Photo of Red-bellied Woodpecker courtesy of Laura Erickson.
On June 2, 2019, we had our first record of a Red-bellied Woodpecker which was seen and heard in the Gethsemane Cemetery. In this brief recording, you can hear the woodpecker's shrill call along with the tolling of the chapel bell. The species has been seen and heard on campus several times since.
The Annual Campus Brid Count was conducted on Saturday, December 14th, 2024 by Dr. Pam Freeman and Mr. Brad Snelling, as part of the Audubon's 124th Christmas Bird Count.
Dr. Pam Freeman covered the East Campus, including the roads and trails from Kenwood Avenue to Tower Hall, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., for a total of two hours and covering 1.3 miles on foot.
Mr. Snelling covered the West Campus, including the roads & trails behind Tower Hall, from 7:00 a.m. to noon, and from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., for a total of 6 hours, and covering 2.5 miles on foot.
In honor of the Barred Owls which have been seen on campus late last year, we are featuring a research article on the call of this species which was published early in her career by our friend and colleague, Dr. Pam Freeman.
The article, "Identification of Individual Barred Owls Using Spectogram Analysis and Auditory Cues" appeared in the June 2000 issue of Journal of Raptor Research. (The painting of a Peregrine Falcon on this particular issue is by Brian K. Wheeler.)
The appearance of Eastern Bluebird on our species list is of special interest since we know that it once nested here. Our friend, Laura Erickson, has noted on several occasions that the species could be found nesting in areas where we now have parking lots on campus. In recent years, the species has only been seen during migration. This photograph was taken in fall 2020 when a small flock of bluebirds was seen briefly in front of Tower Hall.
