http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/ en-us 2004-08-29T16:18:39+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/001172.html Last Sunday (August 22) I drove up to Michigan City, Indiana to look for the Swallow-tailed Kite that had been reported there, and had been there for almost a week. After the three-hour drive I pulled up to the area... Birdingdave 2004-08-29T16:18:39+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/001044.html A report of a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron on Lingle Road on the Morgan-Owen county line provided my birding plans today, since I have never seen one in Indiana before. After some fruitless searching I managed to see it at a... Birdingdave 2004-08-08T18:16:02+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/001023.html Last Sunday (August 1) I drove up north of Lafayette, Indiana to look for a Snowy Owl that has been present for a couple of weeks or so. It has made itself at home in the vicinity of a Dairy... Birdingdave 2004-08-04T01:48:31+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/001005.html This morning I drove to the north of Lafayette, Indiana to try to see a Snowy Owl that has been present for the last couple of weeks. Wouldn't you know that it apparently flew away early this morning about three... Birdingdave 2004-08-01T22:25:09+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000967.html Birding listservers are buzzing since it became known that Cackling Goose has been split from Canada Goose according to the 45th Supplement to the AOU Checklist published in the July 2004 issue of The Auk. Despite similar plumage, Cackling Goose... Birdingdave 2004-07-24T01:50:28+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000935.html This morning I drove over to Chinook Mine in Vigo County to try to spot Common Moorhens, Sedge Wrens, and American Bitterns that had been reported there. I struck out on the bittern, but quickly found COMMON MOORHEN (Indiana state... Birdingdave 2004-07-18T18:48:07+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000864.html Had the day off today on account of the 4th of July holiday, so I decided to check out the Gibson Power Plant for Least Terns. Gibson Power Plant is in southwest Indiana along the Wabash River, about a two... Birdingdave 2004-07-06T00:03:40+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000843.html This evening I went to the home of a local birder who has had Eastern Screech-Owls nesting in his yard for the last three years. This year the pair of owls has fledged four young, and they make an appearance... Birdingdave 2004-07-02T04:18:48+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000753.html This morning I went on a birding trip to Universal Mines in Vermillion County sponsored by the Sassafras Audubon Society. Universal Mines was once a strip mine which has since been restored to a grassland habitat, and is one of... Birdingdave 2004-06-12T20:15:53+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000751.html Drove down to Lawrence County this morning to look for Lark Sparrows that were reported from there yesterday. Almost as soon as I arrived I saw a LARK SPARROW (Indiana state bird number 208, year bird number 189) in a... Birdingdave 2004-06-11T18:31:39+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000710.html After about a two-week period with no new birds, and very little birding, I went to the end of Friendship Road in Bloomington to try to see Chuck-will's-widows that have been reported from there recently. When I arrived, there were... Birdingdave 2004-06-06T04:23:36+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000653.html 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... Birdingdave 2004-05-24T14:41:08+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000641.html 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... Birdingdave 2004-05-22T22:00:49+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000634.html 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... Birdingdave 2004-05-21T14:54:04+00:00 http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/birdingdave/archives/000626.html 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.... Birdingdave 2004-05-19T17:55:37+00:00