Each year we host a group of local bird watchers who I think are excellent amateur ornithologists. They come out every year on the same weekend, they get up early, they brave the elements and they search all over Des Moines Golf and Country Club looking and listening for different species of birds. They compile a list each years. When this first started back many years ago our results were part of the Audubon's Birdwatch Open. At that time they were trying to track and predict bluebird activity across the US. Now our results are sent in electronically over the Internet to Cornell University and the results are posted right away. This lets the experts track almost to the minute the activity of bird migration across the US. We want to thank our group of local experts,especially Ben Taylor our former administrative assistant who organizes and sets up this fine bird watching group.
Here is the list that they compiled this year.
> Canada Goose 16
> Mallard 11
> Blue-winged Teal 5
> Great Blue Heron 2
> Osprey 1
> Cooper's Hawk 2
> Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 1
> Killdeer 3
> Spotted Sandpiper 5
> Rock Pigeon 2
> Mourning Dove 13
> Belted Kingfisher 1
> Red-headed Woodpecker 1
> Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
> Least Flycatcher 3
> Eastern Phoebe 6
> Eastern Kingbird 11
> Blue-headed Vireo 4
> Warbling Vireo 5
> Blue Jay 7
> American Crow 2
> Tree Swallow 21
> Bank Swallow 20
> Barn Swallow 32
> Cliff Swallow 18
> Black-capped Chickadee 6
> White-breasted Nuthatch 4
> House Wren 1
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
> Eastern Bluebird 1
> American Robin 120
> Gray Catbird 1
> Brown Thrasher 3
> European Starling 2
> Cedar Waxwing 2
> Orange-crowned Warbler 1
> Nashville Warbler 1
> Common Yellowthroat 1
> American Redstart 2
> Palm Warbler 2
> Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 34
> Chipping Sparrow 12
> Song Sparrow 1
> White-throated Sparrow 10
> White-crowned Sparrow 5
> Northern Cardinal 6
> Red-winged Blackbird 36
> Common Grackle 57
> Brown-headed Cowbird 19
> Baltimore Oriole 14
> House Finch 1 Male
> American Goldfinch 2
> House Sparrow 1
>
> View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14071377
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