Bulletin Published Quarterly
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BULLETIN PUBLISHED QUARTERLY No. 4 LATE SUMMER ROSEATE SPOONBILLS IN WESTERN KANSAS by 'Thomas G. Shane, 2SaraJ. Shane, 'Marie B. Osterbuhr, 'Ronald G. Osterbuhr. On 12 August 2001, a single Roseate Spoonbill (Ajain ojajo) (Photo 1) was located on a playa 7.8 miles north on US Highway 83 and 1.3 miles west, Garden City, Finney County, Kansas, by Marie and Ronald Osterbuhr. The playa was a half-mile long and one-tenth mile wide. The playa had receded from slightly higher water levels filled during two large summer rains. On the evening of' 12 August the bird was observed at Ackley Lake, 7 miles north, 4 miles west, Garden City and then observed at the original playa on subsequent visits. On 19 August, two birds were observed by Mark Corder and Marie Osterbuhr, and that pair remained together horn then on. Several local farmers said they observed five and six spoonbills in the area during the last week of July. The spoonbills primarily spent their days loafing in shallow water with waterfowl and a few egrets. At sunset, they became co~lsiderablymore active. The birds would then feed in shallow water (8-14 inches) by walking rapidly and moving their bills side- to-side. On 30 August the two spoonbills moved farther southwest to Lowe Lake, 3 Photo 1 - Roseate Spoonbill, August 2001, Finney County, Kansas. Photo by Marie Os~erbuhr. miles north, Holcomb, KS. The lake started receiving heavy use by teal hunters in midSeptember, and the spoonbills were last observed on the 21st (D. Vannoy, pers. comm.). Both birds appeared to be second year birds (Dumas 2000, Sibley 2000). More than 65 birders and wildlife viewers from Kansas, Colorado, Missouri and Texas were fortunate enough to find and observe this infrequent Kansas species. An additional Kansas spoonbill was observed by Mike Rader on 30 Aug 2001 at the Cheyenne Bottoms Waterfowl Management Area, Barton County. The 2001 observations in Finney and Barton counties account for the fifth and sixth Kansas records of the species in 103 years. The species has been observed on four previous occasions in Kansas, twice in spring and twice in summer-fall, in the counties of Butler, Chase, Osage, and Barton (Thompson and Ely 1989). Colorado has four old records from four counties, two known from spring and one summer-fall (Bailey and Niedrach 1965, Andrews and Righter 1992). Nebraska has four records from four counties, one spring and three summer-fall Uohnsgard 1998, Sharpe et al. 2001). Iowa has two summer-fall records from two counties (Kent and Dinsmore 1996, R. Silcock pers. comm.). Missouri has three summer-fall records from three counties (Robbins and Easterla 1992, E. Wade pers. comm.). New Mexico has three records, two known summer-fall from three southeastern counties (P. Snider pers. comm.). The Texas Panhandle has four records, one spring and three summer-fall from three counties (Seyffert 2001). Oklahoma has 19 records from 14 counties, three spring and 16 summer-fall (Baumgartner and Baumgartner 1992, J. Arterburn pers. comm.). Arkansas has 36 summer-fall records from 13 counties Uames and Neal 1986, M. Parker pers. comm.). In the nine state region of Kansas and surrounding states (Texas Panhandle only), 70 (89%) of the 79 records occurred during the summer-fall period with the remaining nine sightings during spring. The earliest record for the region occurred on 20 March 1899 when a specimen (present whereabouts unknown) was collected in Butler County, Kansas. The latest record for the region was a bird that was observed with a flock of egrets on 18 Oct 1978, Miller County, Arkansas. When age was recorded, 44 (85%) of 52 spoonbills observed in the region were immature birds while eight were adults. The first nine spoonbills were recorded between 1884 and 1939 in the northwest half of the region. All four Colorado records occurred during this period. Also included were birds in Lancaster (1884) and Buffalo (1932) counties in Nebraska; the previously mentioned 1899 Kansas bird; and in Randall (1937) and Deaf Smith (1939) counties of the Texas Panhandle. Birds of these earlier years were no doubt postbreeding Mexican birds since all Texas populations had been totally extirpated by 1895, and only about a dozen pairs each could be found in the states of Louisiana and Florida at the time (Dumas 2000). Thousands of spoonbills were hunted during the feather and plume trading years which began during the mid-nineteenth Century. The beautiful pink wings were popular as fans among women of the era (Bent 1926). Not until about 1940 did significant breeding colonies become established once again along the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana when Oklahoma recorded its first spoonbill followed by Arkansas in 1959, Iowa 1960, and Missouri 1986. The Roseate Spoonbill is second only to the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) of all North American waterbirds in its population growth and recovery from the feather trade era. The spoonbill population has increased 14.7% per year during the Breeding Bird Survey years of 1966-1995 (Peterjohn et al. 1996). From no more than several dozen pairs of spoonbills in the United States around 1900, local populations have been as high as 2,900 pairs in Texas, 1,700 pairs in Louisiana, and 900 pairs in Florida during the last couple of decades (Dumas 2000). For sharing records and observations and record clarification of Roseate Spoonbills we thank, Jim Arterburn, Mark Corder, Charles Mills, Helen Parker, Max Parker, Brandon Percival, Mike Rader, Scott Seltman, Ross Silcock, Pat Snider, Don Vannoy, and Edge Wade. We also thank Debra Bolton for reading an earlier draft of this paper. ISTERATURE ClTED Andrews, R., and R. Righter. 1992. Colorado Birds. Denver Mus. Nat. Hist., Denver, CO. Bailey, A. M., and R. J. Niedrach. 1965. Birds of Colorado. Denver Mus. Nat. Hist., Denver CO. Baumgartner, F. M., and A. M. Baumgartner. 1992. Oklahoma Birds. Univ. of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Bent, A. C. 1926. Life histories of North American marsh birds. U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 135:13-23. Dumas, J. V. 2000. Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja). In The Birds of North America, No. 490 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc. Philadelphia, PA. James, D. A., and J. C. Neal. 1986. Arkansas Birds Their Distribution and Abundance. Univ. Arkansas Press, Fayetteville. Johnsgard, P. A. 1998. The Birds of Nebraska. Univ. of Nebraska. Lincoln. Kent, T. H., and J. J. Dinsmore. 1996. Birds in Iowa. Published by authors, Iowa City and Ames. Pete john, B. G., J. R. Sauer, and W. A. Link. 1996. The 1994 and 1995 summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Bird Populations 3:48-66. Robbins, M. B., and D. A. Easterla. 1992. Birds of Missouri: Their Distribution and Abundance. Univ. of Missouri Press, Columbia. Seyffert, K. D. 2001. Birds of the Texas Panhandle: Their Status, Distribution, and History. Texas A & M Univ. Press, College Station. Sharpe, R. S., W. R. Silcock, and J. G. Jorgensen. 2001. Birds of Nebraska. Univ. of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Thompson, M. C., and C. Ely. 1989. Birds in Kansas. Vol.1. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. Ed. Ser. No. 11. 1706 Belmont P1. and "'1103 Gillespie Pl., Garden City, KS 67846 CAVE SWALLOWS IN KANSAS-A SPECIES NEW TO THE STATE by Sebastian T. Patti' , Thomas G. Shanez This note details the first occurrences of the Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon [=Hirundo]fulua) in the State of Kansas. The first birds were seen in July 2001, at Cheyenne Bottoms, Barton County; the second birds in late September, at Ackley Lake, Finney County. This note discusses these two sightings, the important identifying field marks of the species compared to the similar Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), and the current distribution of the species. THE CHEYENNE BOTTOMS BIRDS On 13 July 2001, at about 1600 hours CDT while birding the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Management Area, Barton County, Kansas, Patti saw a perched swallow that appeared to be a Cave Swallow. This location is 6 miles northeast of the refuge headquarters, where the "Redwing Roadn intersects the main refuge road that encloses Pool 1. Chris Hobbs also saw the bird, and agreed that the bird showed characters consistent with a juvenile Cave Swallow. Shortly, the two found a second bird that they also identified as a Cave. The second bird was molting, and in sub-adult plumage. Patti and Hobbs watched the birds for a short time, and then contacted Mike Rader, who arrived at about 1730 hrs. He agreed that the two birds were Cave Swallows. Ted Cable took two- photos of the sub- adult bird. These two birds would forage for 15-20 minutes at a time over the cattail marshes, and then return to the same general area to roost and rest on dead branches and the metal pipes of water-flow control structures. They were loosely associating with Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustics), although Bank (Riparia riparia), Cliff, Northern Rough-winged (Stelgidopteryx serripennis), and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were also present. A number of birders came to Cheyenne Bottoms on the morning of 14 July 2001. One bird, the sub-adult bird was present for the better portion of the day. Ted Cable was able to secure a number of photographs and video of this bird. A number of the pictures and some captures from his videos were posted on the Kansas Ornithological Society web-site (http://www.ksbirds.org/kos/. This bird was also seen by a number of birders on 16 July 2001.