Greets Tweets --
Thanks to those who responded with suggestions of where to go birding in
the area of Shawnee, Kansas. My friend and I went to Lake Jacoma and
Longview Lake (both in western Missouri). We also went to Shawnee Mission
Park and one of the Streamway Parks (both in Kansas). The birding was great
at all four places.
I was asked to post to Tweeters (because others are planning on visiting
the area in the future) some of the highlight birds I saw. Most of y'all
(Missouri talk) will find my findings mundane but to a relatively new birder
like me, I was thrilled to see:
Yellow-crowned night heron (in full breeding plumage!)
Northern Cardinals
Brown Thrasher
Tufted Titmouses (is Titmice correct?)
Eastern Kingbirds
Eastern Meadowlarks
Eastern Bluebirds
Wood ducks
Turkey Vultures (lots!)
Palm Warblers (great close up look)
White-throated sparrows
Spotted Sandpipers
Lesser Yellowlegs
Blue-winged teal
Northern Orioles
Green herons (and Great blues, of course)
Northern mockingbirds
Brown headed cowbirds
Blue Jays
Chipping sparrows
Harris' sparrows
Eastern Phoebe
There were also lots of little guys that are very common to this area
(Pacific Northwest) so I won't bother to mention them too. (Yes, I KNOW that
some of the birds listed above are common here but, hey, I am pumped because
I have not seen some of them in Washington yet.)
I do have one question. We saw what we THOUGHT was a Least Sandpiper.
The books show the range as being Southern US in the winter, and Canada in
the summer but nothing in the middle. I don't know if it is possible for us
to have seen a Least Sandpiper in Missouri but it seems to me that if these
birds need to get from south to north (and back again) that I might see one
in the plains states. Any thoughts on this?
Jo Waldron
Everett, WA
joaw9 at aol.com
<A HREF="http://rainforest.care2.com/">Race for the Rain Forest</A>