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| September 2021 Bird Of Month |
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| Northern Parula |
Northern
Parulas are small wood-warblers (about the size of a Kinglet) with a short tail
and a thin, pointy bill. A warbler of the upper canopy, the Northern Parula
flutters at the edges of branches plucking insects. This bluish gray warbler
with yellow highlights breeds in forests laden with Spanish moss or beard
lichens, from Florida to the boreal forest, and it's sure to give you
"warbler neck." It hops through branches bursting with a rising buzzy
trill that pinches off at the end. Its white eye crescents, chestnut breast
band, and yellow-green patch on the back set it apart from other warblers. Adult
females are a bit paler and typically lack the male's breast band. Before this
species received the name Northern Parula (a diminutive form of parus,
meaning little titmouse), Mark Catesby, an English naturalist, called it a
"finch creeper" and John James Audubon and Alexander Wilson called it
a "blue yellow-backed warbler." Long-distance migrant. Parulas spend
the winter months in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Can be seen
locally during migration.
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Loess Hills Audubon Society meets at the Dorothy Pecaut
Nature Center, 4500 Sioux River Road the first Thursday of the month during the months of October thru May at 7:30
P.M. The first meeting of the year is the annual potluck at Stone Lodge in Stone State Park at 6:00 P.M.
Each of these meetings includes a quality program of
various subjects. The public is invited and welcome to attend these meetings. Check the Meetings Page for information on upcoming
programs.
Birding outings occur monthly. The public is invited
and welcome to attend these outings. Check the Outings Page for information on upcoming outings.
Loess Hills Audubon Society
PO Box
5133
Sioux City, IA 51102
https://lhas.tripod.com/
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Mission Statement
The
Loess Hills Audubon Society exists to educate individuals and the general public, to
enjoy and promote birding, to support ornithology, and to be an advocate for wild areas and environmental issues. |
"Loess Hills Audubon Society is a Chapter of National Audubon Society, Inc."
Last Month's Bird Of The Month
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| American Goldfinch |
This
handsome little finch, the state bird of Iowa, is common at feeders, where it takes primarily sunflower
and niger. They are active, acrobatic finches that balance on the seedheads of thistles, dandelions,
and other plants to pluck seeds. They have a bouncy flight during which they make their po-ta-to-chip calls. Spring
males are brilliant yellow and shiny black with a bit of white. Females and all
winter birds are more dull but identifiable by their conical bill; pointed, notched tail; wingbars;
and lack of streaking. They breed later than most North American birds and wait to nest until June
or July when milkweed, thistle, and other plants have produced their fibrous seeds, which goldfinches
incorporate into their nests and also feed their young. They are among the strictest
vegetarians in the bird world, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently
swallowing an occasional insect. When Brown-headed Cowbirds lay eggs in an American Goldfinch nest,
the cowbird egg may hatch but the nestling seldom survives longer than three days. The cowbird chick
simply can’t survive on the all-seed diet that goldfinches feed their young. Short distance
migrant and found locally year round.
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