2002
Birdathon Species List – 4/27/01
American Coot
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Kestral
American Robin
American Widgeon
Bank Swallow*
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black Vulture
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black-throated Green Warbler**
Blue Jay
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-winged Teal
Blue Winged Warbler**
Bob White*
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Carolina Chicadee
Carolina Wren
Chipping Sparrow
Chimney Swift
Common Flicker
Common Grackle
Common Yellow-throat Warbler**
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird*
Eastern Screech-owl**
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet*
Gray Catbird
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron*
Hairy Woodpecker
Hermit Thrush
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Kildeer
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Nashville Warbler**
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Oriole*
Orange Crowned Warbler**
Palm Warbler*
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Merganzer*
Red-eyed Vireo*
Red-headed Woodpecker*
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Dove
Rose-breasted Grosbeak**
Ross’s Goose**
Rough-winged Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet*
Ruby-throated Hummingbird*
Rufous-sided Towhee
Sand-hill Crane**
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper*
Swainson’s Thrush*
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Wild Turkey
Wood Duck
Wood Thrush*
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-rumped Warbler
This
year’s Birdathon will be remembered as the wettest on record. In spite of that we did see a whopping 88
species. Looking at the list you will
note a dearth of ducks and a nice selection of warblers – the opposite of last
years list. Last year we had the
birdathon on the 9th of April – 2 ½ weeks earlier. That period represents the difference
between the duck and the warbler migrations.
The most unusual sighting this year was a Ross’s Goose seen by Rod Goforth on the pond at Perrin Park in Jeffersonville. This goose was not only out of sync with his brethren, but way off track. He is the smallest and rarest of North American geese, and winters almost exclusively in the Central Valley of California. We can only guess that he was blown here by the recent storms from the West.
The
rains held off until noon at Muscatatuck.
This allowed us to get the bulk of our list before getting soaked. The afternoons are traditionally a process
of a seeing a bird here and there while trying to find the specific bird you know
is around. This year Roger and I
slogged from Muscatatuck to Louisville trying to find a Red-tailed Hawk, an
American Coot, a Kingbird and a Pileated Woodpecker. While we picked up another dozen species - including a very soggy
Red-tailed - the Coot, Kingbird, and Pileated eluded us. We gave up at dusk and headed to the
Birders’ Banquet at Chris Lang’s house.
Dick Maxwell was already there and had bagged our old Coot at Community
Park in New Albany- it figures. Jean
Maxwell was in Chicago and called in our only gull of the day – a
Ringed-bill. We were fairly dried out
and eyeing the remaining slices of pizza before Rod showed up. He strutted in with his Ross’s Goose, our
Pileated and Kingbird, and a few other prizes, unaware of how close he came to
losing his dinner. Mick Edelen brought
home our first Screech Owl, and finally, Rose Stevens reported in with a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – the only woodpecker we hadn’t seen.
It
was a great day. Thanks for your
pledges. Next year, come along.
David
Coyte