BIRDS in northwestern Arkansas an ecological perspective Joseph C. Neal Published by Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society Fayetteville, Arkansas www.nwarkaudubon.org Copyright © 2009 by Joseph C. Neal, 145 E. Cleburn Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Permission is granted for use of material in this book for non-profit conservation, charitable, or educational purposes. Preferred citation: Neal, Joseph C. 2009. Birds in northwestern Arkansas: an ecological perspective. Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society, Fayetteville, AR. 88 p. Photograph of Joe Neal on back cover by Danny Jones during a NWAAS field trip to Ninestone Land Trust in Carroll County on May 10, 2009. The author’s bird images were collected during field trips in northwestern Arkansas (except for nighthawk, from the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma): Hudsonian Godwit and Stilt Sandpiper during spring migration at University farm in Fayetteville (front cover); Great Horned Owl fledglings in same location (p. 2); Common Nighthawk in native prairie (p. 3); Baltimore Oriole nest on a windy winter day at Maysville (p. 4); Eastern Meadowlark nest with eggs at Wilson Springs in Fayetteville (p. 9); Marsh Wren in bur-marigold flowers at Lake Sequoyah (p. 80); fledgling Loggerhead Shrike near the state fish hatchery at Centerton (p. 86). 2 BIRDS in northwestern Arkansas: an ecological perspective Joseph C. Neal Published in 2009 by Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society Fayetteville, Arkansas www.nwarkaudubon.org CONTENTS Introduction 4 Species accounts 9 Order Anseriformes: whistling-ducks,swans, Order Columbiformes: pigeons and doves 34 geese, ducks 9 Order Psittaciformes: parrots 35 Order Galliformes: turkey and quail 15 Order Cuculiformes: cuckoos, roadrunners 35 Order Gaviiformes: loons 16 Order Strigiformes: owls 36 Order Podicipediformes: grebes 17 Order Caprimulgiformes: goatsuckers 37 Order Pelecaniformes: pelicans, cormorants 18 Order Apodiformes: swifts and hummingbirds 37 Order Ciconiiformes: herons, egrets, ibises, Order Coraciiformes: kingfishers 38 vultures 18 Order Piciformes: woodpeckers 38 Order Falconiformes: hawks and falcons 21 Order Passeriformes: perching birds 40 Order Gruiformes: rails, gallinules, and cranes 26 Literature 80 Order Charadriiformes: shorebirds, gulls, terns 27 Index to common bird names 86 3 Introduction This ecological perspective is a contemporary snapshot of timeless vitality connecting birds and people in northwestern Arkansas. We share a complex ecotone where forests of eastern North America intermingle with grasslands more typical of western North America. Inbetween flow many fine streams. It’s a good place to see birds. Over a century of bird data for northwestern support from financial contributions from my long time Arkansas (nwAR) is summarized in the following pages. friend Eleanor Lincoln Johnson of Fayetteville, and later Core observations are from Washington and Benton the AAS Board of Directors, I worked with Richard counties, with many observations from Madison, Stauffacher of Fayetteville to have all bird records since Newton, Carroll, Boone, plus the Ozarks portions (as the publication of Arkansas Birds (James and Neal distinguished from the Arkansas River Valley portions) 1986) entered into a database readily available on the of Crawford, Franklin, and Johnson counties. This web site maintained by Arkansas Audubon Society. includes the western and northern border regions that Since 2002, the data in these files has been augmented Arkansas shares with Oklahoma and Missouri, extends by the lively, online birds of Arkansas discussion list set eastward to include the upper and middle portions of up and managed by Kimberly G. Smith of the UA- the Buffalo National River and the Ozark National Fayetteville. Forest (NF), and southward through the Boston Winter bird distribution is annually sampled Mountains section of the Ozark Plateaus north of the on Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), typically in mid to late Arkansas River Valley. December. Most of these data are drawn from the The Prairie Region of nwAR formed on eroded Urban Region. I have examined more than four decades remnants of the Springfield and Salem Plateaus and of the Fayetteville CBC and consulted three other CBCs reflects ecological conditions of the Tallgrass Prairies. in western Arkansas. The Buffalo River (west) CBC in The Mountain Region formed primarily on the Boston the Boxley-Ponca area of Newton County was Mountains and is exemplified by the Ozark NF. It conducted 1978-1987. There was a count at Siloam expresses ecological conditions typical of the forests of Springs in Benton County 1976-1983. Members of the eastern North America. The Urban Region is composed Disorganized Bird Club initiated a count centered on of towns and cities built on former prairies and includes the Crooked Creek valley at Harrison in Boone County the larger water impoundments. starting December 19, 2001. It continues. We have a long history of bird studies. Howell The five Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) consulted (1911), Smith (1915), Wheeler (1924), Black (1935), provide a snapshot of birds during June, the typical Baerg (1931, 1951), James and Neal (1986), Neal and nesting season. Farms and forest are well mixed on two Mlodinow (1988) all included nwAR data. Baerg also routes in Newton County: Compton and Lurton. In utilized the field notes of Dean Crooks whose work in addition, these routes provide peeks at summer birds Benton County would otherwise have been largely along the Buffalo National River. Forests (hardwood unavailable. and shortleaf pine-hardwood) are sampled on the Bird occurrence data includes thousands of Ozark NF route (Johnson and Pope counties) and in the individual records on index cards. Doug James and Boston Mountain route (Franklin County). Even though others have curated these data for Arkansas Audubon they are largely outside our specific geographical area, I Society (AAS). Those files continue to expand. With considered these BBS routes because they broadly illuminate avian distribution and abundance in our 4 Forest Region. The BBS with the most open country is shortleaf pine stands have extensively reverted to Avoca in Benton County. Avoca BBS has undergone vast predominantly hardwood stands growing up and change; it is at the epicenter of regional population dominating the remnant pines. Many pines growth. planted today are non-native (to the Ozarks) Since northwestern Arkansas includes one of loblolly pines (Pinus taeda). the largest national forests in the eastern US (Ozark NF), I make frequent references to forest management. Modern folks in northwestern Arkansas would The management of forests on both private and public be surprised to learn that pine abundance is now only lands is a complicated and sometimes contentious 15 to 53 percent of what was present in the mid-to late issue. In terms of how birds are affected by forest 19th century (Guyette et al. 2007). This habitat loss, management, I have extensively drawn on the data including the loss of quality pine stands present in the presented in Thompson et al. (1995). No claim is made western Ozarks in the past, has major impacts on bird here that this is precisely what to expect in our Forest species extensively dependent upon pine (Eddleman et Region, but carefully collected data can be a rational al. 2007). The loss of pine forest habitat maintained in departing point in discussions. an open condition by fire impacts many wildlife species Starting in the 1990s, the USDA Forest Service including birds, especially those that are ground- undertook an extensive annual inventory of landbirds dwelling or ground-foraging (Masters 2007). Extensive (La Sorte et al. 2007). Data for the southern US have second growth pine habitat is now localized in a few been analyzed and presented for the period 1992- areas. These include the Ozark NF and the Beaver Lake 2004. These data include landbird point counts for the area of eastern Benton, northern Madison, and Carroll Ozark NF, quite useful in discussions about forest birds. counties. The rugged nature of the Boston Mountains My views of the habitats used by birds in the has hindered its economic development—a good thing western Arkansas Ozarks can be summarized as for birds. The Ozark NF occupies much of the area— follows: another good thing for birds. These forests are part of Almost all original, unplowed Tallgrass Prairie the vast Central Hardwoods region (Fitzgerald et al. has been eliminated. The now much degraded 2002). The Central Hardwoods contains over 15% of (botanically-speaking) former prairies in this Prairie the world’s nesting populations of Eastern Wood- Region are extensive. Our Urban Region is Pewees, Acadian Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, constructed on land that was formerly Tallgrass Yellow-throated Warblers, Blue-winged Warblers, Prairie. With the exception of a few small, Prairie Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and protected remnants, “prairie” is today pasture, Summer Tanagers. The Central Hardwoods contain city, and highway. Given a little breathing space, even higher percentages of the following: Worm-eating these former prairies can be surprisingly resilient. Warbler and Field Sparrow (20%), Kentucky Warbler Extensive non-native grasslands remain. (28%), and Whip-poor-will (35%). Water development projects have created In the 19th century, prairies in a floralistic habitats that did not exist here prior to the 1930s. sense were still common here. Maps produced from Ponds, small lakes, and expansive reservoirs