BIRDS in and around Northwest Arkansas City Joseph C. Neal 2 BIRDS in and around Northwest Arkansas City Version of February 22, 2018 3 For Doug James Our indispensible ecologist and ornithologist coauthor mentor teacher friend 4 Note to readers of the future Many apologies if “Northwest Arkansas City” isn’t yet on the map. It includes increasingly connected farms, towns, and cities: Fayetteville, Siloam Springs, Springdale, Rogers, Garfield, Mayfield and the rest. “In and around” encompasses the whole. This includes Fort Smith in the Arkansas River Valley and north to southern Missouri; west to eastern Oklahoma; east to Buffalo National River country. Birds don’t notice state boundaries. A broad geographical perspective is informative. Looking around the table at a meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society Board of Directors, I see birders from Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Springdale, Goshen, and Beaver Lake. In the past we have had board members from Rogers, Bentonville, and elsewhere. Numerous towns are reflected in the make up of field trips. If we are going to understand a Western Kingbird at Centerton, it will help to understand where a lot of them nest, in old downtown Fort Smith. Fortunately, science is self-correcting. Every field trip and every compilation of bird data tests the hypothesis there’s a lot of interesting bird life here. The more we observe, the broader our perspective, the better we understand. We live on land that was formerly Tallgrass Prairie. Almost all original, unplowed Tallgrass Prairie has been eliminated. With the exception of a few small, protected remnants, prairie is today pasture, city, and highway. Extensive non-native grasslands remain. Water development projects have created habitats that did not exist here prior to the 1930s. These include ponds, small lakes, and expansive reservoirs. They provide habitat for geese, ducks, shorebirds, gulls, and terns. The Arkansas River and associated ponds and lakes provide more habitat. Our forests have been extensively logged. Maturing second growth forest occupies at least as many acres as it did historically. The expanse of the Ozark National Forest guarantees a good future for many forest birds. Hardy native Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) forests were harvested early to build our cities. Due primarily to successful wildfire suppression and a lack of planned regeneration, predominantly Shortleaf Pine stands have extensively reverted to predominantly hardwood stands growing up and dominating the remnant pines. Well-managed native pines are good places to find Red Crossbills. The rugged Boston Mountains has hindered its economic development. The Ozark National Forest occupies much of the area. These forests are part of the vast Central Hardwoods region (Fitzgerald et al. 2002) containing over 15% of the world’s nesting populations of Eastern Wood-Pewees, Acadian Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Blue-winged Warblers, Prairie Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and Summer Tanagers. And even higher percentages of the following: Worm-eating Warbler and Field Sparrow (20%), Kentucky Warbler (28%), and Eastern Whip- poor-will (35%). In the 19th century, prairies in a floralistic sense were still common in western Arkansas. Maps produced from compilations of historical sources illustrate our chief prairie areas (see Dale 1986). There were many additional prairies. Fort Chaffee east of Fort Smith was built on former Massard Prairie. The center of Northwest Arkansas City is Prairie Township, now downtown Fayetteville. Who would have thought our famous Farmer’s Market was likely a Greater Prairie-Chicken lek? Rogers-Bentonville-Lowell-Centerton has risen upon Osage Prairie. The 10-acre Searles Prairie Natural Area in Rogers is mute witness to that once 10,000-acre Tallgrass Prairie. On the other hand, former prairies and prairie woodlands within Pea Ridge National Military Park include examples of prairie and associated woodland, and riparian habitats (Shugart and James 1973). Also included is an extensive warm season grass restoration associated with Leetown battlefield. While some natural bird habitats have disappeared, others have been created. The bulk of our shorebird records come from Craig State Fish Hatchery, built in a wetland on the former Osage Prairie. Migrating shorebirds once paused to feed and rest in the shallow water and surrounding muddy fields of artesian spring runs and temporary rain-fed pools typical of poorly drained fields in the Springfield Plateau (Smith et al. 1991). Comparable situations in the vast Arkansas River Valley involve former oxbows, some cut off from the river naturally, forming small natural lakes. Many others were cut during creation of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River 5 Navigation System. Shallow flooding of these former oxbows and adjoining crop fields produces ephemeral migration habitat that mirrows, at some level, the way things were in the past for migrating birds. Frog Bayou Wildlife Management Area provides a convenient place to them. The Ozarks have no natural lakes. However since the 1930s, ponds and reservoirs have been constructed by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Corps of Engineers, cities and towns, and private landowners. Each impoundment damages natural streams while providing habitats for water birds. Adjoining public lands provide habitat for forest birds. Free-flowing streams have been lost to dam projects, but others remain. The Buffalo River escaped burial under a reservoir as a result of a citizen-lead fight against proposed dams. The epic story of conservation against long odds is well told by Smith (1967, 2004), Compton (1992), and others. Much of what we know about our avifauna is directly attributable to the life work of ecologist, teacher, and field trip leader, Douglas A. James of the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. Legions of Arkansans first discovered the joy of birding and an interest in all aspects of natural history on a Doug James field trip. Beginning in the early 1950s, Doug and others compiled an extensive card file of bird records for the entire state. These records, plus Doug’s own research and that of his many students, formed the core of Arkansas Birds (James and Neal 1986). They can be viewed on the website maintained by Arkansas Audubon Society. Since 2002, the data in these files has been augmented by the lively, online Birds of Arkansas discussion list managed by Kimberly G. Smith of the UA-Fayetteville. In 2002, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society initiated eBird, a user-friendly online checklist program that is continually adding to our understanding. Ozark Ecological Restoration Inc. provided a grant to assist in preparation of this manuscript. OERI’s goal is “Restoring unique Ozark natural communities.” Important native grasslands, including Chesney Prairie Natural Area (and many others) are beneficiaries of the vision of OERI founder, Joe Woolbright. We are alarmed about world-wide bird declines. In preparing this project, I consulted data from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (2016), including its Watch List. Sadly, our birds appear on this list mainly because of habitat loss. It is happening in western Arkansas, too. In the following pages, birds are presented in standard phlogenetic order reflecting evolutionary relationships. I adopted the Arkansas list with supporting documentation prepared by Charles Mills (Arkansas Audubon Society home page). This is in turn based upon the American Ornithological Society’s Checklist of North and Middle American Birds as amended through the 58th supplement, July 1917. In the case of birds that have been found in all seasons, I call them residents. Transients pass through. Some are mainly summer residents, others mainly winter residents. A bird is common if it can be found most days in moderate or large numbers. Uncommon -- harder to find, but still expected at times in appropriate habitat and season. A rare bird is a welcome surprise. An irruptive species may not occur every year and numbers when present are highly variable. I use + to indicate additional records. BIRDS IN AND AROUND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS CITY is a framework, a record of the past and a point of departure. Every field trip is a chance to add to the picture. That’s the nature of science and its self-correcting way of doing business. This journey began for me thousands of field trips ago. Hopefully, after I have hung up my binoculars for the last time – gone on to what one friend calls “The Place Where Birding Is Always Good” – you future birders will also enjoy this opportunity. The 2 x 4s are in these pages. There will be many additions and changes in the future. -- Joseph C. Neal February 2018 6 Contents Map inside front cover Dedication: Doug James 4 Note to readers of the future 5 Species accounts 9-124 Order Anseriformes: ducks, geese, swans 9 Order Galliformes: bobwhite, turkey 18 Order Podicipediformes: grebes 19 Order Columbiformes: pigeons, doves 21 Order Cuculiformes: cuckoos, roadrunner 22 Order Caprimulgiformes: goatsuckers 23 Order Apodiformes: swifts, hummingbirds 24 Order Gruiformes: rails, cranes, gallinules 26 Order Charadriiformes: shorebirds, gulls, terns 28 Order Gaviiformes: loons 42 Order Suliformes: frigatebirds, cormorants, anhinga 43 Order Pelecaniformes: pelicans, bitterns, herons, ibises 44 Order Cathartiformes: vultures 49 Order Accipitriformes: osprey, kites, harrier, eagle, hawk 50 Order Strigiformes: owl 56 Order Coraciiformes: kingfisher 58 Order Piciformes: