I finally spotted the Willow Flycatcher (year bird number 186) I've been hearing in the bushes behind my house for the last week. And all of a sudden the Grasshopper Sparrows have arrived--I'm hearing them almost constantly in the grassy field where they were absent until yesterday. After some effort, I got a good look at a Grasshopper Sparrow (year bird number 187) calling from the top of a small tree.
This morning I drove two hours south to Lincoln State Park. This is the only place in Indiana that I'm aware of where Mississippi Kites are reliable. The park represents the northernmost limit of their range in this part of the country. Why they don't extend farther north, where the habitat is exactly the same, I don't know. The kites have been breeding in the park yearly since the early 1990s.
While hiking on a trail through the woods to reach a pond where the kites have been seen, I found GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER (Indiana state bird number 205, year bird number 182) and Summer Tanager (year bird number 183).
No luck at the pond, but when I got back to my car in the parking lot, a MISSISSIPPI KITE (Indiana state bird number 206, year bird number 184) was "kiting" for insects overhead. I was able to watch it for about five minutes as it caught insects on the wing with its talons and eat them in mid-air. After the kite flew out of sight, I drove over to another pond where kites have been seen, and saw another Mississippi Kite attacking a Broad-winged Hawk (year bird number 185). In all, I saw four or five kites, although I may have seen individual birds more than once.
My streak for finding new Indiana state birds continues.
While fishing along a willow-lined creek, I saw a Bell's Vireo (year bird number 181). It was carrying a small green caterpillar in its bill and was obviously agitated by my presence. After a short time, a second bird showed up, this one also carrying a caterpillar and upset with me being there. This indicated that they had a nest in the willows, so I moved on to leave them in peace and try my luck elsewhere.
Went to Lake Lemon this morning and saw Little Blue Heron (year bird number 178), Snowy Egret (year bird number 179), and WILSON'S WARBLER (Indiana state bird number 204, year bird number 180). The streak for new state birds continues.
My warbler count is now up to 21 species for the year.
Went to Lake Lemon this morning to check on the shorebird situation. I saw SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (Indiana state bird number 203, year bird number 177). New state birds have been coming fast and furious over the last few days. Wonder how long the streak will continue.
This morning I drove up to Indianapolis to search for a mega rarity that showed up at Eagle Creek Park. I wasn't there more than five minutes before I saw the immature BROWN PELICAN (Indiana state bird number 202, year bird number 176). Although they're abundant on the southeast Atlantic coast and the west coast, Brown Pelicans are very rare inland, so this was a great bird to see in the middle of Indiana.
Drove over to Lake Lemon for a quick look to see what was around. Didn't find any of the shorebirds that had been reported from there recently, but I did manage to reach number 200 on my Indiana list with a BANK SWALLOW (also year bird number 173) hawking insects over the water. I'm surprised it took me so long to find such a common bird. A few minutes later I found a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (Indiana state bird number 201, year bird number 174) and a Golden-winged Warbler (year bird number 175).
Drove over to Upper Woodall Road this morning between rain showers to check out the grassy fields. I heard, then saw, a singing Dickcissel (year bird number 171), then with the scope found a BOBOLINK (Indiana state bird number 199, year bird number 172) perched on a bush far out in the field.
I should get an Indiana milestone within the next few days (hopefully) with my 200th state bird.
Went to Lake Lemon this afternoon to look for shorebirds that were reported from there yesterday. Several species would be either new year birds or Indiana state birds.
Most of the shorebirds that were present yesterday were gone by the time I got there. Some of the more common species that I did see included Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Pectoral Sandpiper. The only bird of note was a single SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, which was Indiana state bird number 198 and year bird number 170.
Went camping at Yellowwood State Park Friday and Saturday night. I saw two of the three nightjars found in Indiana, and heard the third.
Friday night just at dusk, a Chuck-will's-widow, an uncommon bird for this area, began to call not far from my campsite. I grabbed my flashlight and tried to locate it, but it didn't call for long, and never called again that night. I suppose that technically I could count the Chuck as a new state and year bird, but I only count birds I see.
As I was searching for the Chuck, Whip-poor-wills started calling. I walked down a dirt road in the dusk toward where one was calling and saw it fly down and land on the white gravel of the road. Before I could get my flashlight on it, it flew. Not a satisfying look, so I'll have to try again one of these evenings for a better look. WHIP-POOR-WILL is Indiana state bird number 197, year bird number 167.
The next morning, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (year bird number 168) was in the trees above my campsite. And, Saturday night just before dark, I got another nightjar as a Common Nighthawk (year bird number 169) flew over the campground.
Haven't been birding since last Friday because the weekend was cold, wet, and miserable, and I've been busy with other things. (Amazing that there are other things besides birding that keep me occupied). However, I did manage to see an ORCHARD ORIOLE (Indiana state bird number 196, year bird number 166) while I was fishing. I didn't even have my binoculars, but I got a good, close look at it anyway.