2019 Spring Meeting in Lacey-Keosauqua SP Wrap-up

The Roberts Memorial Center in Keosauqua was taken over the weekend of 5/3-5 by the Iowa Ornithologists Union and friends. Many birds were seen, friendships renewed and actual business of the IOU completed. The Keosauqua/Van Buren County/Fairfield area was more than welcoming.

Friday night had us gathering with some beverages and snacks as we discussed the upcoming field trips and the weekend that lay ahead of us.

Saturday morning arrived early as we were breaking fast at 6:30 and all headed out to the field before 7:30. Great looks at Kentucky warblers, blue gray gnatcatchers, and yellow throated warblers, were just a few of the outstanding looks field trip attendees got. As promised the weather was absolutely perfect. Cool sunny mornings made for outstanding viewing.

Saturday afternoon's presentations were great! Greg Hoch and his discussion of the Woodcock was very interesting and Rick Hollis' talk about apps for birding was very informative. Nathan Pieplow gave a talk on defining terms for describing sounds made by birds. It was essentially a great beginners class in how to use both of his Peterson's Field Guides to Bird Sounds (Eastern and Western editions). After a dinner of roast beast and turkey, we heard from Nathan Pieplow on the "Language of Birds." We learned about how amazing the Brown Thrasher songs can be, as well as what Red-Winged Blackbirds are saying, well at least some of the time. It was absolutely fascintating to hear how birds use sounds to communicate.

We awoke on Sunday to another fantastic day, and the birds cooperated. When the final tally was counted, we had seen a total of 147 species of birds. And at that, all 113 of the participants headed back home.

A hearty thank you to the Iowa City Bird Club who did an outstanding job of putting on the meeting.

Participants and Species Seen