The Horned Lark Kansas Ornithological Society June 2012 Vol. 39, No. 2 President’s message From the Do you remember what it was friends and fellow birders. field like, as a youngster, as Christmas With that still fresh in our approached? Your level of minds, let’s all mark the fall excitement grew almost meeting on our calendars, exponentially as each day passed. September 28–30 in Winfield. As you got a couple of days out, That’s a week earlier than our you just about couldn’t stand it normal meeting time. This is anymore. You knew that there necessary to fit around college would be big gatherings of people sports schedules. I know Max you hadn’t seen for awhile and you Thompson will have a fine knew you were going to get meeting lined up for us. He always something good, you just didn’t does every time we visit know what. Southwestern College. The details The past few years, as the for the Spring 2013 meeting aren’t KOS spring meeting has decided yet, so if you have an idea, approached, I’ve felt the same let me know! way. I couldn’t wait for Friday to By now, spring migration has arrive so we could pack up and go. become a memory and many of us I got to see a lot of folks I hadn’t are working on Breeding Bird seen for a while. We got some Surveys and other summer good birds and had some fun times activities. It was a strange spring birding, and then it was over all that to me, at least, seemed all out too fast! A big thank you to Mark of sequence. Across much of A Ruddy Turnstone forages on a Land for organizing this spring Kansas, spring seemed to arrive mud flat at the Big Salt Marsh, meeting and to Matt Gearheart, early with plants looking like June Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Nic Allen, Carolyn Schwab, Mark 1 when it was only early May, May 19, 2012. © Patty Marlett. Corder and everyone else who which then made the spring helped out. We had a good turnout, (continued on page 2) good birding and great times with President’s message, cont. KOS Board of migrants seem late, although many program for these young birders. If of them weren’t late at all. you know young students who are Directors Ultimately, the "ahead of normal" interested in birds, there are still http://www.ksbirds.org/ foliage made birding a real some funds left to give them a challenge. KOS membership. Just contact me President Some very generous KOS for details on how to make this Chuck Otte, 613 Tamerisk, Junction members donated funds to allow happen. City, KS 66441; [email protected] students to join essentially for free. It looks like it’s about time for I want to thank those anonymous, me to head out the door and do Vice-President forward-thinking individuals. some birding. Have a great Henry Armknecht, [email protected] While giving a program in summer. I hope to see many of you Hutchinson in April, I had a in Winfield at the end of Corresponding Secretary Gregg chance to meet some of these September, if not before while out Friesen, 515 E. 4th, Newton, KS young birders. It’s so thrilling to and about birding! 67114; [email protected] see these youth with so much enthusiasm about birds and Good birding, Membership Development birding. In fact, at this fall’s KOS Coordinator meeting we will have some folks Patty Marlett, [email protected] who will work on a special Chuck Otte President Treasurer Terry Mannell, 218 Northridge Drive, Hays, KS 67601; [email protected] Award nominations sought Business Manager Avian Conservationist Dr. Ivan L. Boyd Lisa Weeks, 208 Arizona Street, of the Year Recognition Award Lawrence KS 66049; Nominations for the Kansas The Kansas Ornithological [email protected] Ornithological Society's Avian Society recognizes one of its Conservationist of the Year Award members with this award for Editor, KOS Bulletin should be made for outstanding work outstanding contributions and service Gene Young, Northern Oklahoma in bird conservation through the to the society. Nominations for the College, 1220 E. Grand Ave., Tonkawa, OK 74653-0310; management or preservation of award should be submitted to the [email protected], habitats, education or research. The KOS president and include a list of [email protected] accomplishment should reflect a long the nominee’s contributions to KOS. -time commitment to bird The nomination deadline is Editor, The Horned Lark conservation and/or education within August 1. Provide a typed description Cheryl K. Miller, the state of Kansas. Nominations will of no more than two pages and give [email protected] be accepted until July 1. specific examples of contributions to To make a nomination, send a KOS the nominee has made. Include Past-President typed description of no more than your name, address, phone number Nancy Leo, [email protected] two pages, giving a detailed account and e-mail address. Send of specific work the nominee has nominations to Chuck Otte, 613 Board Members: accomplished. Send the nominations Tamerisk, Junction City, KS 66441 John Bollin, [email protected] Greg Farley, [email protected] to Robert L. Penner, 593 NE 130 or e-mail to [email protected]. Don Kazmeier, [email protected] Avenue, Ellinwood, KS 67526, or to Rick Tucker, [email protected] [email protected]. 2 Spring KOS species compilation list KOS spring meeting Greater Yellowlegs Warbling Vireo participants recorded the Willet Red-eyed Vireo following 154 species in Lesser Yellowlegs Blue Jay Allen, Anderson, Coffey, Upland Sandpiper American Crow Franklin, Linn and Osage Least Sandpiper Fish Crow counties during the spring White-rumped Sandpiper Horned Lark meeting, May 4–7, 2012. Baird's Sandpiper Purple Martin Pectoral Sandpiper Tree Swallow Canada Goose Stilt Sandpiper Northern Rough-winged Wood Duck Long-billed Dowitcher Swallow Gadwall Wilson's Phalarope Cliff Swallow Mallard Ring-billed Gull Barn Swallow Yellow-rumped Warbler Blue-winged Teal Forster's Tern Carolina Chickadee Yellow-throated Warbler Northern Shoveler Rock Pigeon Black-capped Chickadee Black-throated Green Green-winged Teal Eurasian Collared-Dove Tufted Titmouse Warbler Ring-necked Duck White-winged Dove White-breasted Nuthatch Wilson's Warbler Hooded Merganser Mourning Dove Carolina Wren Yellow-breasted Chat Northern Bobwhite Yellow-billed Cuckoo House Wren Eastern Towhee Greater Prairie-Chicken Barred Owl Sedge Wren Chipping Sparrow Wild Turkey Common Nighthawk Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Clay-colored Sparrow Common Loon Chuck-will's-widow Ruby-crowned Kinglet Field Sparrow Pied-billed Grebe Eastern Whip-poor-will Eastern Bluebird Lark Sparrow Neotropic Cormorant Chimney Swift Swainson's Thrush Savannah Sparrow Double-crested Ruby-throated Wood Thrush Grasshopper Sparrow Cormorant Hummingbird American Robin Henslow's Sparrow American White Pelican Belted Kingfisher Gray Catbird White-crowned Sparrow American Bittern Red-headed Woodpecker Northern Mockingbird Summer Tanager Great Blue Heron Red-bellied Woodpecker Brown Thrasher Northern Cardinal Great Egret Downy Woodpecker European Starling Rose-breasted Grosbeak Cattle Egret Hairy Woodpecker Cedar Waxwing Blue Grosbeak Green Heron Northern Flicker Louisiana Waterthrush Indigo Bunting White-faced Ibis Pileated Woodpecker Black-and-white Warbler Painted Bunting Turkey Vulture Eastern Wood-Pewee Prothonotary Warbler Dickcissel Bald Eagle Acadian Flycatcher Tennessee Warbler Bobolink Cooper's Hawk Least Flycatcher Orange-crowned Warbler Red-winged Blackbird Red-shouldered Hawk Eastern Phoebe Nashville Warbler Eastern Meadowlark Swainson's Hawk Great Crested Flycatcher Mourning Warbler Western Meadowlark Red-tailed Hawk Western Kingbird Kentucky Warbler Common Grackle American Kestrel Eastern Kingbird Common Yellowthroat Great-tailed Grackle Peregrine Falcon Scissor-tailed Flycatcher American Redstart Brown-headed Cowbird Common Gallinule Loggerhead Shrike Northern Parula Orchard Oriole American Coot White-eyed Vireo Blackburnian Warbler Baltimore Oriole Killdeer Bell's Vireo Yellow Warbler House Finch Spotted Sandpiper Yellow-throated Vireo Blackpoll Warbler American Goldfinch Solitary Sandpiper Blue-headed Vireo Palm Warbler House Sparrow 3 Kansas fall season roundup August 1 – November 30, 2011 Mark Corder, compiler A well-documented (photographed) Crested November was a terrific month for unusual water Caracara, a probable first state record, gets top birds. billing for the fall 2011 roundup reporting period. Good raptors reported during the period Relatively dry conditions in the southern Plains included Northern Goshawk in Wichita, possible states probably contributed to this bird’s excursion Harris’s Hawk in Topeka, Broad-tailed Hawks in well north of its normal range. Unfortunately, too seven counties, and Merlins in eleven. Seven rare- few birders were able to observe the much- to-unusual gulls graced Kansas lakes and reservoirs anticipated appearance of this falcon because it and five uncommon species of hummingbirds filled could not be relocated after the initial sighting. up at Kansas residents’ feeders. Shorebirds and Notably, another report, albeit second-hand, of the waders that lingered longer and later included 12 same species was made approximately two months Black-bellied Plovers at Cheyenne Bottoms on later in southcentral Kansas. November 14, a lone American Golden-Plover at A somewhat, but not too distant second-place Cheney Reservoir on November 25, 43 Least species, Long-billed Murrelet, was reported in late Sandpipers in Kingman County on November 25, November from Trego County. Long-billed and Dunlin as late as November 20 at Clinton Lake. Murrelet is currently on the Kansas list as A Varied Thrush was a first record in Edwards “hypothetical” because of the lack of physical County. Scott Seltman reported a second county evidence. There has been only one previous record record of Snow Bunting in Rush County. in the state from Russell County 14 years ago. The Connecticut and Townsend’s warblers were Trego sighting this year was by a single observer.