The Horned Lark The newsletter of the Kansas Ornithological Society March 2008 Vol. 35, No. 1 President’s Message From the During the doldrums of might think that birds aren’t February, it seemed like the discriminating, but just try field weather couldn’t make up its passing old nyger seed off on mind whether to be cold or them! They stick their bills up in ’m hearing sounds of spring warm, or to snow or rain. It at the air and won’t touch it. They every day. Northern least gave us time to bone up on also don’t like any sunflower Cardinals are tentatively gulls and other winter birds. If seed that has had insects whistling their songs while IHouse Finches are vocalizing you’ve not already done so, get working in it. out your gardening catalogs and I band birds in my yard using more. I will have no doubts that see what’s available to attract mist nets to trap them. This has spring has arrived when the Red- birds to your yard. You may also been a banner year for Pine bellied Woodpecker starts obtain quail, pheasant, songbird Siskins at the feeders. I have drumming on the guttering outside and wildlife seedling bundles banded about 500 siskins and my bedroom window. However, I from the Kansas Forest Service. American Goldfinches on my most look forward to the happy The bundles are best for use on patio since January 1. One day chatter of Barn Swallows. They an estate or farm; most of the in February I banded 145, and never arrive soon enough. plants don’t work well on a on another day 99. Still there are —CKM small lot. For more information hoards of birds at the feeders about the bundles, visit without bands on their legs. A www.kansasforests.org/ friend who lives two blocks conservation/speciality/ and away has a lot of goldfinches but place your order via the very few are banded. There must conservation seedlings link. literally be thousands of siskins When I feed birds in my and goldfinches at feeders in yard, I often wonder how many Winfield. birds are visiting my feeders. I However, some days might offer nyger, sunflower chips and lead one to believe there are black sunflower seeds. One (continued on page 2) President’s Message KOS Board of no siskins or goldfinches in my lodging and camping neighborhood. On February 8, opportunities available, and Directors there were no birds except two interesting places to bird. European Starlings and one Nancy Leo and her local •President Max Thompson, 1729 E. siskin in the yard. Even the committee members are hard at 11th Ave., Winfield, KS 67156; squirrels seemed wary about work putting together plans for [email protected] coming to the feeders. I the weekend; turn to page 3 for wondered what was lingering in details. •Vice-President Nancy Leo, the neighborhood—the stray [email protected] cat I’d been dealing with? A Max C. Thompson hawk? •Corresponding Secretary I hope you’ll join me at the President Gregg Friesen, 515 E. 4th, Newton, spring KOS meeting in May. KS 67114; [email protected] We’ll be based out of •Membership Develop.m.ent Goodland. There are plenty of Coordinator Mark Land, 8447 Lamar, Overland Park, KS 66207; [email protected] •Treasurer Terry Mannell, 218 Kansas Ornithological Society Northridge Drive, Hays, KS 67601; Balance Sheet [email protected] 12/31/2007 •Business Manager Pete Janzen, Assets 3137 Mascot, Wichita, KS 67204; Investment Fund 119542.60 [email protected] Certificate of Deposit 6796.09 •Editor KOS Bulletin, Gene Young, Checking 1769.76 Northern Oklahoma College, 1220 E. Business Manager 525.00 Grand Ave., Tonkawa, OK 74653- Sub Total 128633.45 0310; [email protected], [email protected] Dingus Land 56000.00 Total 184633.45 •Editor The Horned Lark, Cheryl K. Miller, [email protected] Liabilities and Fund Balances General Fund 2226.86 •Past-President Gene Young, Business Manager Advance 525.00 Northern Oklahoma College, 1220 E. Grand Ave., Tonkawa, OK 74653- 0310; [email protected], Endowments 68653.24 [email protected] Life Membership Account 22472.00 Book Royalty Fund 20737.49 •Board Members: Dingus Nature Area Fund 7967.58 Bob Broyles, [email protected] Dingus Nature Area Land 56000.00 Patty Marlett, [email protected] Student Research Fund 6051.28 Rob Penner, [email protected] Total 184633.45 Lisa Weeks, [email protected] 2 KOS spring meeting, May 2-4, 2008 Goodland, Sherman County Join KOS members for a fun weekend of Lodging birding in the High Plains region of northwest Holiday Inn Express, 888-465-4329. Special Kansas. The area’s significant topographic relief is rates are available for reservations made by mostly found in the Solomon River valley and the March 29. Tell the agent you are there for KOS. Arikaree Breaks in Cheyenne County. Although Comfort Inn, 800-228-5150 this is an arid part of the state, the Ogallala Best Value Inn/Buffalo Inn, 785-899-3621 aquifer—the primary source of groundwater in the Howard Johnson Hotel, 888-495-9452 area—sits below the surface. Shortgrass prairies, prickly pear cactus and yucca are abundant in areas Camping not cultivated for farming. Goodland KOA Kampground, (785) 890-5701 Sherman County claims the rightful tri-state Mid-America Camp Inn (785) 899-5431 hub, located near the adjoining corners of Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. Goodland is the Dining options county seat and will serve as base of operations for Butterfly Café, 785-890-2085 the weekend. China Garden, 785-899-3345 Crazy R’s Bar & Grill, 785-890-3430 Hank's Café, 785-890-HANK Reynaldo's, 785-899-7077 Registration Please mail registrations no later than April 20, and include full payment for registration and catered meals. See page 12 for the registration form. Meal prices include beverages, dessert, and gratuity. Cancellations may be made with a full refund until Schedule of Events April 20. Other than the Friday reception, Saturday Friday, May 2 banquet and Sunday lunch, participants are responsible for meals and snacks. All participants 6:00 p.m.—Informal reception at Holiday Inn must sign the liability release on the registration Express. form in order to participate in any portion of this Saturday, May 3 meeting. Please e-mail meeting coordinator Nancy Leo 6:30 a.m.—Leave for all-day field trips. at [email protected] for more information. 6:30 p.m.—Evening banquet and slide show by Max Thompson at Elks Lodge, 1523 Arcade Street, Goodland. Sunday, May 4 6:30 a.m.—Leave for half-day field trips. Noon—Compilation. Box lunches will be served. 3 Kansas Fall Season Roundup August 1 – November 30, 2007 Mark Corder, compiler Two species which appear on rare warblers (Golden-winged, individual Evening Grosbeak was the most recent Kansas bird Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, reported by Brandon Maguette in checklist as having fewer than ten Pine, Hooded and Bay-breasted) all Pottawatomie County in October. records top the rarities chart for fall seen in September. Thanks again to all of those who 2007 —a Garganey found by Bill The confirmed breeding of reported their sightings to listserv Langley in Rice County in early Neotropic Cormorants at Cheyenne this reporting period. August and a Magnificent Bottoms was a surprise addition to You may reach Mark Corder Frigatebird reported by Brian the Kansas record book. Two small at [email protected] Monser at Tuttle Creek on colonies of nesting Least Terms September 9. Other attention-getting were discovered by Dan Mulhern sightings during the period include and others on sandbars on the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans at Kansas River near Belvue in early Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a August. Several of these beautiful, relatively early White-winged diminutive terms fledged Scoter in Johnson County, single successfully from this unexpected Red-necked Grebes in Morton and location. Grant counties, Clark’s Grebe at Purple Finches made a good Cheyenne Bottoms in September; showing across the state but in fairly Yellow Rail in Sedgwick County; small numbers. Red-breasted Whimbrel at Cheyenne Bottoms in Nuthatches were reported from mid-September; Laughing, Mew, many locations starting towards the California, Lesser Black-backed and end of August with numbers Sabine’s gulls; good numbers of increasing through November. In Broad-tailed, Calliope and Rufuous late October, Kansas birders Donnie Kazmaier, Larned, hosted hummingbirds; Northern Shrike reported a significant influx of Red Crossbills at his yard feeders in near Larned; Common Ravens in grassland and northern sparrows December. The species was also Morton County along with a couple with LeConte’s being unusually seen in Wabaunsee and Riley of Mountain Chickadees and eight well-represented. Pine Siskins counties during the fall roundup Lesser Goldfinches on the same day returned in good numbers for the period. Photo by Donnie Kazmaier, in October; and a nice collection of first time in many years. Finally, an © 2008. Species Number and Location County Date Observer(s) Trumpeter Swan 2, Quivira NWR Stafford 11/25 SS Tundra Swan 3, Quivira NWR Stafford 11/18-25 SS Mottled Duck 2, playa E of Quivira NWR Reno 8/04 SS, M&ER 1, Quivira NWR Stafford 8/19 PJ, KG Garganey 1 NE of Quivira NWR Rice 8/01 BL (<D> was submitted for the July report of what was probably the same bird reported here. The Kansas Birds Record Committee did not accept the July record.) White-winged Scoter 1, Shawnee Mission Park Lake Johnson 10/23-25 ML,TS 4 Species Number and Location County Date Observer(s) Long-tailed Duck 2, along dam Clinton Lake Douglas 11/26 MP,KMC 2, Kingman County State Lake Kingman 11/30 MR,JR Red-breasted Merganser 6, Perry Lake Jefferson 11/11 MG Lesser Prairie-Chicken 2, 7 mi N of Rozel Pawnee 8/24 SS Red-throated Loon 1, Cheney Reservoir Reno 11/10 PJ Pacific Loon 2, Cheney Reservoir Reno 11/11 D&FV Red-necked Grebe 1, Elkhart sewer ponds Morton 8/27 L&RS 1, Lakin Draw, Ulysses Grant 9/20 KH,SG Western Grebe 7 ad.