Bird Watching

Pelican Lake and the surrounding countryside present a fine opportunity for birding enthusiasts to add to their lifetime lists or to simply enjoy the birds that abound here.

The following is a list of birds which have been observed in the area. Please note that many of these birds are more abundant during April, May and September; particularly the migrating water birds and passerines.

WATER BIRDS
Common coot, pie-billed grebe, horned grebe, eared grebe, western grebe, American white pelican, double crested cormorant, American bittern, great blue heron, great egret (rare), green-backed heron, black crowned night heron, whistling swan, snow goose, Ross’ goose, Canada goose, wood duck, American black duck (rare), mallard, northern pintail, blue winged teal, green winged teal, northern shoveler, gadwall, American widgeon, canvasback, redhead, ring-necked duck, greater scaup, lesser scaup, common goldeneye, bufflehead, common merganser, ruddy duck, sora rail, American coot, sandhill crane.

VULTURES, HAWKS, FALCONS
Turkey vulture, osprey, bald eagle, golden eagle, northern harrier, broad winged hawk, Swansons’ hawk, northern goosehawk, red tailed hawk, rough legged hawk, American kestrel, merlin.
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS
Gray partridge, ring necked pheasant, ruffed grouse, sharp tailed grouse, wild turkey.

SHORE BIRDS
Black bellied plover, lesser golden plover, semipalmated plover, American avocet, greater yellowlegs, lesser yellowlegs, willet, solitary sandpiper, spotted sandpiper, upland sandpiper, marbled godwit, common snipe, Wilson’s phalarope, Franklin’s gull, Bonaparte’s gull, ring billed gull, Herring gull (migrant), common tern, Forster’s tern, black tern, killdeer.

OWLS
Eastern screech owl, great horned owl, snowy owl (usually in winter), northern saw-whet owl, common nighthawk.

DOVES
Rock dove, mourning dove.

BIRDS OF THE FIELDS AND WOODS
Sparrows, juncos, towhees
American tree sparrow (migration), chipping sparrow, clay-colored sparrow, vesper sparrow, Savannah sparrow, Baird’s sparrow, LeConte’s sparrow, Lincoln’s sparrow, swamp sparrow, white-throated sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, Harris’ sparrow, dark-eyed junco, rufous-sided towhee.

GROSBEAKS, FINCHES, BUNTINGS
Rose-breasted grosbeak, pine grosbeak (winter, rare), evening grosbeak (winter), common redpoll, hoary redpoll (more rare ), pine siskin, red crossbill, white-winged crossbill ( both crossbills seen in winter near conifers ), house sparrow (weaver finch).

BLACKBIRDS & ORIOLES
Black-billed magpie, American crow, common raven (winter), red-winged blackbird, yellow-headed blackbird, rusty blackbird, Brewer’s blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, orchard oriole (rare), northern oriole, Baltimore oriole, bobolink, western meadowlark.

WARBLER FAMILY
Tennessee warbler (migration), orange-crowned warbler, yellow warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, magnolia warbler (migration), northern water thrush, Cape May warbler (migration), yellow-rumped warbler, palm warbler (migration), black & white warbler, American redstart, ovenbird, common yellow-throat, Wilson’s warbler (migration), Canada warbler, yellow-breasted chat, warbling vireo, red-eyed vireo.

FLYCATCH FAMILY
Great crested flycatcher, eastern wood pewee, least flycatcher, eastern phoebe, eastern kingbird, western kingbird, horned lark, purple martin, tree swallow, cliff swallow, northern rough winged swallow, bank swallow, barn swallow, golden crowned kinglet, ruby crowned kinglet.

WOODPECKER FAMILY
Red-headed woodpecker, yellow-bellied sapsucker, downy woodpecker, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker.

THRUSHES & BLUEBIRDS
Eastern bluebird, mountain bluebird, veery, Swainson’s thrush, gray cheeked thrush, hermit thrush, American robin.

MISCELLANEOUS
Ruby-throated hummingbird, black-capped chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, brown creeper, house wren, sedge wren, catbird, brown thrasher, Bohemian waxwing (winter), cedar waxwing, loggerhead shrike (rare), European starling.

This is a partial listing of birds which may possibly be seen in the vicinity of Pelican Lake at different times throughout the year.