Iowa City Bird Club, Cone Marsh, 10 September

Five Iowa City Bird Club members visited Cone Marsh in Louisa County yesterday.

The best birds were Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, and American Golden Plover.  The Bird List was 45 species:  Canada Goose, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, American White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Sandhill Crane, American Golden-Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Wren, American Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow.  Three birds were identified to family but not to species: Rail species, Gull species, and Phalarope species. [You can't identify everything.

As is usual Bird Club members do not always look at birds.  The best non-bird species was a hatchling Blanding's turtle, a little bigger than a silver dollar.  Blanding's Turtles are listed as threatened and protected species in Iowa.

On this anniversary of the attacks ten years ago, I will end with a quote from John Ruskin

Nature is painting for us,

day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.

Get out, look at nature, continue to heal.