Across Iowa

Birded along Cedar River this morning. No Sedge Wrens, I did find Warblers (Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Yellow, and Redstarts), Vireos (Red-eyed, and Blue-headed), Sparrows (Song, Chipping, and Field) and watched a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks mating. Baltimore Orioles were actively flying and singing. Redstarts must be doing well, I have seen them in many places.

. Iowa, is this the beginning of the “Heartland of America” ? Today I was able to see little green sprouts in rows in the fields. I heard on the radio that 92% of the corn crop has been planted. Small town America still exists in the states I have been driving through. Residential streets have trees, houses have yards and flowers, and the downtown is still alive.

After birding I returned to the highway and drove south on Hwy 218. City of Cedar Rapids has many old brick industrial buildings visible from the hwy. Was water power used here ? Milling of corn ? wheat ?

Around 7 pm I stopped in the town of Mt Pleasant for gas, nearly $ 47.00 to fill up the tank !! looked at the map, Woodthrush State Park was 15 miles ahead. I will try it. Exited from hwy 34 and drove several miles on a gravel road, if this place exists there is no public entrance. The GPS found a campground in town, I returned the 15 miles east on hwy 34. It was worth it. A family, with some land, is renovating a small campground. They are very nice people. An orange sunset spread across the open sky. A Common Nighthawk flew over, peeeent, peeeeent.

Robins were awake before 5 am, singing enthusiastically. By 5:30 am the House Wrens had joined in. Janie, the owner, came out to offer me a cup of tea. “I am an outdoor girl, “ she told me, “the farmer of the family.” She grows flowers and produce on a farm in Eldon, to the west. Her parents had started the campground business. Temperatures dipped into the low 40’s overnight, the “new” LLBean sleeping bag is working well.

I continued west on Hwy 34, stopping at Fairfield to walk at a county park. Jefferson County has created a wonderful network of trails. It was a sunny bright morning, pleasantly cool. I will include a bird list here.

Red-winged Blackbirds Robins

House Wrens Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

Sparrows: Field, House, Song, White-crowned, Chipping, a maybe Vesper

Vireos: Red-eyed, Warbling, Philadelphia Ring neck Pheasant

Blue Jays Common Yellowthroats

Indigo Bunting Redstarts

Bobolinks Eastern Kingbirds

Cardinals Tree Swallows

Barn Swallows Crows

Eastern Bluebirds American Goldfinches

Catbirds Sedge Wren (heard only)

Brown Thrashers Eastern Wood Pewee

Canada Geese Killdeer

Eastern Meadowlarks Spotted Sandpiper

Driving on and on. Late afternoon I stopped at a prairie wildlife refuge and education center.

It was a beautiful prairie place. Iowa is not totally agricultural.

I stayed overnight at Thomas Mitchell Park. It wasn’t dark yet so I walked the one trail into the forest and along the edge of a field. Highlights were a Great Crested Flycatcher (took me a minute to recognize it) and the blue-est Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher I have ever seen. A Swainson’s Thrush popped out to look at me and returned to the cover of a bush.

Photos from a campground in Iowa, and Bison at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.