Header Photo Credit: Northern Flicker by David Zieg/Audubon Photography Awards
As I said in my previous fall blog this time last year, fall birding can be a challenge. Much of your success depends on luck and being at the right place at the right time. That said, all of the things you’ve practiced will come in handy: birding by ear, binocular skills, and knowing what a bird species is likely to be doing, e.g., skulking in the brush, sitting in the treetops, or running along a muddy shore. You have two particularly large disadvantages as a fall birder:
1) the birds aren’t in their breeding color, so they’re likely a drab version of themselves
2) they are no longer trying to attract a mate or defend a territory so they aren’t singing full songs.
Still, just like in spring, fall brings migrants through our area that we only see twice a year, so the effort and payoff can be thrilling. You’ll also see many of our old resident friends fattening up on seeds, berries, insects, etc.—some for hundreds of miles of flight to their wintering grounds, and some to weather the cooler days on their way. And some species are even finishing their parental duties with this summer’s first or second clutch of babies.
Photo Credit: Black-and-White Warbler by Brandon Corry/Audubon Photography Awards
Though I haven’t yet seen migrating warblers, participants on the two most recent Lawrence Bird Alliance field trips have caught sightings of a Black-and-white Warbler, a Black-throated Green Warbler, and a Nashville Warbler. So migrants are already out on the move, and many more are on their way!
I’ve tried to mix it up this time and will be introducing two Lawrence-area destinations I’ve never written about before. Depending on the day of the week you visit them, both of them offer sweet opportunities for beauty and respite for both birds and people.
Rockefeller Native Prairie
KU’s Rockefeller Native Prairie offers a great mix of prairie and trees to maximize the species you might see. This is a completely accessible path, which makes it a lovely place for everyone to visit. If you time your birding for just before sunset, you can get a stunning view of Lawrence shining golden through the trees at the curvy bench lookout built by KU architecture students at the path’s midway point.
My wife Lisa and I saw the same flock of wild turkeys crossing Wildhorse Road on our approach we’ve seen on other visits, so the oak history forests nearby provide them plenty of fodder. We also saw and/or heard, a Mourning Dove, Turkey Vultures, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Northern Flicker, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, American Crows, a Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins, and American Goldfinch.
Photo Credit: Northern Flicker by David Zieg/Audubon Photography Awards
There is plenty of parking at the trailhead at the junction of Wildhorse Road and 1st Street. For the intrepid bicyclist, this is a great destination not too far from Downtown Lawrence via some relatively low-travelled farm roads north of town.
Mutt Run Off-Leash Dog Park
Not only does the Mutt Run by Clinton Lake Reservoir offer a great place for dogs and their people to venture freely off-leash, it also has a couple of miles of easy loop trails perfect for birding. On a recent trip there, I was reminded again of how differently birds act in the fall when defending a territory, courtship, breeding, and nesting are no longer a concern. I quieted myself on a bench to see if I could blend in enough for birds to vocalize and show themselves.
Photo Credit: Bell's Vireo by Sherman Barr/Audubon Photography Awards
I’ve only heard Bell’s Vireos in the summer here, muttering their rising and falling call to each other across paths, so it took me a few moments to realize that’s what I was hearing again. The song sounded soft and muted, as if muttered through a cardboard tube. But they were still here, no doubt readying for their long journey to their overwintering grounds on the Southern coast of Mexico and Central America. Since this bird’s scrub habitat is declining, we’re fortunate to have a couple of places here in Lawrence where it likes to nest and raise its young.
Photo Credit: Indigo Bunting by Sandeep Somasekharan/Audubon Photography Awards
Also, I saw several Indigo Bunting fledglings pursuing their parents through the same trees and brush, using only a chip call that sounds very much like a Northern Cardinal’s to keep track of each other. They too are preparing for their journey to wintering grounds from Mexico to northern South America. (Though plentiful, they are in slight decline from collisions with buildings and power lines during migration and from illegal collection as caged birds in their breeding grounds.)
Photo Credit: Great Crested Flycatcher by Gary Rasmussen/Audubon Photography Awards
Among these two gems, I also saw and/or heard a Mourning Dove, Turkey Vultures, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatchers, an Eastern Kingbird, Blue Jays, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Gray Catbird, an Eastern Bluebird, American Robins, American Goldfinches, and Northern Cardinals.
Again, there is plenty of parking at the trailhead. I decided to make a day of it, and rode the Lawrence Loop hike/bike trail to and from the site and brought a picnic lunch to eat at the picnic shelter. Distracted by looking at a bird in my binos, what I thought was a gnat on my leg turned out to be a sweet dog giving me a nuzzle.
