Ice Fishing and More Sparrow Confundo

This is the first January I've ever actually gone out to look for birds. As I said in an earlier blog, I only recently knew there was so much to see this time of year, and I hit the new year pretty hard with birding, especially in the first couple of weeks. On New Year's Day, I had some friends over at the house, and I had to work in the afternoon so there wasn't a whole lot of time for birds. Carrie woke up pretty early to prepare breakfast for our guests, and she was rewarded with being the first to see a couple of Brown Creepers in our yard along with Goldfinches and Black-capped Chickadees. This was not the first time we had seen them in our yard, but the first time we had seen them in weeks or possibly over a month. I did put some of Jim's Birdaceous Bark Butter (basically a mix of suet and peanut butter), which was designed to attract Creepers, on the tree the night before. Brown Creepers land on the bottom of tree trunks and scurry up the tree eating what they find in the cracks of the bark on their way up. Their long bill was designed to reach into the cracks of the bark, and their legs were designed to hold them vertically to the trunk of the tree. As you can see, they also blend very well with the bark, which disguises them from predators. If they were a different color, they might be a sitting duck on the bottom of the trunk. God designed them very well. They scurry to the top of the tree very quickly, moving around to the other side of the tree as they go so that they are often easy to miss. The easiest time to catch a glimpse is when they first land on the bottom of the tree trunk, or when they are preoccupied with Jim's Birdaceous Bark Butter. Notice the sap wells all up and down the tree above. These were made by our Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, which should be back for a couple of weeks in early April to drink some more sap from the old wells.


I left early and stopped by Evergreen Lake on my way to work in the afternoon, but did not see much other than some Canada Geese and a small flock of Horned Larks. After a wrong turn, which led me back to Normal, I saw this American Kestrel.

Since I worked on Friday and Saturday, I took my holiday on Monday and decided to follow the trail left by Les Allen and Angelo Capparella, who went to Centennial Park in Heyworth and Sugar Grove Nature Center in Funks Grove on New Year's Day. The main reason, I wanted to visit these two locations was to see Eurasian Tree Sparrows, which Les had reported seeing at both locations, including the feeders at Sugar Grove Nature Center. I thought this would be an easy bird to add to my life list, especially if I could see them at a feeder station. Until Les reported this sighting on the Central Illinois Birding Forum, I did not realize that Eurasian Tree Sparrows could be seen in McLean County. Angelo, who is an Associate Professor of Zoology at Illinois State University, later informed me that they have only recently become regular in McLean County. He said that Eurasian Tree Sparrows were introduced in the St Louis area, but have spread very slowly, and a few of them were only first noticed at Sugar Grove about five years ago. As far as I can tell from the maps in the guide books, in North American they can only be seen in Missouri, Illinois and sparsely in a few other surrounding states.

House Sparrows, which are very similar in appearance, are a close relative of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, but have spread at a much more alarming rate since they were first brought to this continent from England. Their expansion has been devastating, particularly to Eastern Bluebirds because they aggressively compete with them for nesting cavities in trees. As Angelo said, "It will be interesting to see how Eurasian Tree Sparrows compete with introduced House Sparrows and our native birds."

Before I got out the door to search for some Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Carrie and I observed a new visitor in our yard. This Cooper's Hawk was stalking the song birds at our feeders, but did not manage to catch anything.

When I arrived at Centennial Park late in the morning, I quickly began taking pictures of a bird that I thought was a Eurasian Tree Sparrow. In my enthusiasm, I was slow to recognize my blunder, but eventually came to realize that I was rather photographing the all too familiar male House Sparrow. I must admit for a common bird and a Bluebird killer, the male House Sparrow does have very interesting markings. I wonder, would I be much more pleased to see this misplaced beauty if I were not seeing him in North America but in Europe where he belongs?


I was sorely disappointed by my mistake, but I did not give up easily. I thoroughly explored the park, but to no avail. I saw House Sparrows, Song Sparrows, including this one, and even American Tree Sparrows, but no Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

At this point, I might have become discouraged had I not seen what I saw next. Les Allen had also reported seeing a Great Blue Heron at Centennial Park standing out on the middle of the frozen lake, and there it was, not just standing, but fishing--ice-fishing. Great Blue Heron's are common here in Spring, Summer, and Fall, but apparently not many are around in the middle of Winter. The Great Blue Heron is an amazing creature. Need I describe it, or do the pictures speak for themselves. This is the bird that turned me into a bird watcher. The first time I noticed one, I was driving in a rainstorm in Flanagan, IL, when I saw what appeared to be a prehistoric beast nearly flying into my car. Startled and amazed, I did not even know what I had seen. Then a couple of years ago not long after Carrie and I were married we saw one on the bank of Lake Junaluska, NC. As the bird took off and flew across the lake, I captured everything on video with my digital camera. After that, I was hooked. At first I was mostly interested in bigger birds that I could see and photograph with my 4x optical zoom camera, but after Carrie bought me my first guide book, I became interested in smaller birds as well.


As I continued to watch and take pictures, this Heron suddenly sprang into action. At first, I thought he had seen me and was flying away, but I was wrong. He had seen a fish. The Heron's feet kicked backward into the air and its bill plunged forward down into the water. His bill entered the water first at an angle while his feet were still in the air. As his feet came down into the water, the heron began flapping his wings and his bill and then his feet lifted into the air. Almost instantly, as displayed below, he landed on both feet on the ice a few yards ahead with the fish in his mouth as if he was completing the long jump at a track and field event.


After taking plenty of pictures of the Great Blue Heron, I started back toward the car. I saw more House Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos and was hoping to get another chance at a Eurasian Tree Sparrow in the flock, but instead, I saw my first Field Sparrow, another bird Les Allen had reported seeing here on New Year's Day. I only had a few seconds before he was gone.


I left Centennial Park and headed over to Sugar Grove Nature Center at Funks Grove, where I finally saw what I had been searching for--Eurasian Tree Sparrows. The dark patches on their cheeks and the rufous cap on their head made it easy to distinguish them from the male House Sparrows, which were considerably larger.

Although it was now to distinguish between House Sparrows and Eurasian Tree Sparrows when both were present, my case of Sparrow Confundo was far from over. I saw two birds that I though were more Field Sparrows, but they turned out to be juvenile White-crowned Sparrows. I did not realize my mistake until a couple of days later when I was looking over my pictures. I had seen young White-crowned Sparrows before, but I guess I just had the recent Field Sparrow on my mind and did not make a distinction. There is definitely value in carrying a camera in the field, especially for a novice like me.


Later in the afternoon, I saw this Red-tailed Hawk on I-55 feeding off of this carcass. I also made a quick trip to Merwin Nature Preserve where I saw a couple of Redheaded Woodpeckers and a couple of Hairy Woodpeckers, but by that time the light was too poor to take any good pictures.

On January 6, I stopped by Ewing Park, where I photograped this Robin, Chickadee, and Squirrel.

On January 7, I saw these Greater White-fronted Geese at the Water Pump Station at Evergreen Lake. Then I went to El Paso, where I saw the Ross's Goose or hybrid below and some more Greater-White-fronted Geese.


After visiting El Paso Sewage Lagoons, I went back to the Water Pump Station at Evergreen Lake, where I saw a Common Goldeneye, a Bald Eagle ice fishing, and more Greater White-fronted Geese.


On January 8, I saw another Red-tailed Hawk crouching over the same carcass. Then early in the morning on January 10, I saw the Ruddy Ducks pictured below at the Martin Luther King Dr. Gravel Pit. in Normal. Late in the afternoon on the same day, I took a client to Merwin Nature Preserve. We did not see many birds, but we got a close look of an Opossum.


On January 11 on the way home from work, I saw three Snow Buntings and a couple of Horned Larks mixed in with a flock of about 80 Lapland Longspurs.

Below is a list of all of the birds I have seen so far in McLean County this year.

1 Greater White-fronted Goose- Evergreen Lake Water Pump Station- 07 Jan 2011
2 Canada Goose- I-39 entrance/beginning- 01 Jan 2011
3 Mute Swan- Martin Luther King Drive Gravel Pit (Bloomington)- 06 Jan 2011
4 Mallard- Martin Luther King Drive Gravel Pit (Bloomington)- 06 Jan 2011
5 Common Goldeneye- Martin Luther King Drive Gravel Pit (Bloomington)- 06 Jan 2011
6 Ruddy Duck- Martin Luther King Drive Gravel Pit (Bloomington)- 10 Jan 2011
7 Ring-necked Pheasant- Evergreen Lake Mudflat (McLean Co.)- 01 Jan 2011
8 Great Blue Heron- Centennial Park--Heyworth, IL- 03 Jan 2011
9 Bald Eagle- Centennial Park--Heyworth, IL- 03 Jan 2011
10 Sharp-shinned Hawk- Moraine View State Park- 14 Jan 2011
11 Cooper's Hawk- Glenn- 03 Jan 2011
12 Red-tailed Hawk- Evergreen Lake Mudflat (McLean Co.)- 01 Jan 2011
13 American Kestrel- Main St./I-39- 01 Jan 2011
14 Rock Pigeon- I-39 entrance/beginning- 01 Jan 2011
15 Eurasian Collared-Dove- B & F's Variety Shop--501 N. Hinshaw/Bloomington, IL- 07 Jan 2011
16 Mourning Dove- Gridley County Rd 2080 E/Ford St- 01 Jan 2011
17 Red-headed Woodpecker- Merwin Nature Preserve (McLean Co.)- 03 Jan 2011
18 Red-bellied Woodpecker- Glenn- 07 Jan 2011
19 Downy Woodpecker- Glenn- 02 Jan 2011
20 Hairy Woodpecker- Merwin Nature Preserve (McLean Co.)- 03 Jan 2011
21 Northern Flicker- Glenn- 03 Jan 2011
22 Blue Jay- Ewing Park (Bloomington) US-IL- 06 Jan 2011
23 American Crow- Glenn- 01 Jan 2011
24 Horned Lark- Evergreen Lake Mudflat (McLean Co.)- 01 Jan 2011
25 Black-capped Chickadee- Glenn- 01 Jan 2011
26 Tufted Titmouse- Moraine View State Park- 14 Jan 2011
27 Red-breasted Nuthatch- Glenn- 08 Jan 2011
28 White-breasted Nuthatch- Glenn- 02 Jan 2011
29 Brown Creeper- Glenn- 01 Jan 2011
30 American Robin- Centennial Park--Heyworth, IL- 03 Jan 2011
31 European Starling- I-55/Towanda Exit- 01 Jan 2011
32 American Tree Sparrow- Centennial Park--Heyworth, IL- 03 Jan 2011
33 Field Sparrow- Centennial Park--Heyworth, IL- 03 Jan 2011
34 Song Sparrow- Centennial Park--Heyworth, IL- 03 Jan 2011
35 White-throated Sparrow- Glenn- 07 Jan 2011
36 White-crowned Sparrow- Sugar Grove Nature Center, Funks Grove (McLean Co.)- 03 Jan 2011
37 Dark-eyed Junco- Evergreen Lake Mudflat (McLean Co.)- 01 Jan 2011
38 Lapland Longspur- Gridley County Rd 2080 E/Ford St- 11 Jan 2011
39 Snow Bunting- Gridley County Rd 2080 E/Ford St- 11 Jan 2011
40 Northern Cardinal- Glenn- 02 Jan 2011
41 Common Grackle- Sugar Grove Nature Center, Funks Grove (McLean Co.)- 14 Jan 2011
42 Brown-headed Cowbird- Sugar Grove Nature Center, Funks Grove (McLean Co.)- 14 Jan 2011
43 House Finch- Sugar Grove Nature Center, Funks Grove (McLean Co.)- 14 Jan 2011
44 American Goldfinch- Glenn- 01 Jan 2011
45 House Sparrow- Glenn- 02 Jan 2011
46 Eurasian Tree Sparrow- Sugar Grove Nature Center, Funks Grove (McLean Co.)- 03 Jan 2011