Date: 3/15/25 10:45 am From: Clayton Will <willcfish...> Subject: [ia-bird] Re: August 31, 2024 -Rock Wren I found at the entry to Sunken Grove WMA, Buena Vista County
My mistake,
Pocahontas County.
Clayton
On Sat, Mar 15, 2025 at 12:30 PM Clayton Will <willcfish...> wrote:
> I wrote this up and wanted to share this sighting of the Rock Wren I found
> at the entry to Sunken Grove WMA, Buena Vista County. It was quite a
> rush when I saw what it was. I titled this: "Gravel Road Rock Wren". A
> little before 9 AM on August 31, 2024 I had missed my corner to Sunken
> Grove WMA so decided to go around the mile instead of turning around.
> Shortly after turning back West toward the main entry with the sun behind
> me and driving my usual birding speed of 25 MPH I crested a small rise and
> noticed over a quarter mile ahead near Sunken Grove entry there were half
> grown pheasants on either side of the road with something small hopping
> around between them in a way I'd never seen before. I hit the car brakes
> and zoomed in on the little bird with my Nikon P950 and immediately
> realized it was a Rock Wren. I took video and photos from that distance and
> then tried to approach closer but it was gone as were the pheasants when I
> got halfway to them. I was happy to get the documentation I did. I returned
> several days in a row hoping to see it again without success. So now when a
> bird flies from the roadside as I approach it makes me wonder. "Hmmm" "What
> might that have been!" It is one of five ever seen in Iowa with pictures
> and the 20th record. Like Dana Siefer told me when I called to tell him.
> "There's not any expected habitat for a Rock Wren for many miles in that
> area."
>
> Clayton Will Madrid Iowa, Storm Lake at that time.
>
