116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Limpkin puts on a show at Lake Macbride
Birding: Bird attracts lots of visitors with rare stop in Eastern Iowa
On July 29, Iowa City Bird Club member James McCoy was wrapping up some birding one morning when he got an inkling to check one more spot.
This was the wetland south of 200th St NE, which is a cove on the south arm of Lake Macbride. It didn’t take long before he found the first limpkin record for the Eastern Iowa Corridor.
Within half an hour, the local birding community was alerted over various messaging platforms. I was the third person on the scene. For the many individuals to see the bird that day and in the days to come, it would be a new bird for either their Johnson County bird list, Iowa lists and for some a new species for their life list.
Since the first state record was recorded on June 23 2022, seven more records have followed. This particular sighting at Lake Macbride was the seventh for Iowa.
It was not too long ago when I wrote on this subject about the second state record at Little Storm Lake. In early August another limpkin showed up to a private lake near Bondurant.
The baffling thing about that sighting is there was a limpkin at the same lake last year, which unfortunately tried to overwinter and likely died from exposure to winter conditions. That particular bird is now a specimen at Iowa State University.
Over the first 10 days of August, the limpkin became quite the avian celebrity. Dozens upon dozens of people made the visit from around the region. The limpkin got into a pattern of feeding right out in the open off a parking lot, which was convenient for people wanting to see it in their binoculars or cameras.
An interesting thing about this bird, in comparison with the limpkin that was at Little Storm Lake, is it was hunting for a different food item.
As I covered in my previous column about the second limpkin sighting for Iowa, their choice food is the apple snail. Two neat adaptations the limpkin possesses for gastropods are the tip of the bill usually curves slightly to the right, which may help in removing snails from curved shells. The bill also usually has a slight gap just behind the tips of the mandibles, which may help in carrying and manipulating the snails.
This Lake Macbride Limpkin was showing off a different adaptation. It was catching giant floater mussels.
These mussels are a freshwater bivalve that is common in Iowa. They get big, growing up to 10 inches in length and prefer softer, benthic sediments. They spread when a female expels the larval stage, known as glochidia, from her gills. The glochidia attach as parasites on up to 22 known species of Iowa fish. They eventually detach and sink to the bottom benthic layer where they continue growing.
This particular limpkin waded in shallow water, probing its long bill through a thick layer of duckweed into the muddy benthic zone. I saw it get tricked several times by small rocks, but eventually it would find a hefty mussel and haphazardly carry it up to the banks.
It was not able to eat the soft mussel insides by prying it open. Instead, it used its large bill like a woodpecker, continuously striking the mussel until it broke through. It would work a good-sized hole. Ultimately, the pressure inside the mussel escaped and it was able to open them up at that point.
The majority of a mussel’s body is its gills. Many people saw it feast on these large, meaty gill pieces.
While wrapping up this column on Aug. 12, the limpkin at Lake Macbride was no longer being detected. However, something interesting happened. That morning a limpkin was observed at Cone Marsh WMA.
Upon reviewing the photos from an eBird list, I compared them to the photos of the Lake Macbride limpkin. A large portion of the fourth primary feather was missing on the left wing in the exact same spot on both birds, a ringer that it was the Lake Macbride bird. It is not clear whether the limpkin will stay at that marsh or head elsewhere.
Some fun detective work at least showed that it was heading south.
Birds of September
- September can be one of the more exciting months for birding in Iowa. Warblers and other small passerines typically reach their peak migration. Shorebirds, while past their peak diversity, still are heading south. A typical birding strategy might be to first try the woods early morning for warblers, vireos, flycatchers, etc. In the later morning try for shorebirds either before lighting gets difficult or before “heat rise” (also called heat shimmer) develops off of water surfaces. Heat rise creates difficulties seeing birds through glass, from air distortion, which typically gets worse as viewing distance increases.
- September also is a time to search for wading birds, including less common ones like snowy egret, little blue heron, yellow-crowned night heron and other rarer species like roseate spoonbill, white ibis and wood stork. Oftentimes, these rare to rarer waders are juveniles. This is likely because young entering their first winter, who have never migrated before, make directional errors.
- A good way to find a flock of migrant passerines is to listen for black-capped chickadees. Chickadees tend to mix in with migrant flocks, or vice versa. It is possible to speculate that chickadee hypervigilance to predators is something migrant passerines, like warblers, benefit from. While any stand of woods can hold migrant warblers and other passerines, some proven places include: Wickiup Hill Nature Center trails, Pleasant Creek’s wooded trails, Amana Woods, wooded lots at Hawkeye WMA, Hanging Rock woods, Lake Macbride State Park, Squire Point trail, Terry Trueblood Recreation Area’s west side paved trail and Hickory Hill Park.
- American white pelicans should number in the thousands at Hawkeye WMA, swirling around the big pool area just west of Highway 965. The parking lot near the DNR headquarters off Amana Rd NW is a great viewing point and has an interpretive sign. That parking lot is roughly 3/4 of a mile west of the intersection with Highway 965. See the birding calendar for information about the Pelican Festival on Aug. 27. In the evenings, this location also can be an excellent place to see hundreds of great egrets and other waders, such as great blue heron, coming in to roost or stage before heading to roosting locations.
- Hawk watching is another September highlight. Mid-September usually is when broad-winged hawk makes its mass migration back through the state. This can be a great opportunity to learn in-flight raptor identification. Look for about a dozen species of common migrant diurnal raptors in September.
Birding calendar
Aug. 27, 11 a.m. — 4 p.m.: Pelican Festival at Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area, near the DNR headquarters at 2564 Amana Road NW, Swisher. A family-friendly event to enjoy and learn about our local migrating American white pelicans. Get close-up looks at pelicans and other birds through our spotting scopes. Attend outdoor presentations on pelicans, raptors and more. There will be exhibits by many conservation organizations and face painting for the kids.
Volunteers are needed to assist with setup, parking and staffing spotting scopes. Contact Karen Disbrow at k_disbrow@yahoo.com if you are available.
Brandon Caswell has a keen interest in natural and social sciences. He enjoys bird-watching and nature photography in his spare time. He and his wife live in Marion with their two children.
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