On Saturday, July 20, 2024, 22 young birders, parents, and supporters gathered at the Brenton Arboretum in Dallas County for a morning summer birding. Penny Perkins, Education Director for the Arboretum, welcomed us and acquainted us with the goals of this 141-acre oasis in central Iowa. The Arboretum was created in 1997 thanks to a passion for trees by founder Buz Brenton and the collection has since grown to more than 2,500 trees and shrubs of 500 species in addition to several acres of native prairie. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Arboretum hosts a great diversity of birds and we were excited to explore the area!
We were greeted with rain that persisted for much of the morning. However, it didn’t dampen our enthusiasm! Our morning started with a life bird for many of the young birders - a male Northern Bobwhite whistling from a line of shrubs near the Visitor’s Center. We tried hard to get him in our binoculars with no luck, but it was still fun to hear his whistle and practice our own “bob-white” whistles for the remainder of the morning. The American Robins seemed extremely fond of the persistent rain, for we saw numerous individuals singing from treetops and flying around throughout the morning. While walking to Overlook Pond, we heard and saw an Eastern Meadowlark singing from a small tree near a hillside prairie. We paused to listen carefully to his melodious song.
A pair of Eastern Kingbirds was active around Overlook Pond, and we received several opportunities to study them. We also stopped to study a female Red-winged Blackbird, her brown streaks over a whitish-yellow body very different from the well-known red wing patch on a black body of her male counterpart. Also near the pond was a small flock of American Goldfinches, which provided us the opportunity to learn the plumage differences of males and females of that species.
We took a break above Overlook Pond to learn about vegetative structure in native prairies, the important role it plays for grassland bird nesting, and how it is maintained through grazing and prescribed fire. We then hiked back to the Visitor’s Center, stopping along the way to listen to a singing Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, and to look for the pesky, secretive Northern Bobwhite again.
A huge thanks to Penny Perkins with the Brenton Arboretum for joining us and sharing her knowledge of trees and plants. Thanks also to all the participants for attending despite the somewhat unpleasant weather! You can view photos from our morning here and a complete species list here.
