I accompanied Ryan McKinney with the USACE to Shippingport Island today to
check on the heronry. We had intended to try to get out there a little earlier
in the season to see better thru the leaves, but today was not too bad. Nice to
see the Black-crowned Night-Herons seem to be staying put there; we had at
least 50 and maybe 75 active nests (most everybody seems to be incubating). We
also counted at least 10 Great Egret nests and there could be 15-20? For the
first time at this site, Double-crested Cormorants were found on nests there,
too, with at least four occupied by incubating adults. Interestingly, the Great
Blue Herons nesting in the Falls of the Ohio area are about 3/4 mile downstream
on a different island (Goose). I'm not sure how many nests are there, but I've
been counting up to about 50 adults feeding in the rapids on the outer fossil
beds this week. There are a few waterbirds-on-nests pics with the eBird list:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S36235277
There weren't too many songbirds in evidence today, but I did watch a female
Northern Cardinal singing away; it had been awhile since I'd seen a female
sing; I had sort of forgotten that they do. Also had Cliff Swallows entering
and leaving a few nests under the bridge over the canal and a singing Blue
Grosbeak.
Checks of the Falls of the Ohio over the past week have yielded only a few
observations of note. I think it was last Thursday there were 13 Semi Plovers
out on the fossil beds, but I have not seen any other shorebirds. Only
interesting Larids have been up to 5 Caspian Terns, and on Saturday there were
3 *adult* Herring Gulls.
bpb, Louisville
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