A rare Burrowing Owl sighting east of the Missouri River led to a few quick photos before a Western Kingbird chased the little predator into cover.
Migrating flocks of Black Terns have moved on or disbanded into local feeding and nesting marshes.
Spotted Sandpipers were one of the later arrivals of locally nesting shorebirds.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been active during the past week at Paul’s feeding station.
This distinguished-looking White Pelican with a breeding crest on the top of its bill was feeding with a flock of 7, with many flocks scattered across the Missouri Coteau as nesting is in full swing at island nesting colonies.
Sunday’s surprise was a large flock of Ruddy Turnstones as they made a rare Great Plains migration stopover on their way to the high Arctic to nest.
Often encountered along coastal areas during fall, winter, and early spring, only rarely do colorful Ruddy Turnstones grace prairie wetlands in the mid-continent zone.
During a bumper year for Dunlin sightings in south-central North Dakota, Paul was lucky enough to observe Dunlins on 2 different continents, just 2 days apart – on May 18 and 20!
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Just as I was beginning to check a familiar fenceline for Bobolinks, Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Eastern and Western Kingbirds, and Western Meadowlarks, it didn’t seem realistic at first to see a Burrowing Owl perched on a fence post, but suddenly, there was one of the unique little owls looking back at me. This was not only the first Burrowing Owl I’ve seen east of the Missouri River in decades, it was also the first one I’ve found at Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge! How exciting to observe the impressive prairie owl and to have the chance to take a few photographs before a Western Kingbird began diving aggressively to make the owl fly to a little mound where it may have usurped a burrow from a ground squirrel.
I have a historic understanding of Burrowing Owls in the region, having led a 3-year field study of Burrowing Owls and hawks with a team of biologists in a 1,000 square mile study area in central North Dakota. The rarity of these small owls east of the Missouri River today appears to be connected to the increased water content in the ground since a super-wet winter in the late ‘90s, which turned many marshes into lakes, and also caused populations of Burrowing Owls, Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Lark Buntings, and some other birds to shift farther west where the ground is drier, and that hasn’t changed much since the turn of the century.
Back to Long Lake Refuge: Up to the point when the Burrowing Owl materialized I was hoping to find another rare shorebird during migration or an off-base songbird, but the Burrowing Owl was certainly a thrill. Continuing my refuge drive, farther along prairie fenceline I observed and photographed a few Bobolinks and a Western Meadowlark, and lakeside there were many White Pelicans, Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Black Terns, Common Terns, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Pintails, and more. But it was the pheasants that produced the most energy in the area. For many miles surrounding the refuge, Ring-necked Pheasants were showing prominently, and spending some time with a group of pheasants proved to be most fruitful.
I have long been hoping to photograph a cock pheasant crowing, although photographing 2 males fighting would be almost as high on my list. I have photographed each of these behaviors once before, but I was overdue for another opportunity, and would you believe that 1 cocky pheasant provided both photo challenges within a span of a couple minutes? Indeed, it was a stroke of luck, but at the same time I was prepared and anticipated that something might happen when I saw the colorful male attending 4 females with a second male in sight just 60 feet away. To see the resulting photos and get the story behind the photographs, you can refer to the Bird Photography feature in this issue of The Birding Wire – it was quite a surprising and rewarding opportunity!
Along my prairie drive to Long Lake Refuge, I stopped at my favorite Chestnut-sided Longspur grassland and indeed, a few males were actively singing and performing flight displays. There were also 3 Swainson’s Hawks and 3 Red-tailed Hawks along the way, and at one of the nests I’ve been monitoring a female Ferruginous Hawk was shading her nest that probably contained large downy nestlings now. Oh, and there were 2 Turkey Vultures plying the light wind a couple miles from the refuge too.
That Morning
Actually, Thursday was quite a special day, starting with my morning visit to Melody’s Grove, even though I didn’t expect much action. The previous day was essentially a goose egg for songbirds, but Thursday morning had a few nice surprises, starting with a few Cedar Waxwings that apparently arrived as a flock. Male Yellow Warblers were active near the treetops as I positioned myself at a familiar photo location. Gray Catbirds were singing during breaks among the vocal House Wrens, while male and female Orchard Orioles and Least Flycatchers were busy foraging.
A female American Redstart appeared as my interest began to wane, but the real excitement followed when a warbler-sized bird with a yellow underside worked its way through the green wall of leaves just above ground – not a Mourning Warbler, or was it? I finally had a chance to photograph the bird when it hesitated on an open perch in the shadows, which was just what I needed to positively identify it as a female Mourning Warbler – the first I’ve ever seen, and obviously, the first for The Grove and my ‘first of state’ female Mourning Warbler. To add a little more credence to that I.D., a male Mourning Warbler appeared, seeming to be following the female. Ah, another nice Mourning Warbler, and in fact, a pair!
Alas, it appears that morning was the last hurrah for warbler migration season, as Melody’s Grove and other warbler hotspots, including my yard, essentially have become devoid of warblers after May 29th. I continued to check for any potential of a late warbler fallout, which has happened into the first days of June some years ago, but by the end of the fourth week of May, warblers are arriving at their nesting range to the north – all except a few Yellow Warblers that will nest in this area.
It’s Hummingbird Time!
The first hummingbird to stop at my nectar feeder appeared Friday morning, a female that sipped sugar-water nectar a few times. I believe there was more than one female hummer visiting throughout the day, sometimes only checking for bugs that dared to land or crawl onto the feeders. But it seemed the female hummers continued their migration overnight when none appeared Saturday morning. However, shortly after noon a male Ruby-throat appeared and fed, returning periodically throughout the daylight hours; and it seemed like the same male continued making periodic feeding visits Sunday too. And better yet, toward sunset the male was joined by a female that was very thirsty for sweet sugar-water. A female visited again Monday, but no males were present – obviously, the hummingbirds are en transit to nesting areas beyond my neighborhood.
Friday was a busy morning for non-feeder birds near my feeding station, including the appearance of a Least Flycatcher, a Chipping Sparrow, and a male Yellow Warbler, along with a single visit by a male Baltimore Oriole, and frequent jelly visits by male and female Orchard Orioles, Gray Catbirds, House Finches, and American Robins. No Baltimore Orioles were evident Saturday, but an identifiable ‘yellow-orange’ and black male made regular visits Sunday, and the other jelly bellies continued too.
Sunday afternoon, I extended my usual shorebird checks 5 miles farther north, and boy did that pay off. At the edge of the deepest lake in the region – Carlson Lake – a resting, drinking, bathing, preening, feeding flock of about 35 Ruddy Turnstones was mostly crowded together on a little peninsula that jutted into the southeast corner of the big lake. Frankly, it was the most unlikely location I could imagine to see these usually coastal or tundra birds during their migration through the center of North America.
This was the second Ruddy Turnstone flock that I encountered as the colorful shorebirds made a Dakota stopover this spring, with the initial flock stopping on May 15th. Considering I thought that most, if not all of the larger shorebirds had already passed, the turnstones were another unexpected thrill that made Sunday extra-special. But that’s not all; among the turnstones was a lone Sanderling, molting in new rufous plumage on its head and neck to reveal its singular identity. Usually limited to coastal areas, this was the first Sanderling I’ve encountered in the Great Plains, to be sure; and like the turnstones, the Sanderling was headed to the high Arctic for the brief nesting season.
Last week, when I referred to the birds I observed in Portugal during mid-May, I overlooked the chance to share that I observed Dunlins during a Tuesday afternoon outing in northernmost Portugal – after seeing the same species Sunday in North America (North Dakota). That is, I observed the same species on 2 different continents within just 2 days’ time – pretty kool. I would also add that rarely have I seen Dunlins in this state, but this year they were somewhat common, with fairly large flocks of about 35 on hand at times during mid-May.
As I finish writing this editorial on June 1st, looking back, May was something of a birding whirlwind, with so many exciting birds encountered, including many that I’ve only seen a precious few times before during spring migration. I was fortunate to have opportunities to photograph several of the rarer birds, and that’s always a doubly exciting aspect of birding. Throughout June, continue to enjoy the action in your yard, at your feeders, at local hotspots and favorite birding sites, and I encourage you to look beyond the norm too – there are probably new hotspots for you to seek out nearby. Enjoy your June birding opportunities and avian encounters!
Article and Photos by Paul Konrad
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