Date: 11/1/24 9:54 am From: Doug & Nina Harr <dnharr...> Subject: [ia-bird] Good Bjorkboda Marsh birding yesterday
Yesterday (Thursday) I birded Saylorville Lake, Ledges State Park and the Bjorkboda Marsh/McHugh area wetlands. Even though it was an extremely windy and cool day, I ended up finding 61 avian species--making it a great Fall day.
Best was at Bjorkboda Marsh and other nearby wetlands. I had 10 Sandhill Cranes at Bjorkboda, the most I've ever seen there. Six took off and headed south, appearing to migrate, while 4 stayed on the marsh so close to the road I could take photos without needing to crop them. A juvenile American Bittern also launched right out from the cattails along the roadside. Shorebirds were at several different wetlands, with Willets and Dunlins in large numbers, but several other kinds also were seen, some hard to ID at a distance when too windy to use my scope. Anyway, it turned out to be a great Fall birding day!
