Recent Local Additions

The last two weeks I have birded my new local patch at the Purdue campus hoping to add to my green list with early spring migrants. In the process, I significantly added to it as a hotspot since I wasn’t really birding it last spring after I moved in nearby.

Double-crested Cormorant

One of the first birds I saw on my first outing there was a lone Double-crested Cormorant high in a snag on an island in the river. These guys are plentiful in the county, but I have not seen very many along the rivers. They usually appear at the water treatment plant or the larger pools at Eagle Marsh.

Pied-billed Grebe

The other FOGY riverfowl was a Pied-billed Grebe. I am not sure how these birds have not evolved into grotesque, portly, flightless gluttons. It seems as though every time I see one it is cramming a fish the size of its head down its throat.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

There were dozens and dozens of Golden-crowned Kinglets in every tree. They were also a new addition to the property for me. I decided to try and catch a photo of the fast little buggers. I only managed one shot, but it turned out okay!

Fox Sparrows

Also checking in for the passerines were more Fox Sparrows than I have ever seen in my life. That is not an exaggeration. There were at least three dozen of them in the brush by the soccer complex, with a great many of them singing.

Fox Sparrow

With as numerous as they were, none would pose for a good photo. Still, this is a bird I have for whatever reason only seen in one previous year’s green list, so it was an exciting time.

Washout

A week later I returned for more list building. The weather had changed significantly from the previous week, with torrential rains breaking just enough for me to bird for an hour or so on Sunday. The downpour was enough to wash out the road, but the birds loved it.

Teal Buddies

The first neat thing that I saw were two ducks in the river. A male Green-winged and a male Blue-winged were hanging out together, following each other around closely with no other ducks nearby. Teal bros stick together, I guess. Both duckies were FOGYs and new birds for the patch.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Here is one of a couple of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers that were working in the arboretum. It was yet another new bird for me at this particular location.

Northern Flicker

Many, many Northern Flickers were also out to represent the woodpeckers, with the species being a FOGY the week before.

With all the new additions my annual green list is sitting at 68 species. I also think I have seen the true potential at Purdue. I birded it intermittently last year but will definitely be spending more time there this spring. It is also less than a mile from my home, which is nice. Speaking of birding close to home, I have finally jumped on the Five Mile Radius (or 5MR) bandwagon.

My Fort Wayne 5MR

Here is my circle, centered on my Fort Wayne home. eBird says I have seen 137 species inside of this five-mile radius. That dates back to my sightings from before I moved last year, but for ease of counting and also to better show what can be seen in the radius, I decided to make mine retroactive. It includes many miles of river, Purdue, Johnny Appleseed Park, Franke Park, Lindenwood Cemetery and Nature Preserve, the water treatment plant, and Deetz Nature Preserve. I also catch the very northern tip of Foster Park to ensure I will be able to get Yellow-throated Warblers! The only thing missing is marsh habitat, but I hope to be able to find at least a few small patches in my future explorations.

Southwestward, to Goose Pond!

I write this entry from a Red Roof Inn on the outskirts of Evansville, Indiana. Work has me making numerous stops all over the state over the course of three days. Today, I found myself pointed southwest, which is pretty easy to do considering Fort Wayne is about as northeast as you can go.

Eurasian Collared Dove

This is not a birding trip. I swear. But at one of my very first stops in the city of Delphi, I found a new state bird in Eurasian Collared Dove foraging in the maple seeds directly above my appointment destination. A good omen!

Two of my next stops were Shelburn and Winslow, small towns serendipitously placed on either end of Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Goose Pond is the real deal. I have been there once before, but that was in February a few years back. Today the sun was shining and the migrants were migrating, so I got out for about an hour to stretch my legs after driving for so long.

Goose Pond is 9,000+ acres of restored wetland habitat in western Greene County that packs such a big ecological punch that it attracts some insane rarities (Spotted Redshank, anyone?) and has actually altered the migration routes for many species that historically didn’t push very far into Indiana.

Black-necked Stilt

The absurdly cool, ludicrously proportioned Black-necked Stilt is one of those birds.

Black-necked Stilt pair

Goose Pond has made these gangly birds common in the southwest corner of the state, and they even breed here, which may be something this pair is getting ready to do. Stilts were my biggest target in visiting Goose Pond, and they did not disappoint as life birds!

Greater Yellowlegs

I was fortunate that this Greater Yellowlegs was around, because the stilts were much more interested in it than in me. They kept chasing it away when it foraged too close to them. They absolutely dwarfed it, too.

Green-winged Teal

While shorebird watching, I had a close encounter of the teal kind. This handsome drake landed right in front of me and gave me the best look at the species that I have ever had.

Swamp Sparrow

All birds at Goose Pond are beautiful, including the little brown jobs. I admit guilt in having sup-par sparrow watching skills. I usually assume every non-Zonitrichia sparrow is a Song Sparrow, but now I am wondering how many Swamp Sparrows I have missed in my life.

Northern Harrier

The weather was perfect for birding today, as evidenced by the blue sky behind this Northern Harrier. It flew right in front of the moon at one point, but my camera would not focus fast enough for a photo.

American White Pelican

I don’t think I will ever get tired of the reaction people give me when I tell them that there are pelicans in Indiana.

Snake

Some other animals were around, too. I don’t know anything about snakes, but Wikipedia tells me this snake butt might belong to a Northern Water Snake. Can anyone corroborate? It was big.

Goose Pond – Unit 10

Goose Pond is broken up into segments divided by (unpaved (sometimes flooded)) county roads. The one that I tromped around in and that seems to be the place to go for the best diversity of birds is Unit 10. The place is so huge you could easily spend a weekend there and still not see it all, so I will be back again the next chance I get.