also, does anyone know of a good place to find shorebirds in
Winnebago County?
May 15th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Jenny,
Not only isn't there any currently good shorebird habitat, there really isn't much habitat at all in the county. In spring, we try to find farm puddles (fluddles) that form after a period of rain. Those attract shorebirds temporarily as they migrate through, depending on the depth of the water and the amount of mud flat exposed. I did not find much of that on May 5, and it hasn't really rained much since then. Perhaps the pond near the north side of Rosecrance facility might have a few along the edges, or the far east end of Olson Lake at Rock Cut. In the Pecatonica area, there are sometimes some tringas visible from Blair Road just west of where it departs from Best Road. Depends a lot on water level there. Otherwise, if you can find some shallow oxbows out there in the Pecatonica drainage, they might have some mudflats.
Good luck. Barbara and I will be at the IOS annual meeting in Galena this weekend, so we won't be able to participate in the bioblitz.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Follow up to shorebird spot:
Today, I found 8 Least Sandpipers and a Solitary Sandpiper in a storm water retention pond behind the Hucks on Perryville north of Riverside. There is a blacktop road that connects Perryville and McFarland. The pond is on the south side of the blacktop, on the East side of the Hucks.
May 15th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Thanks for the information, we hope to find at least a couple of species of shorebirds.
We will be sure to check those areas, thanks again!
May 20th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
41species of birds heard & seen on Sat. May 19th Bird Hike at Pec. F. P.-Canada Geese-Wild Turkey-SandHill Crane-G.Blue Heron-Red Tail Hawk-Mourning Dove-Chimney Swift-Ruby-Throated Humminhbird-Red-Bellied Wood Pecker-Downy Woodpecker-Eastern Phoebe-Great Crested Flycatcher-E. Wood Peewee-Red-Eyed Vireo-Blue Jay-A. Crow-N.Rough-Winged Swallow-Black-Capped Chickadee-White-Breasted Nuthatch-House Wren-Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher-E. Bluebird-Swainson's Thrush-Wood Thrush- A. Robin-Gray Catbird-European Starling-Yellow Warbler-Blackburnian Warbler-A. Redstart-Common Yellowthroat-E. Towhee-Chipping Sparrows-Field Sparrow-Song Sparrow-N. Cardinal-Indigo Bunting-Redwing Blackbird-Common Grackle-Brownheaded Cowbird- House Sparrow-American Gold Finch.Maybe this can add a few to the count.
May 21st, 2007 at 8:04 am
Thank you so much for all of your sightings Bluebird!