The Leaflet, July - August 2004

What exciting times we live in! On June 8 I got up early and watched Venus transit the sun through telescopes on the Atwater Parking Garage. About 300 people, including small children, were there to witness an event none of them had seen before and some would not see again. No one will see it more than twice in a lifetime. It will be eight years till the next transit and about 120 years until the following event. At the same time, cicadas were crawling around on the pavement and starting to buzz in the tree nearby. When will the next cicada emergence coincide with a transit of Venus? The mind boggles.

The cicadas have caught the attention of a lot of folks who usually pay little attention to natural events. Hard to ignore the hordes of bumbling, buzzing bugs crawling on your car and popping under the tires! Conservation Chair Jess Gwinn has been gathering them by the bucket-full and freezing them to feed the birds in winter. What a treat they will have! He is also feeding them to frogs and fish in his ponds and the critters have learned to recognize his approach and get ready to gobble his offerings. When my bluebirds fledged, I cleaned out the old nest and found it filled with dried cicada corpses. Evidently they were too much of a good thing for the baby bluebirds and they couldn’t keep up with the supply. I watched a daddy longlegs haul off a cicada wing, so little is going to waste.

The final great event is the imminent purchase of Goose Pond and Beehunter Marsh that will place this treasure in public hands for the enjoyment of all. The SAS Board was proud and excited to offer a donation towards the purchase of this property and equally enthused about giving members the opportunity to increase the amount to be donated by adding their personal donations to the amount we can send. I am writing out my check and mailing it to the SAS P.O. Box to add to the pot. I hope you will, too. Let’s do something proactive and keep this wonderful birdwatching area open to all.

The Christmas trip my husband Jeremy and I took to the Philippines included an exciting bonus--several days in Hong Kong as we passed through in transit. We instantly fell in love with this glittering city and its mix of cosmopolitan and natural environments. Hong Kong’s location along the coast of southern China, and its excellent winter habitat for migrants, make it an exciting and gratifying stop for birders.

The first stop was a layover on our way to the Philippines on December 22. We decided to venture into the city and relax at Kowloon Park, a large green oasis in the middle of the city. The train ride from the airport to the city running along the coastline was stunning, and we saw our first birds in Hong Kong--some Oriental Magpie Robins and some far-off gulls. In several hours at the park we identified 15 bird species, including Spotted Dove, Black-eared Kite, Black-crowned Night Heron, Crested and Chinese Bulbuls, Japanese White-eye, Black-necked Starling, Black-crowned Night Heron and Yellow-nibbed Duck. We watched White-backed Munias going in and out of their woven ball-shaped nests. The biggest surprises were several enormous Rose-ringed Parakeets, an introduced species that has been established in Hong Kong for a century.

Our next junket in Hong Kong was on our way back, on January 3, 2004. This time we were more prepared to seriously bird. Months earlier, I had found Andy Smith, English expat and keen birder, through the website Birding Pal. Andy ended up being a wonderful guide, taking us to the two premier birding sites in Hong Kong: Tai Po Kau and Mai Po Marshes. On our own using public transport this would probably have been impossible, but with Andy driving us in his car we crammed a lot of birding into our 12 hour day.

We started at Tai Po Kau, Hong Kong’s most mature forest and a representative patch of the rapidly-disappearing lowland forest of south China. As the guide Birds of Hong Kong and South China warned, birding Tai Po Kau is challenging. The sub-tropical forest is dense, and forest birds in Asia do seem more secretive and skittish than their counterparts in North America. Climbing out of our car at the base of the hills, the first birds we saw (after we finished gawking at the macaques hovering above us in the trees!), were Great Tits and Yellow-cheeked Tits. Slowly working our way up the beautiful mountain path, we added Crested Myna, Common Tailorbird, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Gray-headed Flycatcher, Hair-crested Drongo, and lots of Yellow-browed Warblers (amongst which there were surely some Pallas’ Warblers, but they are difficult to ID in the field). One delightful spot along a stream yielded a handful of colorful little passerines -- Red-headed Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, and Fork-tailed Sunbird. According to Andy, the best find of the morning was a Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike. Jeremy and I concurred that the prize for best bird name definitely went to the Rufous-necked Scimitar Babbler. Bulbuls were plentiful, with 3 species found -- Crested, Chinese and Chestnut Bulbuls.

Escapees and introduced species are a big issue for Hong Kong birders. Caged birds are still popular in Asia, and the Buddhist folk practice of buying and then releasing caged birds in order to gain good karma is still practiced. We saw several introduced species at Tai Po Kau, including the Blue-winged Minla, which is apparently now established in Hong Kong; a Silver-eared Messia, also now established; and several that clearly were escapees -- an unidentified green bird most definitely not in the guide, and a White-eye with a brilliant orange chin amongst a flock of Japanese White-eyes.

After 7 hours at Tai Po Kau our feet were already sore, but my anticipation grew as we made the 30 minute drive northwest to the New Territories of Hong Kong. Located on Deep Bay and lying between Hong Kong and mainland China, Mai Po is a Ramsar site and one of the most important wetlands in East Asia. I had learned about Mai Po in the early 1990’s when I worked in Japan on wetland and bird conservation. Birding there was truly a dream come true. I especially hoped to see Dalmatian Pelican and Black-Faced Spoonbill, two species I had coveted for many years.

The Hong Kong side bordering the wetland is a mix of industrial, residential and agricultural uses, while the Chinese side features the towering monoliths of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone -- one of the PRC’s "test sites" for capitalism. Managed by WWF-Hong Kong, Mai Po comprises mangrove forests and traditionally managed shrimp ponds called gei wai. The gei wai offer excellent waterbird habitat as well as a model of sustainable wetlands management.

According to Andy, illegal workers trying to get into Hong Kong from PRC also commonly use Mai Po as cover when crossing the border. An ominous barbed-wire fence separates the area from PRC proper, and cameras monitor several places along the fence. Although we saw none, Andy told us that PRC soldiers are a fairly common sight at Mai Po. Because of this, and the sensitive ecology of the area, a fairly rigorous permit process is in place. We secured our permit several months earlier through WWF’s Mai Po web site.

As we approached the reserve, we stopped at several outlying wetlands to have looks at Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Chinese Pond Heron, Great Egret, Collared Crow and Magpie. After formally checking in and paying the entrance fees, we headed toward a large blind overlooking a series of ponds in the center of the marsh where we had nice views of Pintail, Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon and Avocet. After leaving the blind area, we continued along the well-maintained path circling the marsh, headed toward the mangrove swamp. We saw several passerines as we walked, getting especially good looks at Olive-backed Pipit, White Wagtail, Stonechat, and Daurian Redstart. We also added Common Sandpiper, White-breasted Waterhen, and Moorhen to our waterbird list. Jeremy managed to catch a brief glimpse of a passing Peregrine Falcon that caused a panic among the passerines.

Next we came to a large gate that led to a series of floating plank-board catwalks tucked between the mangroves. After a ten minute walk along these bobbing, narrow boards, we came to another blind looking out upon the mudflats revealed by low-tide at Deep Bay. Unfortunately, we were looking west at about 5pm and most of the shorebirds were at such a great a distance that even our spotting scopes did not yield very good views. We were able to pick out Eurasian Curlew and Whimbrel, along with Osprey and Eastern Marsh Harrier, among the numerous pond herons, egrets and uncountable smaller shorebirds. We were each slowly scanning the mudflat when suddenly Andy burst out, "I have two pelicans!" Indeed, two Dalmatians -- the largest pelicans in the world with a 3 meter wingspan -- were flying slowly toward us and we were able to get decent looks before they turned off and headed back toward the bay. This critically endangered bird had long been one my most sought after species, and these two magnificent individuals were the highlight of the trip. My joy at seeing them was mixed with sadness to learn that this year only 3 Dalmatian Pelicans had returned to Mai Po, down from a population of about 20 in the 1980s. (I was relieved to learn later that the Mediterranean population of Dalmatians is small but stable).

Backtracking through the mangroves, we returned to the main path and continued our march around the center ponds of Mai Po. A real delight of the area are the kingfishers. Five species are found in the area and we saw three: Common, Black-capped, and White-breasted. A bright little Common Kingfisher seemed to lead us down the last stretch of our journey at Mai Po. I was beginning to worry about missing the Black-Faced Spoonbills, but that was soon remedied. We had stopped to look at some White-Cheeked Starlings when I looked east across the main pond and saw a small group of Black-Faced Spoonbills wading in the water. We saw several more, both flying and on the water, as we made our way back to the car. The satisfaction of finally getting to see this Spoonbill made it a close second to the pelicans for highlight of the trip.

It was a long and exhausting day, but we added 67 species to our Asian trip list and experienced two incredibly beautiful and richly diverse habitats. Hong Kong is an amazing place, and finishing the day with an exquisite Chinese meal in a beautiful and exciting city made it one of our best birding days ever.

Tired of renewal notices that consume precious forests? Call (800) 274-4201 and sign up for Audubon’s Paper Free Renewal Program. Instead of mailing renewal reminders, Audubon will automatically renew your membership each year. You’ll simply receive a bill, as with a newspaper subscription. Of course, you can cancel at any time. In addition, we will be glad to code your record right away for no additional promotional mailings.

SAS is looking for some dedicated volunteers to replace outgoing Leaflet editor and webmaster Angela Jordan. Contact her for more information at aejordan@indiana.edu or 333-1168.

Leaflet Editor

Responsibilities: Managing deadlines and editing content for the bi-monthly SAS newsletter. Approx. 6 hrs every other month, but can vary.

Skills: Strong English and editorial skills required. Computer skills should include word processing and ability to use e-mail with attachments. Experience in editing small newsletters desirable. Familiarity with desktop publishing is helpful but not required.

Webmaster

Responsibilities: Maintaining content on the SAS web site, which includes bi-monthly newsletter content, up-to-date outings information, and other changes as required. Avg. 3 hrs/month.

Skills: Ability to create and edit HTML files (using a text or WYSIWIG editor); ability to create and edit graphic files as needed (using Photoshop or similar program); familiarity with FTP. Knowledge of CSS desirable.

All outings and programs are free and open to non-members.

All outings and programs are free and open to non-members.

Watch our web site http://www.bloomington.in.us/~audubon/ and the Bloomington Birds e-mail list for announcements about other upcoming outings and activities.

Saturday, July 10 Breeding Birds At Griffy Lake

Join Kris D'Atri at Griffy Lake where we will work on identifying the common breeding birds of the area. We may find a Baltimore Oriole's nest, a fishing Green Heron or a Prothonotary Warbler. This will be a great opportunity for beginning and intermediate birdwatchers to work on the summer resident birds of our southern Indiana forests and ponds. Meet Kris at the Griffy Lake parking lot near the boathouse at 8:00 a.m. We will walk the area for a couple of hours and should be done before 11:00 or whenever the birds get quiet. For more information, contact Kris at krisdatri@astmail.fm or 339-5346.

Wednesday, July 28, 7:00 p.m. July Program: The Goose Pond Project

Glen Salmon, Director of the DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, will be talking about acquisition plans and potential future uses of the 8,000 acre Goose Pond property in Greene County. Glen is a Bloomington native and an IU grad. If schedules allow, Glen hopes to be accompanied by DNR Director John Goss. Many of you might remember John from his days as Deputy Mayor for the City of Bloomington.

The Goose Pond property is currently in private ownership and most of the acreage has been enrolled in the Federal Wetland Reserve Program. The current owner has been very patient as the DNR tries to line up a funding strategy to acquire the property for use as a public fish and wildlife area. Partnerships will be the key as we try to piece together the funds required to make the purchase. We appreciate the help of any conservation minded group in this endeavor. See the Activist’s Corner on page 5 for more information.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event, to be held at 7:00 p.m. in Room 1C of the Monroe County Public Library. Refreshments will be served.

Saturday, August 7 Bird Walk at Friendship Road

Friendship Road in eastern Monroe County can be one of the best places to bird in the area. A variety of habitats come together here and so do a large variety of birds. It's also one of the quietest and least-traveled roads in the county, and the birds love that too. Jerry Downs will lead us on a hike beyond the end of Friendship Road to look for songbirds, shorebirds, and herons. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes, and you may want to bring some insect repellent. Jerry will meet participants at 7:00 a.m. in the northeast corner of the K-mart parking lot on East Third Street in Bloomington. From there, we will car pool to Friendship Rd. and we should return by late morning. For more information, contact Jerry at jdowns@indiana.edu or Mike Clarke at 334-8860.

Saturday, August 14 Exotic Herons of Lake Monroe

For the past several summers, the middle of August has heralded the arrival of good numbers of exotic herons and egrets to our area. After breeding in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, herons and egrets spread out and travel to lakes and ponds throughout the midwest before heading south again. On this outing, we'll search the North Fork area of Lake Monroe for some of these exotic herons. With some luck, we could see Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, or Great Egrets. We will probably find our resident Great Blue Herons and Green Herons as well. If lake levels are favorable, we may find some migrating shorebirds too. We'll meet at 8:30 a.m. in the northeast corner of the K-mart parking lot on East Third Street in Bloomington. From there we'll car pool to North Fork and then return to town before noon. For more information, contact Mike Clarke at shengeve@indiana.edu or 988-1671.

On May 1st, several teams participating in the Monroe County Parks and Recreation annual Bird-a-thon were delighted to find a singing Chuck-will's-widow at the end of Friendship Road in the eastern part of the county. This southern cousin of the familiar Whip-poor-will occurs sporadically each summer throughout the southern one-third of the state. It occurs in greater numbers in the deep south where it is most often found in pine and oak woods near farm fields. It is the largest member of the nightjar family, which includes the Whip-poor-will, Common Nighthawk and the Common Poorwill of the western U.S.

Like other nightjars (so-called for their incessant singing which "jars the night"), the Chuck feeds largely on insects, which it catches in flight with its huge mouth. It is also known to occasionally catch small sparrows and warblers. The female lays its eggs directly on the leaf litter of the forest floor. These birds are incredibly well-camouflaged and are most often seen during the day when flushed from the ground. The Chuck has been found on a few occasions in Monroe County over the past several decades, so while it was a pleasant surprise for birders to find this one, it was not without precedent. What was unprecedented was what occurred in the weeks to follow.

Over the first several weeks of May, our Chuck sang its name almost nightly from its perch very near the road, thrilling local birders and a few from around the state and meeting every birdwatcher's listing needs...state list, county list, year list or life list. Lee Sterrenburg, who lives on Lampkin's Ridge near this Chuck's haunt, made frequent visits to the site to keep tabs on the bird and post about its presence on the BloomingtonBirds e-mail list. It wasn't clear that this stray would find a mate and the possibility of it leaving the area at any time seemed high. It was quite a shock therefore to read Lee's post to the B-birds list on June 2nd that he and area birder David Drutt had witnessed a courtship ritual between TWO Chuck-will's-widows at the same location.

Lee wrote: "The Chucks faced each other clucking. They proceeded to do a coordinated courtship dance. The first Chuck fluttered straight up into the air about 3 feet, and then fluttered back down to the ground. The second Chuck repeated that process. I saw them do this three times. The last time they fluttered up into the air almost simultaneously. Then they flew off together into the bushes. They did a lot of clucking during the dance."

As if it wasn't thrilling enough to have a local mating pair of Chuck-will's-widows, on the next night David Drutt reported hearing a second male Chuck calling in tandem with the first as the female flew overhead on several occasions. Amazingly, not only had our bird found a mate, but also some competition for its attention as well! The next evening, Lee again reported seeing a complex series of mating rituals between male and female while the second male sang from a short distance away.

In the following several evenings, droves of area birders got to experience the rare Indiana event of hearing and seeing multiple Chuck-will's-widows. As of press time, the destiny of a potential Chuck family with fledglings is unknown, but we will be keeping our fingers crossed. With some luck, this species may become more familiar to Monroe County residents and its call may jar the night in future summers.

The 14th annual Monroe County Birdathon took place Saturday May 1 with six teams competing. Despite the rainy, sunny, warm, windy, cold weather, a total of 154 species were recorded within the county limits. The highest total was 133, for the Mudhens (Jim Brown, Jo Hargesheimer, and Cathy Meyer). Susan Hengeveld of the Prothonotary Wanderers raised the most pledges, with over $500 to go for conservation projects of the Sassafras Audubon Society. Highlights are listed below. A complete list is available on request from Cathy Meyer.

Highlights included: Common Loon (Lake Lemon); Double-crested Cormorant; Little Blue Heron (possibly 3); Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Leonard Springs); Black Vulture (Monroe Dam); Ring-necked Duck; Osprey; Bald Eagle; Northern Harrier (Flatwoods); Ruffed Grouse; Wild Turkey; Virginia Rail; Sora; Semipalmated Plover; Greater Yellowlegs; Lesser Yellowlegs; Spotted Sandpiper; Solitary Sandpiper; Pectoral Sandpiper; Wilson’s Snipe; American Woodcock; Bonaparte’s Gull (Fairfax); Ring-billed Gull; Herring Gull; Caspian Tern (Lake Monroe); Common Tern; Forster’s Tern; Chuck-will’s Widow (Friendship Road); Whip-poor-will; Red-headed Woodpecker and 5 more species; Eastern Wood-Pewee; Acadian Flycatcher; Eastern Phoebe; Great Crested Flycatcher; Eastern Kingbird; White-eyed Vireo; Yellow-throated Vireo; Warbling Vireo; Red-eyed Vireo; all 6 swallows; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Eastern Bluebird; Swainson’s Thrush; Wood Thrush; all 3 mimics; Cedar Waxwing; Blue-winged Warbler; Tennessee Warbler; Nashville Warbler; Northern Parula; Yellow Warbler; Chestnut-sided Warbler; Magnolia Warbler; Cape May Warbler; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Black-throated Green Warbler; Yellow-throated Warbler; Pine Warbler; Prairie Warbler; Palm Warbler; Bay-breasted Warbler; Blackpoll Warbler; Cerulean Warbler; Black-and White Warbler; American Redstart; Prothonotary Warbler; Worm-eating Warbler; Ovenbird; N. Waterthrush; Louisiana Waterthrush; Kentucky Warbler; Common Yellowthroat; Hooded Warbler; Yellow-breasted Chat; Savannah Sparrow; Grasshopper Sparrow; Henslow’s Sparrow; Swamp Sparrow; White-throated Sparrow; White-crowned Sparrow; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Blue Grosbeak; Indigo Bunting; Dickcissel; Orchard Oriole; Baltimore Oriole; Purple Finch.

Sassafras Audubon Society would like to express our gratitude to the following individuals for pledging contributions to our Birdathon teams. Your donations help us to continue our conservation and education efforts.

Dawn Hewitt
James Allan and Cathy Luna
George and Betsy Allan
Karen and Alan Blackledge
Al and Kathy Ruesink
Laura Hurley and Troy Smith
Hanna Kolodziejski
George Hegeman
Mary Ann Miller
Dee Juric
Sherry Carpenter
John and Kathleen Clarke
Steve Clarke
Jim and Susan Hengeveld

The Goose Pond acquisition project continues to move forward with appraisals completed and negotiations to begin soon. The major hurdle remaining is the fund raising. The Indiana Heritage Trust has committed $250,000 to the project with a possibility for more. An application has been made for a $750,000 federal waterfowl grant with the possibility of upping this to $1,000,000. The State has also received a $1,500,000 federal grant that must be matched on a one to one basis. To help meet this match the Nature Conservancy has pledged $1,000,000. Another $500,000 must be raised to meet this match. To this end the Sassafras Audubon Society is asking our members to donate to this cause. For every dollar raised by our membership the SAS board has pledged to contribute (from the SAS savings account) a matching dollar up to a maximum of $1,000. Mail your check payable to SAS to P.O. Box 85, Bloomington, IN 47402 and indicate ’Goose Pond’ in the memo line. Please send contributions before June 30.

It is very important for the birding community and other non-consumptive wildlife enthusiasts to show support for this project. State fish and wildlife projects have traditionally been dominated with management for the consumptive users such as hunters and fishers. Thus far, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has expressed a strong desire for this property to be managed for a wide variety of non-game species. This would be accomplished via natural water level fluctuations instead of artificial water level increases and decreases for waterfowl management. The birding community needs to put their money where their mouth is after years of complaining about the narrowly focused game species management of the other state fish and wildlife areas. Here is your chance to finally help create a wildlife area that will truly benefit all wildlife. How much is this worth to you? Please contribute to the Goose Pond acquisition.

If you have questions about the project be certain to attend the Sassafras Audubon monthly program on July 28, 2004, when Glen Salmon of the Indiana DNR will discuss the latest developments at Goose Pond.

Greene County birder Diana Seger of Lyons died suddenly at her home on June 1st, 2004. I first met Diana in March of 2002 on an Indiana Audubon Society outing to the wetlands and strip mine grasslands of Greene and Sullivan Counties. She had been birding mostly on her own for more than 13 years before hooking up with IAS and Sassafras Audubon via the internet and the IN-BIRD-L and BLOOMINGTON-BIRDS-L listservs.

Over the past two years I birded with her often when in her area. Diana was the person who first told me about Beehunter Marsh. Beehunter is a short drive from where she lived. She went there frequently. She was very interested in the Beehunter and Goose Pond wetland reclamations, and she was a storehouse of newspaper and web information about those projects and the long local controversy about them.

We use the phrase, "Indiana Birds and their Haunts." Diana really knew some of the haunts. She seemed to know almost every county road in Greene, Knox, Daviess, Dubois, and parts of Sullivan Counties. She also knew an amazing number of people living along those roads. She took me to dead end roads, oxbows, and farm tracks along the White River that look promising. She was a Master Gardener and very interested in the native plants of Indiana. She knew many scattered small woodlots, plots, edges, ditch margins, and roadsides where native plants survive.

Her last birds were an Indiana lifer. On May 31, I was out birding with Mike Clarke and eventually found (8) Cattle Egrets at Beehunter Marsh. I knew that Diana needed Cattle Egret as a state bird.

In the afternoon, I went by her place and picked her up. We drove to Beehunter and saw the breeding plumage Egrets. As usual with a good bird, she said "Way cool!" She died of natural causes the next morning. She was 50 years old. I will miss her great enthusiasm for the outdoors when I bird the marsh and grasslands. Diana made many friends in Sassafras Audubon during the two years she was active in our group. We will remember her wit and her knowledge of native places and their plants and birds.

It seems reasonable to suggest a strong relationship between the number of birders on a field trip and the rarity of the hoped-for species. In mid-April I traveled west to Clinton Lake (IL) for a day field trip sponsored by the Illinois Ornithological Society (IOS). The "main" target birds for every one of the 35 birders were the elusive LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii) and the ultra-secretive Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis), both known to migrate through this area. In addition, I was curious to participate in a field trip run by an organization similar to SAS.

Clinton Lake is in central Illinois, about 30 miles southwest of Champaign-Urbana. The lake provides good year-round water for observing resident and migrating waterfowl. West of the lake are two swampy meadows with short grass and some small woody plants and weeds, promising habitat for Yellow Rail (YERA) and LeConte’s Sparrow (LESP), respectively. Under the leadership of IOS member Peter Weber, we split into two search lines and collapsed towards each other to flush any marsh birds. Our efforts in this low green mush yielded many Wilson’s Snipe, a lone Sora, and one Northern Harrier, but no YERA.

Employing the same tactic in the more dry east field, we were able to locate at least two LESPs but only because one birder caught a corner-of-the-eye glimpse of a sparrow-like bird diving into the low grass. We collapsed a tight search circle around this bird but had only fleeting looks. A second LESP, of course outside our circle, flushed and then stayed put in a small opening in a grass tuft. The yellow buff of the flanks and breast and the central crown white strip were quite apparent.

One group member who had seen "enough" of the LeConte’s Sparrow was wandering around and by pure happenstance kicked up a miniscule rail-like bird with obvious white on the trailing edge of the wings. With the shouts of "Rail!," we reassembled our search circle and closed to a diameter of around 6ft. We searched through the grass on our hands and knees to locate this bird. The YERA scurried mouse-like between tufts and tunnels of the low grass, over several birders’ boots and even briefly sat in the palm of our leader’s hand!

It was simply amazing to see a Yellow Rail in full daylight at only 2 feet away! Binoculars were useless in viewing the YERA’s field marks. All of us left the marsh with quite lively steps. We later added Vesper Sparrow, Cooper’s Hawk, and distant Smith’s Longspurs in a nearby farm field to add to the days’ total of 75 species. Hats off to IOS for the well-organized and fruitful trip to Clinton Lake. As a bonus, I met a birder on the trip who recently moved to Bloomington and was interested in joining SAS.