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U.S.A. -- INDIANA

Big Day (Bird Race)

21 November 1998

by Christopher L. Wood

Big Day Statistics:

Comments:

“We decided to embark on a new strategy: start at "The Lakeshore" so we'd end up in our home town of Bloomington at the end of the day, to avoid the torturous three-hour drive back home.  It was with this air of excitement that we started out.  In over two hours of morning owling we neither saw nor heard a single species of bird!  Dawn found three grumpy and short-tempered birders at Michigan City.  Our mood quickly changed as each of us found one "good" gull: Lr. Black-backed, Thayer's and Franklin's (8).  We probably should have spent the rest of the day gulling, as the rest of the day was an uphill battle to even beat the previous high of 78 species.  Black Scoter and Red-necked Grebe, also along the lakeshore, were nice.  We also (finally) got "both" species of chickadees.  And yes, yet again, we managed to miss Bald Eagle at Lake Lemon!”

Species List

Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
RED-NECKED GREBE - 1 basic adult, Miller Beach
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
American Black DuckMallard
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
[scaup sp.]
Black Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
American Coot
Killdeer
Dunlin - 1 basic adult (Big Pine Creek)
Common Snipe
FRANKLIN'S GULL - 8 (Michigan City)
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
THAYER'S GULL - 1, 1st winter (Michigan City)
LESSSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - 1 basic adult, (Michigan City)
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Horned Lark
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped ChickadeeCarolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned SparrowDark-eyed Junco
Lapland Longspur - 150+, (SW White County)
Snow Bunting - 1, (Michigan City)
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Dr. James D. Hengeveld
jhengeve@indiana.edu