July Bird Walk - Korth Park

On an absolutely beautiful day for a walk we had a total of about twenty walkers for a grand tour of the prairie restoration at Korth Park. With a combination of birders, plant expert Matt Weber, and lots of field guides, we studied birds, dragonflies, flowers and anything else that moved. Or didn't, including Kentucky Coffee trees. The most spotted individuals were Halloween Pennant dragonflies (this location is well known for hosting them) and Common Yellowthroat Warblers. More often seen than heard, we did have excellent views of the warblers. We spotted more of the dragonflies than the warblers though, so this page is illustrated with the Halloween Pennant. Another treat was watching the antics of Northern Harriers for several minutes.

Our walks are family friendly and as often happens we had some youngsters with us. It's always interesting to see what sorts of items catch their imaginations. Adds quite a lot to the richness of a walk in nature. A full report on what we saw is below. Thanks again to Karen Etter Hale for the excellent field notes. (Report below is slightly edited from the one online, for the purposes of this web page.)

If you couldn't be with us for this walk, we hope you will be able to join us for an upcoming field trip.

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Korth Park
Jul 19, 2014 8:55 AM - 11:45 AM


Protocol: Traveling
0.7 mile(s)
Comments: 70s; sunny/hazy; W or SW 5mph.


Jefferson-Dodge Bird Walk. Prairie loop from Elm Point Rd. 28 participants from Fort Atkinson, Watertown, Lake Mills, Waterloo, Cottage Grove.


Butterflies and other insects: 2 monarchs, 1 wood satyr, many Red Milkweed Beetles


Dragonflies: many Halloween pennants, 1 white-faced meadowhawk, 2 widow skimmers, 1 eastern amberwings, other dragonflies that we didn't id.


Others: 1 baby toad


Highlights: The two immature Northern Harriers that put on a "show" for us for most of the time we were there. Clay-colored Sparrows carrying food to a hidden nest.



25 species (+2 other taxa)



Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 2 Two immatures put on a good show most of the time we were there, flying high and low, once coming right over us. One perched in a small dead tree out on the prairie for several minutes.
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Sandhill Crane 2
gull sp. 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2
Mourning Dove 1
Chimney Swift 3
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 1
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 2
swallow sp. 20
American Robin 2
European Starling 6
Cedar Waxwing 2
Common Yellowthroat 5
Chipping Sparrow 2
Clay-colored Sparrow 1 Several saw one carrying food.
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 1
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 8


View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19154156

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/wi)

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