Saturday Birds and Birders at Wastewater

Hoping I might see golden-plovers, ravens or a buff-breasted sandpiper, I headed out to the Wastewater this morning.  I saw none of the above.

However, I did record 20 species including a Wilson's Phalarope (along the south edge of East Lagoon ~100 yards west of the SE corner), American Wigeon (East Lagoon, ~200 yards north of SE corner), a very whitish-headed adult Red-tailed Hawk (pylons NE of East Lagoon), Peregrine Falcon, Wilson's Snipe and kerbillions of Tree Swallows.

The Wilson's Snipe was in the drawn-down churning lagoon (second from the west I think) in a puddle near the north side compliments of Lyle Hamilton and Tex Wells who were there when I arrived.  They also had seen several other shorebird species, none out of the ordinary.

Leaving them and heading east I noticed a first-year Peregrine Falcon slowly flap-gliding ahead of my car along the north edge of the West Lagoon scaring everything in its path.  When it perched on some pipes west of the center dike, I saw that it was banded.  Fortunately Lyle drove up behind my car soon afterward with his scope and was able to read the numbers 64 and the letters AN on the bands.

Also fortunately the Lautenbach brothers arriving from the east stopped before spooking the falcon.  When it flew, it made three wing-over attacks on something in the fifth (drawn down) churning lagoon.  From my car I could not see into that lagoon, but Lautenbachs could; they saw it nab a shorebird (probably lesser yellowlegs).  It then carried the prey to the top of a pylon north of the East Lagoon and ate it.  I've contacted Nik Kalejs of the DNR with those band numbers and if I hear anything regarding the falcon's I.D., I'll post it here.

Heading toward the south side I met photographer Jerry Viss again, and on the south side I met the same State Police officer who was watching that area a week ago.  Jerry had seen a couple of Great Egrets northeast of the lagoons before I saw him; I saw a Pied-billed Grebe in the clay pond.

- Ric