Lockwood Luxuries

In hot pursuit of a Northern Shrike spotted by Charley Burwick, Lisa Berger, and David Ringer last weekend, I bee lined to a largely agricultural area north of Lockwood on both Monday and Friday this week. Although the Monday trip did not result in the NSHR, I was not disappointed.

A light dusting of snow in the area made Monday a day for Longspurs. I ran into 3 mixed flocks of Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs. With snow these little guys are a little easier to find, but locating them in a picture is still very difficult. I shot at least 20 photos and came out with only one that clearly identifies the species.
On the way home from Lockwood on Monday, I decided to stop by a mudflat area in the Bois D'Arc Conservation Area to check for late shorebirds. I found these two Least Sandpipers hanging out with the regular Killdeer and occasional Wilson's Snipe found during Ozark winters. After running a few errands on Friday, I realized that I had a window of opportunity to dash out to Lockwood once again. I called Charley and he was up for another search of the Lockwood area. Not long after leaving the main highway to the region, we saw a flock of 80 Lapland Longspurs scattered across a field. Shortly thereafter, 40 Brewer's Blackbirds were spotted sharing a tree with a Red-tailed Hawk. I was surprised when I entered my observation of these Brewer's Blackbird on e-bird, the sighting required confirmation by a reviewer. I saw flocks of them on both days, and they are truly winter regulars in the Lockwood area. I was intriqued by a MoBird post this week by Larry Herbert of Joplin. He said that of the 10 or so Northern Shrikes that he has seen in his lifetime, 8 have been associated with brush piles, and that is true of this Lockwood shrike. The second brush pile from the left that this particular shrike inhabited is clearly visible on Google maps. It must be a fairly recent picture.
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And, On this day, the Northern Shrike was right where he was supposed to be, on the second brush pile. One year ago, on December 8, I saw my first Northern Shrike, but it was not in a brush pile nor was it as cooperative as this one was. All the key field marks are visible in the photos. Take a look!
It would have been a wonderful 2 hours of birding if it had ended there. But one mile south of the Northern Shrike, we were delighted to spot a Prairie Falcon zipping low down the road in front of the car. We were lucky enough to observe the restless bird briefly as it sat on a fence post, and then we flushed it to another fence row and I got a great swing by look at it as it darted for cover. Although this isn't my photo, it certainly is a picture etched in my memory. Although I believe I had a very brief glance at the bird on Monday, this look would go down as my first Missouri Prairie Falcon. Just after a look like the one below, the bird hung a sharp left and I clearly saw the dark wingpits. Check! Got it!

Photo by Doug Backlund at http://pie.midcoat.net/dougback/North%20Cave%20Hills.htm

Since I had another committment at 4:00, we headed for home. The drive home was largely uneventful except for a nice look at a Black Vulture soaring over the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Some days, like this Friday, the great birding boils down to a couple hours in the field. Guess that is proof that anything can happen the instant you slip out that front door!

There's Gold in That Prairie!

My longspur search started last fall when my son indicated that he would be in Missouri for the holidays. There were a few birds left in Missouri that would be lifers for him, and it would be nice to find them while he was in Missouri.
When he was a young birder, we spent most of our Missouri birding time in the forests and edge areas of the Ozarks, rarely venturing out to the prairies just an hour or two west of our home. That is precisely the reason that some of the gaps in his Missouri list exist.In December, while birders gathered to begin the Taney County Christmas Bird Count, Jeff Nichols of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society in Iowa mentioned that he had been to Golden Prairie and had spotted longspurs in a burned off section of the grasslands. GOAS birder Charley suggested that we bird the agricultural fields around Lockwood to find the birds. For whatever reason, I thought the birds would be a slam dunk, and when my son arrived for the holidays, we searched around Lockwood instead of bee-lining to Golden Prairie. That was a mistake.
I continued to keep my ears and eyes open, thinking that the small birds were more ubiquitous than I eventually figured out. I birded my home area destination of Palmetto several times, drove to Riverlands for gulls, but hoped to find them there. One month of weekend searches passed, and still no longspurs.Finally, I talked my friend Marvin into heading west to the original December longspur site at Golden Prairie. He took all of the quality bird pictures on this post. We had a difficult time locating the prairie as no signs exist on the main roads south and west of Golden City. After finding large numbers of various sparrows, Harris's, White-crowned, Fox, Field, Song, and Swamp, we passed a microwave tower and arrived at Golden Prairie. We circled the entire tract of land, observing many more sparrows, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, and Horned Larks, but no longspurs.We returned to the micr0wave tower road where I caught a glimpse of a small bird with white outer tail feathers flying out of the gravel and into the former soybean field across the road from the tower. Although it briefly perched on a branch of a weed at the edge of the field, it disappeared into the barren field. We slowly edged down the road when I caught a glimpse of movement 100 yards away. I quickly set the scope up and "bingo", Lapland Longspurs. Their various plumage patterns gave their identity away immediately. Some of the males were coming into breeding plumage, while others were more well-camouflaged individuals.
Restlessly, the entire flock took to the air with rattly calls and chaotic patterns, eventually moving much further out into the field. I circled them to try to flush them back toward the road. For a brief moment, I was successful. I hope that Marvin got a picture or two. My photo attempts were very marginal.. Since I knew where to look, I could see the chestnut nape of one of the birds in the picture, but that's about it. Can you see it? Ok, I know, but it's there, I promise.
The gold was in the bag. I got my 384th North American lifer, the Lapland Longspur.

We birded the backroads back to Springfield, picking up 3 Loggerhead Shrikes for the day, a single American Wigeon among Gadwalls, and many more American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks. Forty one species in all, plus the satisfaction that comes with finding another life bird.

Top Ten Nature Moments of 2008

Once again it is with gratitude and a desire to share the joy of the great outdoors that I post my top ten nature moments of 2008.

As a retired biology teacher, I know that natural awareness and environmental responsibility is taught in the classroom, but the teachings simply do not take hold without awe inspiring, first hand encounters with the natural world and all of its beauty. We who long for our next day out of doors have developed a heartfelt gratitude for the gift of Nature. It is from the core of this "gratitude within" that we are called into action to educate others, and to protect, defend, and preserve our biosphere.

So yes, this is a self-indulgent episode in blogging, but I still prefer to think of it as a testimony to the power of Nature to transform lives and to instill, as Rachel Carson coined, "a sense of wonder" in all of us.

My Top Ten Nature Moments of 2008

10. Fellows Lake Feathers! In November, I was forced to study the subtle difference between Western Grebes and Clark's Grebes as a tempting intergrade bird appeared on Fellows Lake. I ultimately decided it was a Western Grebe, but only after 2-3 days of mulling it over in my mind. This place is always special. It is the location of my life Clay-colored Sparrow, Northern Shrike, and Pacific Loon discoveries in past years. Last, but surely not least, it is the main piece of the pie in my section of the Springfield Christmas Bird Count circle, where I learned that "every bird counts."

9. Environmental Education Excellence!: Receiving a $26,000 grant from the Together Green project to set up the first annual Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE). Our plan is to select 16 of the finest young environmental leaders in Southwest Missouri high schools, to have them converge in a week long residential adventure and to put them to work near the Arkansas border in an effort to restore habitat for Swainson's Warbler, Bachman's Sparrow and other endangered species of Missouri. Check it our plans at www.greenleadershipacademy.org

8 Bodacious Bois D'Arc Boids! I have underbirded Bois D'Arc Conservation Area. I vow not to do it again this year! In 2008 the area produced stunning views of LeConte's Sparrow, Wilson's Snipes, and American Pipits. A single Dunlin appeared in November. In December, I spotted 2 late Least Sandpipers that stayed for at least 2 weeks.7. Aldrich Avian Adventures! On a comfortable August morning, Marvin and I headed up to the Aldrich arm of Stockton Reservoir in search of Buff-bellied Sandpipers. Although our target species eluded us, we enjoy large numbers of terns and shorebirds, getting soul satisfying views of Western Sandpipers and Least Terns.

6. Lockwood Luxuries! Although I had discovered a Northern Shrike at Fellows Lake last winter, I was again thrilled when birder friends Charley, Lisa, and David found another Northern Shrike in the Lockwood area. I convinced Charley to join me a few days later. We quickly found the cooperative Northern Shrike and added a stealthy Prairie Falcon to my Missouri list. The speedy bird was hard to keep up with, but as I look back, I realize that we were very fortunate to get three looks before it disappeared into the distant prairie.

5. Gustav Gulling! When Hurricane Gustav's landfall path reached into Southwest Missouri, I beelined down to Table Rock Reservoir in seach of Royal, Sooty, or Bridled Terns. Although unsuccessful in my tern quest, I was fortunate to be with one of Missouri's top birders, Joe Eades. He spotted my life Sabine's Gull along a distant shore, and we marveled in its distinctive yin-yang triangular wing pattern.

4. Wetlands Wonders! In September, I journeyed out to Kansas, where I birded Cheyenne Bottoms for a single afternoon. Not only did I add Red-necked Phalarope to my life list, but I photographed grace in action in wading American Avocets and swarming Monarch butterflies. Quite a sight!

3. Big Day Bonanza! An unbelievable 125 species on our May Big Day! Marvin, Charley and I arrived on the Missouri Prairie at sunrise, covered the roads down to the Busiek State Forest glade and Mark Twain National Forest, on to the Palmetto Meadows and urban waters, and finished some 14 hours later at Lake Springfield! This awesome day broke my previous big day record by 20 species!

2. Outer Banks Odyssey! The holidays provided a wonderful opportunity to visit my NC son and daughter-in-law and we all ventured to the the Outer Banks. Besides spending 4 days on the beach and visiting three light houses, I managed to pick up 4 life birds as my son struggled to pick up his 300th NC bird for 2008. Birds that I added to my list were Red-throated Loan, Mute Swan, Surf Scoter, and my favorite, the Purple Sandpipers of Oregon Inlet near Pea Island NWR.

1. Wyoming Wonders! An incredible family trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. It all started when my brother-in-law planned a family reunion there. Fourteen of us converged in Moran Junction, Wyoming, sightseeing our way up to Cooke City, Montana, and back to Moran Junction. The valley of the Lamar provided an amazing wildlife viewing experience that I will never forget. We arrived early in the morning in the valley of the Lamar, shortly after the Slough pack of wolves had taken down a young bull elk. Lying on the banks of the river, the carcass became the hub of biological activity for at least two days. The wolves gorged themselves, magpies and coyotes waiting on the sideline for a clearing in the mob. As the wolves dispersed, a Grizzly Bear barreled down the hill at an incredible speed. At one point, it confronted a member of the wolf pack. There was no doubting who the boss was in that valley as the bear chased the wolf out of sight. In the distance, huge herds of American Bison grazed in valley. At one point the distance between us and a bull buffalo became too close for comfort, however. We barely got into the car as the behemoth passed within inches of our vehicle. Amazing mammals were joined by Amazing birds on the trips, as Ferruginous Hawks, Prairie Falcons, Peregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Trumpeter Swans, Red-bellied Sapsuckers, and Western Grebes rise up in my memory, but there were more..... many more. It was truly a "once in a lifetime" experience!

So that's another year passed. Wishing you many life birds and many life birding relationships in 2009! Cheers to all!

Visitors from the North Country

After returning to the Ozarks in early November, I was eager to return to old stomping grounds. November ended up being one of the warmest ever recorded in Missouri, so it was pleasant to spend as much time as possible out in the field. Even though the temperature rose into the 60's on November 22, a northern buddy returned to its late fall stopover for the second year in a row. The Lockwood Northern Shrike returned to the exact brush pile and surrounding fields as last year, eager to pose for my birding friend Marvin DeJong's camera.

It was only two years ago that I saw my life Northern Shrike at Fellows Lake, but I've managed to see the species for the past 3 years now. Does this represent a range expansion, or just a short term shift in migration pattern? Seems like most of the range expansion going on around here is toward the north. But, only time will tell with this northern version of shrike. Interestingly, the Northern Shrike that inhabited Whetstone Conservation Area in Fulton County, Missouri, last winter has arrived to occupy the exact same location this year, too.

On another note, how large is a loon's esophagus? Can it swallow a White Bass this size? Marvin DeJong caught this Common Loon with its successful catch on Stockton Reservoir last week. What do you think....... was it a snack for the loon, or did it escape back into the waters of Stockton?

GOAS Field Trip is off to Lockwood and Stockton again in the morning. Wonder what delights await us? Come back to find out!

Shorebirds and Scissor-tails Wash Into Palmetto Meadows

Sometime in the last few weeks, I lost my desire to blog. Not sure what happened except that lots of stuff is going on. The fact that relatively spring-like weather arrives every few days and has kept me out of doors is also a contributing factor.
I have missed several blogging opportunities, however. Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas during spring break was a welcomed respite from cold weather here. I picked up Black and White Warblers, Pine Warblers, many Pine Siskins, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch while there, but managed to miss the Brown-headed Nuthatches that apparently make the mountain their home. Enough of the past.....

Another flood hit the Ozarks this week, so Marvin DeJong and I headed out to Palmetto in search of shorebirds. We were not disappointed as Pectorals, Semipalmalteds, and Yellowlegs, both Greater and Lesser, congregated in the first casual water stop. I had never noticed an orange-legged Yellowlegs before, but found one there.My best shorebird pictures for the day involved Solitary Sandpipers. Guess you saw the one at the beginning of the entry. Here's a couple more of them.
Both Marvin and I celebrated the arrival of two very cooperative Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. We saw three for the day, and also spotted our first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the year. I have posted one of my STFL pictures.It's been a great year for shorebirds in the greater Ozarks area. Charley Burwick spotted 10 Long-billed Curlews a week ago near Lockwood, Missouri. It was the first Long-billed Curlews sighting in Missouri since 1996 and the sighting beat the previous high number set over 100 years ago! Here's a picture of one of the birds he saw on April 3rd.

Long Live Longspurs!

I didn't get enough of my lifer Lapland Longspurs last week, so Charley, Lisa, Marvin, and I set out once more for the Missouri prairies and agricultural areas around Golden City and Lockwood. Of course, the fact that Charley and Lisa had one Prairie Falcon at John Deere Farm and another one at Providence Prairie last Sunday mandated my return to the area ASAP. With today's temperatures in the 70's, it won't be long before the birds return to the north.
Unfortunately, we were unable to relocate the falcons, but we did have a Merlin, many Lapland Longspurs at close range, Harlan's Hawk, Harris's Sparrows, Cackling Geese, Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, and 4 Loggerhead Shrikes. Total species count was 46 for the day.

Again, Marvin DeJong took many great photos on the trip. Here are a couple of our target longspurs posing for the camera.

Blue (Ice) Monday

It's a great early Feeder Watch day here in Missouri, especially since there's nothing better to do. An early morning ice storm has cancelled school and prohibited sane driving for at least a few hours. Seems to be inhibiting the flight of one of my goldfinches this morning, too.

The rest of the photos on this posting are courtesy of Marvin DeJong.
In area birding news, another Prairie Falcon was spotted on Golden Prairie by Charley and Dean on Friday! This is the third Prairie Falcon sighting in 2 weeks for Charley. Even though I've been out to the prairie twice in the same time period. I have yet to spot one........this year or ever....

So, it was tempting to return to the Golden City/Lockwood area Sunday to falcon search one more time before spring, but we opted for a close to home 1/2 day trip to the old standbys, Fellows Lake, Lake Springfield, and the surrounding ponds and lakes of our area.

Our first noteable sighting was this Red-tailed Hawk on Valley Water Mill Road at the Highway 65 interchange. It's finely streaked belly band defined it as an individual among the countless variations of Red-tailed Hawks that we have seen in the past month. The I-44 corridor between Springfield and Tulsa is the winter home for hundreds of Red-tails. On recent trips we have observed variations ranging from Harlan's to dark morph red-tails to very light morph hawks, and everything in between. However, I've yet to see a true Krider's or leucistic red-tail this winter.

At Valley Water Mill we were happy to see 50 or so Green-winged Teal, as they have been scarce this winter. They were joined by Mallards, Gadwalls, and a single Northern Shovelor. Our trip north toward Fellows Lake netted Lesser Scaup on a farm pond. At the horse ranch, a group of courting Eastern Meadowlarks entertained us for a while, while 500+ Red-wings, cowbirds, and grackles twisted and turned in the distance. Orange and white flashes accented the black masses. Six Northern Shovelors sat on the distance pond while Horned Larks scratched dirt near the horses.

We descended into the Sac River valley, where once a Northern Shrike perched and Bald Eagles gathered branches to reinforce their nest. Unfortunately, recent avian work on the eagle nest met with another weather disaster. Part of the nest, hit hard by the ice storm one year ago, has collapsed, most likely in recent strong winds that dropped temperatures 30+ degrees in an hour a week ago. And so, the pair of eagles that has worked on nesting in this area for 5 years, is facing another setback.

Adrenaline surged as we spotted a shrike atop a Honey Locust tree in the same field where the December 8 Northern Shrike perched. As hard as we tried to make it into the former record worthy shrike, we left the area with a single Loggerhead. A comparison of our two Fellows Lake Spillway shrikes reveals the obvious differences in the two species.

North winds forced waterfowl into the coves on the accessible side of Fellows Lake, so we had close up views of about 10 Common Goldeneye. A flock of Lesser Scaup, a single Horned Grebe, 3 Pied-billed Grebes, and a Ring-billed Gull were also seen. A light-morph Red-tail got us excited with the possibility of a Krider's, but in the end we decided that it was just another Red-tail, yet another beautiful variation.We then headed over to McDaniel's Lake, where we scoped about 30 Ring-billed Gulls. We searched unsuccessfully for something different among them. Later a flock of ring bills on Lake Springfield confirmed some movement of gulls into our area.

The trip home was largely uneventful. A single Turkey Vulture certainly cannot be deemed a harbinger of spring, but we in Missouri surely need the elixir. On the Mo-Bird listserv, birders are arguing about the use of three exclamation marks in postings. Yes, we need spring to burst out all over, but the Ground Hog did bask in warm temperatures and sunshine....... The grip of winter is still upon us.

Today, I wish I was in Northern Carolina looking for birds at Mattamuskeet and Alligator River NWR with my son, serving as a second pair of eyes, spotting rarities.

Instead, I sit watching my feeders for something different as surrounding tree limbs sag and break with the weight of accumulated ice.

Harris's Sparrow - Yard Bird

Although fairly easy to find out in the prairie near Golden City and Lockwood, the sighting of a Harris's Sparrow in or around Springfield is certainly uncommon. How convenient then that one showed up at my feeder this morning when the roads are ice-covered and treacherous!

Couldn't resist adding this icy tailed beauty.

Returning on Rufous wings

After a 4 month + hiatus from blogging, I have decided to ease back into the writing groove. I suppose it's safe to say that the blogging groove became a rut for a while, and the simple act of chronicling my outdoor adventures took a back seat to mostly mindless internets activity on Facebook!

The thing I missed most about my blog are the archives. If I wondered about an interesting species or equally interesting sighting date, all I had to do was search the good ole' blog to have an answer appear at my fingertips. I can still do that, but, in taking a break from blogging, I have lost a considerable block of personal birding history.

That being said, I just received a call of a newly reported Selasphorus hummingbird in Ozark. I hope to get over to see it today. I can't help put remember back in 1995 when an Anna's Hummingbird appeared at a feed in the middle of the town of Ozark. As far as I know, it was the last time an Anna's has graced our state. But, it's 10:55 am, here I go!

Success at 11:15! Back home at 11:20! 6 blocks away! A breeding plumage male Rufous! My photos are horrible, but I've sent my friend to take some real photos! In the meantime, here's my best, for what it is worth.

Well, I was going to mention my latest Northern Shrike from November 22. It appears that the same individual seen last November has returned to the exact same spot near Lockwood, MO, this year.

And I intended to feature some of my friend Marvin's loon photos, too. But, I'll save the shrike and loon shots for another day!