Back yard bird numbers are good

by JOHN KARRIGAN

I had some very serious family health issues to deal with the last couple of months and did not get a June column written. Things are now going much better. Thank you for your understanding.

June and July are, as usual, slow months for birding, but very pleasant for walking around anyway. Most birds and critters are busy raising young instead of migrating, building nests, finding mates, or other spring activities. Of course shore birds that nest way, way up north are already migrating back through Minnesota, but only once that I know of, several years ago, has a southern migrating shore bird, a Sandpiper, stopped at Powderhorn in July. Most of the migrating shore birds (in Minnesota) are passing though the prairie pothole country in the western part of the state.

As I often do, when traveling to South Dakota for family matters, I try to get some bird and nature watching done for physical and mental health purposes. Along with the usual suspects for western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota were Coots and Yellow-breasted Chats. Coots are common in the Twin Cities area, with hundreds or thousands on larger lakes and the Mississippi River, and few on Powderhorn during spring migration. But they are always silent and of course without babies during the spring. It turns out they have a variety of trumpeting, rattling and other very strange noises. And their babies are so ugly they are cute. I call the babies cootlings (sort of like ducklings or goslings). Of course, I just made up that name.

The Yellow-breasted Chats were in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in far western Minnesota. Chats are a handsome bird, the largest member of the woodland warbler family and not normally anywhere in the state except a tiny part of the southeast corner.

On a somewhat related note, far western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota are a lot closer to a flood situation than the drought situation we are in here.
Back to the neighborhood. There are still very few songbirds or small birds in the park. A few Goldfinches, Eastern Phoebes, Chipping Sparrows, Mourning Doves, and once in a while, Robins, Blue Jays and Cardinals. The lake is very low (and some would say disgusting looking) but the Mallards and Wood Ducks seem to be fine. The big blended Canada Goose family has left, as they usually do, in late July, and a few other Canada Geese remain.

A Black-crowned Night Heron has been on the island a few evenings and one, sometimes two, Great Blue Herons make somewhat regular island and lakeshore visits, but Heron numbers are way down compared to some years.
From a handful to many Chimney Swifts are over the park most evenings. I think the numbers depend on the insect types and numbers.

The most exciting and dependable late July park birding, at least for me, has been the Cooper's Hawk family. It is a family of four. The young are as big as the adults and can usually be found in a medium to large tree around the lake, or south of the lake, making noise and waiting for a parent to bring food. The noise is a squeaky descending whistle (kleeer according to the Sibley Guide to Birds). If a parent is with the young, it leaves just before the other parent arrives. At least that is what I think I am seeing. Once you locate them, you may see three hawks within a few feet of each other for a few minutes; then the whole process may move to another tree. I assume the nest is in or near the southwest corner of the park, where there has been a nest in the past.

Some people think the Cooper's Hawks are responsible for lower numbers of birds in the park. The hawks have some small effect, but I think it is a minor piece of a big complex environmental, habitat, climate and who-knows-what-else problem.

Speaking of problems, one of the largest elm trees in the park is now marked for removal. And in my block alone, one elm has been removed this year, and so far, three others, including the only one in front of the house, are going to be removed.

While park bird numbers seem down, the backyard numbers are good, with adult and immature Cardinals, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Robins, English Sparrows, Starlings, Grackles, Downy Woodpeckers, and Crows, along with adult Mourning Doves, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Rock Pigeons. A rare visit by an immature Baltimore Oriole on July 29 was unexpected. After that, I cleaned and refilled the Oriole feeder hoping for a repeat of a short burst of Oriole visits we had a couple of years ago.

Other yard observations: As I walked past the mass marigold planting, the slight movement of a dark splotch on one of the stems caught my eye. On further examination, I determined it was a Cicada emerging from its shell. Along that sidewalk, I had earlier found several empty Cicada shells. Also in the yard, for the last week or so, a young Peter Cottontail (or is it Bugs Bunny?) has been nibbling on the grass and the young leaves of some garden delicacies.

I want to thank the premier Powderhorn peace activist and park walker for sending me the New York Times editorial of June 19 about the National Audubon Society 40-year study on "Common Birds in Decline." This study was featured in the June 15 issues of the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press and of course in the new Audubon magazine (July/August issue). The numbers are staggering and very troubling. I will try to cover this report in the future.

A couple of astral observations: I watched the space shuttle and the space station pass by together on June 19 and 20, after they separated on the recent shuttle mission. It was easy to see with the naked eye. Also, I saw a great shooting star while looking at the full moon on July 30. (There will be a total eclipse of the moon on August 28 and another one on February 21, 2008.)
So far, it's been a great summer for sitting or walking in the park or neighborhood. I hope you are enjoying it.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of the Southside