Urban Birder: Reflections, notes and an occasional rant from St. Louis

I’m pleased to find that my energy and enthusiam for the things I like in life are returning now that I’m retired.

Yesterday morning after physical therapy (which I’m undergoing after having managed to injure the rotator cuff on my pitching arm), I went to Tower Grove Park, where I counted on the east side, just short of the central circle.

Within a few minutes of beginning I saw an accipiter, which I spent at least fifteen minutes on, trying to decide whether it was a Cooper’s or a Sharp-shinned. This was a small hawk, not much bigger than a kestrel (I exaggerate, but only slightly). If it was a Coopers’s, it was surely a male. Its nape looked pale, to me; I didn’t see clearly whether or not its hackles were raised.

It wasn’t a spectacular count; only 19 species. I was in the park from 9:00 to 10:40.

Tufted Titmice were absent until the end of the count, when I saw several. The last bird of the morning was a Hairy Woodpecker.

Here’s the list:

1. Accipiter sp. (probable Cooper’s Hawk): 1
2. Mourning Dove: 2
3. Red-headed Woodpecker: 1
4. Red-bellied Woodpecker: 2
5. Downy Woodpecker: 2
6. Hairy Woodpecker: 1
7. Northern Flicker: 2
8. Blue Jay: 2
9. Tufted Titmouse: 3
10. Carolina Chickadee: 2
11. White-breasted Nuthatch: 2
12. American Robin: 50
13. European Starling: 8
14. Northern Cardinal: 7
15. Dark-eyed Junco: 20
16. Brown-headed Cowbird: 1
17. Red-winged Blackbird: 10
18. House Finch: 2
19. American Goldfinch: 3

Most of these are undercounted. As per the rules, I only counted as many as were in my field of vision at any time (with the exception of those that are sexually dimorphous).

I should mention that the Red-winged Blackbirds and House Finches were singing.

The yard

Two weeks ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d be watering my hardy native perennials. Most of the plants seemed to be tolerating the extreme heat well, but when the Monarda fistulosa blooms began turning brown only a few days after blooming, I gave in and turned on the sprinkler.

On June 24, there were two Great Spangled Fritillaries in the yard nectaring on Echinacea purpurea. This morning there was another (or one of the two I saw three days ago), also nectaring on the coneflower.

What’s blooming

Flowers, wild and not

1. Alcea sp.
2. Aquilegia sp. (just barely!)
3. Asclepias syriaca
4. Asclepias tuberosa
5. Blephilia ciliata
6. Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’
7. Coreopsis verticillata (unknown variety)
8. Echinacea paradoxa
9. Echinacea purpurea
10. Erysimum capitatum
11. Glandularia canadensis
12. Monarda fistulosa
13. Monarda sp. (red ornamental variety)
14. Oenothera speciosa (pink)
15. Penstemon digitalis
16. Pontederia cordata
17. Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
18. Senna marilandica
19. Talinum calycinum
20. Tradescantia sp.
21. feral petunia

Shrubs

1. Hibiscus syriacus

Grasses

1. Chasmanthium latifolium
2. Elymus (virginicus? hystrix?)
3. Panicum virgatum

Getting ready to bloom

The button bush has six buds on it (I had resigned myself to waiting another year for it to bloom). Joe Pye has buds, as do Swamp and Purples Milkweeds.

I’m trying to remember when I birded last. A month ago, I think. My two-week migration vacation this year was spent mostly in the back garden, which is developing nicely.

Birds

There’ve been youngsters in the yard for several weeks—Common Grackles, American Robins, one Northern Cardinal, European Starlings, House Sparrows, House Finches, Mourning Doves…

I witnessed an instance of the plight of the first born. An American Robin was gathering mud in the wet area by the pond (I’ve put in a pond! One of the vacation projects), a sign that she was preparing to start on her second brood. She flew, and one of the young landed in the mud. When mom returned and began gathering more mud, it opened its bill, begging for a morsel. Mom ignored it and flew off with another billfull to her new nest. It was sad … and funny—You’re on your own now, kid.

Chuck was at a rehearsal on Wednesday evening, and I spent an hour in the yard wandering around weeding and then just standing and enjoying being outside. A Common Nighthawk was calling overhead, and I heard a call slightly farther away, so there were at least two. The one above the yard was persistently vocal and loud. Always a nice yard bird.

Butterflies and other insects

There have been few butterflies in the yard—some Cabbage Whites and Summer Azures, and something that looked like a lady tearing across the yard without stopping. It’s been a wet spring and early summer, though, so I’m optimistic. I saw my first Common Buckeye of the year in Forest Park on Thursday, June 11.

The yard

We finally had the concrete walk that was so out of place taken out in March or April—the area it ran through is now planted with native perennials: penstemon, liatris, delphinium, aster.

What’s blooming

Mostly the native plants, but some non-natives I’m fond of, as well.

Flowers, wild and not

• Alcea sp.
• Aquilegia sp.
• Asclepias syriaca
• Asclepias purpurascens
• Asclepias tuberosa
• Blephilia ciliata
• Echinacea paradoxa
• Echinacea purpurea
• Echinacea simulata
• Erysimum capitatum
• Glandularia canadensis
• Monarda fistulosa
• Monarda sp. (red ornamental variety)
• Oenothera speciosa (pink)
• Penstemon digitalis
• Pontederia cordata
• Talinum calycinum
• Tradescantia sp.
• Zizia aurea (one last hold out)
• feral petunia

Shrubs

• Hibiscus syriacus

Grasses

• Elymus (virginicus?)

After the Spigelia marilandica and all three Baptizia bracteata came up this year I realized that just because a plant is eaten down to the ground by squirrels and rabbits doesn’t mean that it has perished. So when one of the new ones was broken off at the base shortly after I put it in, I put rocks around that delphinium and am pleased to see it beginning to recover. I expect it to be back next year.

There were two Carolina Wrens foraging in the yard yesterday and again this morning.