August 2018 Bird List

I had high hopes for August being a decent birding month, perhaps getting an early start on fall shorebird migration as I am still missing a tremendous number of ‘easy’ shorebirds on my year list.  The few times I searched I found poor habitat and thus hardly any shorebirds.  Thus my list did not grow much yet again.  However, I did add some decent birds and had a good time birding in the process.

1. Yellow-crowned night heron – beautiful specimen working the cypress pond at Forest Park in St. Louis.
2. Bank Swallow
3. Black-crowned night heron – the usual birds hanging out in the evening at Suson Park in St. Louis county.
4. Solitary sandpiper
5. Lesser yellowlegs – the only new shorebird I was able to identify on a late month visit to Riverlands.  There was a ‘peep’ present but I could not get a good view, and Wilson’s phalarope had been seen the day before and the day after but of course I did not locate.

In addition, a review of my lists for the year showed that I failed to add brown creeper and Eurasian tree sparrow even though I have seen several of each all year.  Therefore, my total for the year has crept to 180.  I would be disappointed but I know there there are plenty of easy birds for me to get if I can put in the time.

But I have to remember that I have enjoyed watching the common birds as well.  Hummingbirds are everywhere right now, fighting over feeders and summer flowers.  I see bald eagles on a regular basis, including one that flew right over our heads while dove hunting.  I never tire of watching great egrets and great blue herons working the shallows of just about any body of water.  Also it seems like I have seen belted kingfishers frequently, including one at my office which is a long ways away from any sizeable body of water.

Hopefully my schedule and cooler temperatures will allow me to get out a bit more this month – check back in October to see how it worked out.