Subject: [Tweeters] Des Moines - bird sightings, 5-4-11
Date: May 4 19:25:24 2011
From: Carol & Lynn Schulz - carol.schulz50 at gmail.com


Hi Tweets:
It was a great morning of birding here in my neighborhood in Des Moines today. It was sunny, and quite warm. I walked about 1/2 mile each way from my 15th Ave S house, north into the Des Moines Creek Park woods, and up to 18th St. It's suburbia on my street, w/ a field and trees above us to the east toward 18th, and there is mixed woods in the park.
In our neighborhood, we continue to hear Purple Finches singing, although the singing has slowed down a bit from earlier in spring. There are Amer. Goldfinches singing everywhere. And there are a number of singing and calling Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Big-leaf Maples w/ their catkins. For the first time in the neighborhood, in the woods, and on 18th, I heard 5 or 6 singing OR-CRND. WARBLERS, and heard and saw two WILSON'S WARBLERS. In the woods I heard a singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet. On 18th, and a little east from there in the mostly deciduous woods, there were at least 3 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS singing. And today, I heard but didn't see a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, my FOY. He would sing short phrases of his song on occasion, mostly from alders and cottonwoods. I never saw him.
Someone has scattered bird seed up on 18th, and there was a Golden-crowned Sparrow there, kind of a non-bright one. Seems late in the year for those.
On 18th I saw something new to me. It is a pair of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS building a nest. The male was frantically breaking conifer branches off, and carrying them to a rather short deciduous tree that has dense leaves. It's right near 18th St trail, and may be an over-grown apple tree. In the very center there is a pigeon nest w/ the female sitting in it. I and several other people were walking on the trail, and the male Band-tail flew right over us w/ small branches. I was the only one to notice of course. The nest is only about 8 feet up, and very-hard to see. Soon it will be completely covered up.
In the neighborhood I saw two male Anna's Hummingbirds, and one of them did its dive w/ chirp at the bottom. In the woods, and up on 18th, several Rufous males and one female were foraging at salmon berry bushes. What a nice morning. I'm so glad that migration is happening at last.
Yours, Carol Schulz
Des Moines
carol.schulz50 at gmail