March Bird Sightings at Fermilab

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March, 2022 Bird Sightings at Fermilab

There were not a large number of waterfowl around the Lab today, but diversity remains good. Found in various lakes and ponds around the lab were Canada Geese, Mute Swans (pair on M.Ring Lake), Wood Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallards, Redheads (most plentiful species today), Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, a Hooded Merganser, Common Mergansers and a Red-breasted Merganser (again in Casey's Pond). The two best birds of the morning were a Horned Grebe (Main Ring Lake) and a Winter Wren (Big Woods) both firsts of the year. A Red-tailed Hawk was sitting on a nest in the Buffalo Savannah. All three Osprey's nests are know accounted for, at least partially. Nest 1 had one Osprey on the nest, Nest 2 also had one Osprey on the nest, while Nest 3 had both Ospreys present. Reconstruction was being conducted on all three nests. Other highlights were American Coots, a Pied-billed Grebe, Sandhill Cranes (Main Ring), a Turkey Vulture, a Barred Owl, an American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebes and Golden-crowned Kinglets. As a last note, all the expected woodpeckers were extremely active in all woodlots visited this morning. Wally also added the first swallow of the year, a Tree Swallow, as well as a Red-breasted Nuthatch and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Dave

My first day back in the lab in over a year was a great kick-off to a return to monitoring. Lake Logo had a large float of American Coot and a beaver. The north end of Main Ring Lake was covered in ducks with hundreds of Ring-necked Duck joined by Redhead, Canvasback, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Greater White-fronted Goose, Lesser Scaup and a single Greater Scaup. A pair of Mute Swans have stuck around for a few days. A pair of Sandhill Crane stood in the cattails on the west shoreline. A Ruddy Duck was found on Lake Law, Northern Shovelers were found on AE Sea, and a pair of Red-breasted Merganser continue on Casey's Pond. Besides the waterfowl, other great finds were an adult and an immature Bald Eagle flying overhead, A woodcock was found in the sparrow hedge, as were Purple Finch, Fox Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow. A Northern Shrike was found in the center of the Main Ring, and a Horned Lark was found on Inner-ring Road. I located the previously reported adult Osprey, on the pole adjacent to nest 1. One last neat note; two Kestrel nests were observed, the one on in the nest box on North Eola and one in a natural tree cavity near the security office. Glenn - Donna added Double-crested Cormorant (Casey's Pond) and Northern Harrier (Eola) also during the third week. Dave

Weather was not great but bearable for some birding in the light rain for Denis and me. The biggest news of the morning was the return of the first Osprey for the year. This tied the previous earliest record for the return of an Osprey to the Lab. It is most likely a Nest 1 bird since it was very close to Nest 1 when we spotted it. Waterfowl continue to be the most prevalent family of birds in the Lab with: Canada Geese, Mute Swans (pr), Wood Ducks, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Redheads (small number), Ring-necked Ducks (most numerous species again), Bufflehead, a Hooded Merganser and Common Mergansers. Other highlights included American Coot, Sandhill Cranes, a Great Blue Heron, a Northern Harrier, Eastern Bluebirds and Eastern Meadowlarks. Dave

The bird of the morning was a late Northern Shrike found in the Garden Club. A close runner-up for the bird of the day was a triplet of Red-breasted Mergansers (2 males and 1 female). Other waterfowl included Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser and Common Merganser. A Red-tailed Hawk appeared to be down in the grass on some prey, when a resident pair of red tails spotted the intruder and quickly chased it off. Additional highlights included: American Coots, Sandhill Cranes, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Barred Owl, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Fox Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks. Denis, in the Lab for other business, added a Northern Harrier and Horned Larks. Dave

This morning was a typical March waterfowl search. Those found included Canada Goose, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser and Common Merganser. The bird(s) of the day were a pair of Barred Owls. Another interesting observation was watching an American Kestrel, apparently defending his nest box area, repeatedly dive bombing a Red-tailed Hawk until the hawk left the area. Other highlight birds found during the morning were: American Coots, a pair of Sandhill Cranes in the Village (the male was practicing its breeding dance), an adult Bald Eagle (perched in the Main Ring), a Great Horned Owl, a Hairy Woodpecker, Horned Larks, Song Sparrows, a Fox Sparrow and Common Grackles. Dave

Wally tallied a nice list of waterfowl for the first week of March. Included on his list were Greater White-fronted, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Wood Duck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser and Common Merganser. Other highlights in a week where Wally, admittedly, didn't get out much, included American Kestrel, Horned Lark, Eastern Bluebird and the first Common Grackles of the year. Dave

My first trip to the Lab in quite some time was quite interesting. Waterfowl were quite diverse, but I missed the variety of geese found last week by Wally and Donna. Waterfowl found included: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser and Common Merganser. My favorite birds of the morning were a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a, first of the year and right on schedule, Eastern Meadowlark. Other birds of mention were an American Coot, Bald Eagles (1-adult and 1-immature), a pair of Great Horned Owls, an American Kestrel and Eastern Bluebirds. Donna also added some first-of-the-year Wood Ducks. Dave