Thank you Kelsey for an excellent report last week on our Red-headed Woodpecker Blitz at the North, West and East Shoal Lakes IBA. This is a short blog, with a few photos from the day, and a review of the results.

You can read Kelsey’s report at this link.

Birds

In total we counted over 3,800 birds and 120 species. Over 80% of the birds were counted in the IBA. The most common species was our old friend the Red-winged Blackbird, with 589 counted, of which 430 were in the IBA. Other impressive numbers were Song Sparrow (187) and Western Grebe (162). The Western Grebes, mainly counted from PR415, were carrying young. A windstorm had wiped out some of the colony earlier in the spring, so the sight of young was very much a good news story.

Great Egrets, American Bittern and Great Blue Herons are always good species to find. The Snowy Egret though did not show itself on the day. 51 Great Egrets suggests there must be a sizable colony within the IBA, possibly on the strip of land between West and East Shoal Lake. A surprisingly high number of Sandhill Crane (49) were encountered.

We encountered nine species of raptor, including 22 Red-tailed Hawk. Bald Eagles and Northern Harriers were unsurprisingly fairly numerous. 32 American Kestrel is not a surprise given that this species nests in the same habitat as our target Red-headed Woodpeckers. Below photos of a Red-tailed Hawk and an angry Merlin, both copyright of Randy Mooi.

Shorebirds are always fun, and we found 14 species, with Stilt Sandpiper being the most common. Early records of these northern breeders might suggest that these were failed breeders already taking part in their southbound migration.

Red-headed Woodpeckers

Finally, our target species. the Red-headed Woodpecker is fairly abundant in this IBA. We also surveyed a large area around the IBA. In total we found this species at 14 points in the IBA. At two of these points, three woodpeckers were detected. This suggests a breeding population of around 16 breeding pairs in the IBA. We also found at least 7 breeding pairs around the IBA. In total there were 21 Red-headed Woodpeckers in the IBA and 11 outside the IBA, giving a total of 32 for the day.

A common view of a Red-headed Woodpecker. Copyright Randy Mooi

Thank You!

Finally, thank you to everyone who took part: Randy, Odette, Garry, Rudolf, Jo, Betsy, Katharine, Kelsey, Pat, Wally, Bonnie, Chris, Jon and Garry.

Species Name	Inside IBA	Outside IBA	TOTAL
Canada Goose	16	2	18
Trumpeter Swan	2	0	2
Wood Duck	2	0	2
Blue-winged Teal	44	6	50
Northern Shoveler	16	0	16
Gadwall	4	7	11
American Wigeon	10	0	10
Mallard	90	14	104
Green-winged Teal	21	0	21
Canvasback	9	0	9
Ring-necked Duck	11	2	13
Bufflehead	11	6	17
Common Goldeneye	5	0	5
duck sp.	131	0	131
Gray Partridge	2	0	2
Sharp-tailed Grouse	1	0	1
Pied-billed Grebe	4	1	5
Red-necked Grebe	4	3	7
Western Grebe	162	0	162
Mourning Dove	21	5	26
Black-billed Cuckoo	1	0	1
Virginia Rail	1	0	1
American Coot	4	0	4
Sandhill Crane	42	7	49
Killdeer	34	6	40
Marbled Godwit	1	0	1
Stilt Sandpiper	30	0	30
Baird’s Sandpiper	8	0	8
Least Sandpiper	1	0	1
Pectoral Sandpiper	3	0	3
Semipalmated Sandpiper	19	0	19
peep sp.	25	0	25
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher	22	0	22
Wilson’s Snipe	21	3	24
Wilson’s Phalarope	3	0	3
Spotted Sandpiper	5	1	6
Greater Yellowlegs	16	0	16
Willet	3	0	3
Lesser Yellowlegs	18	0	18
Franklin’s Gull	5	0	5
Ring-billed Gull	20	10	30
gull sp.	6	0	6
Black Tern	28	0	28
Forster’s Tern	8	0	8
Common Loon	0	2	2
Double-crested Cormorant	9	0	9
American White Pelican	89	11	100
American Bittern	3	0	3
Great Blue Heron	16	0	16
Great Egret	51	0	51
Black-crowned Night-Heron	1	0	1
Turkey Vulture	3	1	4
Northern Harrier	6	6	12
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	0	1
Cooper’s Hawk	2	1	3
Bald Eagle	6	1	7
Broad-winged Hawk	0	3	3
Red-tailed Hawk	19	3	22
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	9	3	12
Red-headed Woodpecker	21	11	32
Downy Woodpecker	2	0	2
Hairy Woodpecker	5	0	5
Northern Flicker	16	4	20
American Kestrel	21	11	32
Merlin	2	0	2
Eastern Wood-Pewee	2	0	2
Alder Flycatcher	5	0	5
Least Flycatcher	60	31	91
Eastern Phoebe	3	8	11
Great Crested Flycatcher	5	4	9
Eastern Kingbird	38	10	48
Yellow-throated Vireo	2	0	2
Warbling Vireo	42	5	47
Red-eyed Vireo	17	16	33
Blue Jay	9	5	14
Black-billed Magpie	49	1	50
American Crow	29	33	62
Common Raven	14	15	29
Purple Martin	0	10	10
Tree Swallow	79	1	80
Bank Swallow	4	0	4
Barn Swallow	100	42	142
Cliff Swallow	2	0	2
Black-capped Chickadee	3	0	3
White-breasted Nuthatch	1	0	1
House Wren	24	8	32
Sedge Wren	19	5	24
Marsh Wren	56	10	66
Eastern Bluebird	6	3	9
Veery	7	1	8
Swainson’s Thrush	1	0	1
American Robin	78	25	103
Gray Catbird	12	15	27
Brown Thrasher	8	1	9
European Starling	56	17	73
Cedar Waxwing	13	9	22
American Goldfinch	26	23	49
Chipping Sparrow	0	4	4
Clay-colored Sparrow	67	37	104
White-throated Sparrow	8	5	13
Vesper Sparrow	4	0	4
LeConte’s Sparrow	2	1	3
Nelson’s Sparrow	3	0	3
Savannah Sparrow	75	9	84
Song Sparrow	135	52	187
Swamp Sparrow	27	2	29
Yellow-headed Blackbird	3	0	3
Bobolink	6	0	6
Western Meadowlark	59	14	73
Orchard Oriole	1	0	1
Baltimore Oriole	12	0	12
Red-winged Blackbird	430	159	589
Brown-headed Cowbird	105	13	118
Brewer’s Blackbird	33	11	44
Common Grackle	33	2	35
Black-and-white Warbler	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	72	21	93
American Redstart	2	2	4
Yellow Warbler	36	6	42
Chestnut-sided Warbler	6	0	6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	5	1	6
House Sparrow	10	0	10
TOTAL NUMBER BIRDS	3078	765	3843
TOTAL NUMBER SPECIES	114	67	119