birds of the grand calumet river basin - …. proceedings of the indiana academy of science...

1999/2000 . Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 108/109 .145-162

BIRDS OF THE GRAND CALUMET RIVER BASIN

Kenneth J . Brock : Geosciences Department, Indiana University Northwest ., Gary ,Indiana 46408-1 1 97 US A

ABSTRACT, Bird life in the Grand Calumet River Basin is unusually rich . The literature reveals tha ta minimum of 163 species was recorded in the pre-settlement era . Current data document that the basi nhosts at least 41 species in winter, 64 species d uring the breeding* season, and more than 167 migrants .lour of the breeding period species and four of the recorded migrants are on the Indiana Endangere dSpecies list . Roxanna Pond, which lies within a Grand Calumet River meander near Roxanna Street ,provides excellent habitat for migrating shorebirds and possesses the potential for development into ashorebird management site .

Keywords: Birds, Grand Calumet River, Indian a

Birdlife, and especially breeding birds, con-stitutes a very sensitive environmental barom-eter. Therefore, it is surprising that, despiteyears of abuse, the Grand Calumet River Ba-sin still supports a remarkably diverse avifau-na. In recent decades, the sluggish channe land lush wetlands of the river's floodplai nhave provided breeding habitat, resting areas ,and foraging sites for numerous birds . Con-temporary records suggest that at least 64 spe-cies either nest or forage on the river flood-plain during the breeding season . Four ofthese species, the American Bittern, Least Bit -tern, Black-crowned Night-Heron, and Blac kTern, are listed among Indiana's endangere dspecies (Buskirk 1993) . More than 167 spe-cies use the channel, ponds, and wetlands o fthe river corridor for resting and feeding dur-ing migration . Four of these migrants, the Os -prey, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, an dGolden-winged Warbler, are on Indiana's en-dangered species list . The open waters of th echannel provide winter habitat for at least 4 1avian species .

Data from the pre-settlement era are sparse ,hut they suggest the following minimu mcounts : 32 species were summer residents ,126 species were migrants, and 15 specie swere winter residents . These estimates are ex-tremely conservative, since the pre-settlemen tGrand Calumet River Basin surely supportedan exceedingly luxuriant selection of avia nhabitats .

Our current knowledge about the birdlife o fthe Grand Calumet River Basin, including

pre-settlement data, is surnmarir.ed in this pa-per. Species names and phyllogenetic arrange-ment follow the 61 " Edition of the AmericanOrnithologists' Union Checklist (1983) andsubsequent supplements .

PRE-SETTLEMENT BIRD LIF E

The primary historical data sources avail -able are Butler (I 898), Woodruff (1907), an dFord et at (1934) . For the most part, historica levidence of pre-settlement birdlife is circum-stantial . Of the birds known to have nested i nnorthwestern Indiana or the Chicago region ,only those that would frequent Grand Calume tRiver habitats are considered part of the riv-er's avifauna. When available, however, spe-cific references to the birds of the Grand Cal-umet River Basin are cited . Pre-settlemen tavian communities were almost certainly farricher in species composition than is indicate dby the following list .

Pre-Settlement Summer Resident s

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podi-ceps) .—Butler (1898) states that this specie sis present throughout the greater part of In-diana. Pied-billed Grebes almost certainl ynested in the wetlands along the Grand Cal-umet River.

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) . Thi sspecies probably never nested in the marshe salong the Grand Calumet River ; however,Woodruff (1907) reported that a downy juve-nile was collected on 24 May 1878 al Shef-field (now part of Hammond) . West (1956)questioned the validity of this report .

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American Bittern (Botaurus lentigino-sus). Butler (1898) rooted that this specie swas a summer resident at suitable localities .especially in northern Indiana . In addition ,Ford et al . (1934) state that numerous breed-ing records are available for the Chicago area .Botaurus lentiginosus probably nested in th ecattail marshes on the Grand Calumet Riverfloodplain .

Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) .--Ac-cording to Butler (1898), the Least Bitter nwas a summer resident at suitable localities ,which almost certainly included the wetland salong the river.

(treat Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) .---Several authors, including Butler (1898), sug-gest that the Great Blue Heron was a commo nnesting species across the northern half of In-diana. No evidence for local nesting exists ,but A . herodias almost certainly occupied th eGrand Calumet River floodplain during its lat esummer dispersal .

Green Heron (Butorides striatus) .—BothButler (1898) and Woodruff (1907) list thi sspecies as a common summer resident . TheGreen Heron very likely inhabited scrubbytrees along the river.

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticoraxnycticorax) .—Woodruff (1907) quotes th efollowing statement by E .W. Nelson: "Thefirst of July, 1874, 1 saw a few young of th eyear in the Calumet Marshes ." Birds presen tat this date could represent either locall yfledged individuals cr post-nesting dispersal sfrom colonies outside the Grand Calumet Riv-er Basin .

Mallard (Areas platyrhynchos) . Butler(1898) suggests that this species was a per-manent resident in Indiana. The Mallard prob-ably nested on the floodplain .

Blue-winged Teal (Areas discors) . Butle r(1898) referred to this small duck as a loca lsummer resident . The Blue-winged Teal ver ylikely nested in wetlands on the Grand Calu-met River floodplain .

Northern Shoveler (Areas clypeata) .Mumford & Keller (1984) state that Butler (n oreference or date given) reported nesting i nLake County . The wetlands along the GrandCalumet River would have included appropri-ate nesting habitat for this dabbler .

Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) . —Without specifying the exact locations, Mum-ford & Keller (1984) state that 0. jamaicensis

nested in Lake County in 1953, 1959, 1961 ,1962, and 1965 . Historical nestings probabl yoccurred along the Grand Calumet River .

King Rail (Rallus elegans) .—During the19` h Century, this species was a summer res-ident north of the Wabash Valley (Butler1898) . King Rails almost certainly the occu-pied marshes on the Grand Calumet Riverfloodplain .

Virginia Rail (Rallus lim~icola) . Butler(1898) referred to Virginia Rails as local sum-mer residents, principally in northern Indiana .This rail undoubtedly nested in the wetlandsalong the Grand Calumet River.

Sora (Porzana carolina) .--According toButler (1898), the Sora was a common breed-er in northern Indiana .

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloro-pus) . Gallinula chloropus, a summer resi -dent that breeds in the more extensive swamp s(Butler 1898), almost certainly nested in th ewetlands along the Grand Calumet River..

American Coot (Fulica americana) .Butler (1898) deemed F. americanu to be acommon summer resident in northern Indiana .

Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricol-or) . -According to Butler (1898), P. tricolorwas a common breeding species in extrem enorthwestern Indiana . The last recorded nest-ing was in 1941 (Mumford & Keller 1984) .

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) . BlackTerns were summer residents in the marshe snorth of the Kankakee River ; they bred com-monly at some locations (Butler 1898) . Mum-ford & Keller (1984) indicate that 40 nest swere found near Wolf Lake in 1924 . makingit highly likely that some nested within theGrand Calumet River Basin .

Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) .Butler (1898) referred to this species as a nabundant resident of Indiana's marshes . Cis-tothorus palustris surely nested at every sit ethat provided the requisite cattail stands .

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) .Woodruff (1907) deemed D. carolinensis tobe an abundant summer resident in the Chi-cago region . The catbird probably nested i ndense shrubbery on the river's floodplain .

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedro-rum).A common summer resident in th eChicago region (Woodruff 1907), Bombycill anet/rot-um very likely foraged, and perhapsnested, on the Grand Calumet River flood -plain .

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Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) .This species was an abundant summer resi-dent of the Chicago region (Butler 1898) . Un-doubtedly, l). peterl ;:ia nested along the GrandCalumet River.

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis tri-chas) .--Butler (1898) referred to this specie sas a common summer resident of the Chicagoregion . The Common Yellowthroat almostcertainly nested in cattail marshes on th eGrand Calumet River floodplain .

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) . —Ac -cording to Woodruff (1907), P. cvanea was acommon summer resident in the Chicago re-gion, and this species probably nested i nscrubby trees on the river's floodplain .

Nelson's Sharp-Mailed Sparrow (Amino-dramus nelsoni) . -Woodruff (1907) quotesNelson: "The 12th of June, 1875, I saw sev-eral of these birds in the dense grass borderin gLake Calumet, where they were undoubtedl ybreeding ." Although Lake Calumet is slightl youtside the study area, this report raises th eintriguing possibility of historical nesting salong the Grand Calumet River. No modernevidence exists to support the belief that th eSharp-tailed Sparrow breeds anywhere in th eChicago region .

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) .Butler (1898) characterized M. melodia as apermanent Chicago area resident ; no doubt afew individuals nested in scrubby habitat o nthe floodplain .

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgi-ana) . Woodruff (1907) deemed this specie sto be a common summer resident of the Chi-cago region, where it almost certainly neste din the Iloodplain marshes .

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeni-ceu .$) . This widespread and common specie s(deemed to be an abundant summer residen tby Butler (I898)), almost certainly nested i nthe cattail marshes along the river .

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephal-us xanthocephalus) . -According to Butle r(1898), X. xanthoceplxrlus was a summer res-ident at some localities in northwestern Indi-ana. This species probably inhabited some o fthe cattail marshes along the Grand Calume tRiver.

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) . —Buticr (1898) considered Q . quiscula a com-mon summer resident ; the birds probably for-aged on the river's floodplain .

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrusater) . According to Butler (1898), M. esterwas a common summer resident in Indiana .This species was undoubtedly present on th efloodplain .

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) .This species, deemed to be a permanent resi-dent of the Chicago region by Butler (1898) ,almost certainly bred in the Grand CalumetRiver marshes .

Pre-Settlement Migrant s

The elongate geometry of Lake Michiga nimposes a major geographical limit on south -bound migrants, directing thousands to th esouthern tip of Lake Michigan and across th eGrand Calumet River (Brock 1986) . Untoldnumhers surely passed over the Grand Calu-met River (luring pre-settlement migrations .Those species preferring habitats provided b ythe river floodplain probably stopped to fee dand rest . The literature provides little first-hand evidence as to what migratory specie swere actually observed on the Grand CalumetRiver ; indeed, specific references were avail -able for only two species .

Osprey (I'andion haliaetus) . Woodruff(1907) reports seeing migrants on both Lak eCalumet and Berry Lake . Osprey probablyhunted over the waters of the Grand CalumetRiver.

Le Conte 's Sparrow (Ainmodramus le-conteii) . Woodruff (1907) quotes F.W. Nel -son, who refers to a specimen collected i nMay 1875 : " . . . The specimen in my posses-sion was flushed from a small depression i nthe prairie near the Calumet River [in Illinoi s

Species known to migrate through the Chi-cago region, whose habitat preferences includ -ed the types provided by the Grand CalumetRiver, are listed in Table 1 .

CURRENT BIRD LIFEData Source s

Information included below concerning thecurrent avifauna in the Grand Calumet Rive rBasin is drawn from recent publications an dfrom unpublished field data . Contemporar yliterature sources include Brock (1986), Mum -ford & Keller (1984), Mierzwa et al . (1991) ,and Mlodinow (1984) . Unpublished field dat ainclude observations made by the author an dvarious other competent observers . Unless ex-

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Table I .—Pre-settlement winter residents . Thefollowing species include those birds known to nes tin the Chicago area (Woodruff 1907) or in north -western Indiana (Butler 1898) that probably win-tered in the wales or marshes of the Grand CalumetRiver .

Common name

Genus and specie s

Canada Goose!MallardBuffleheadRed-hreasted Merganse rAmerican Coo tAmerican CrowCedar Waxwin gNorthern Shrik eAmerican Tree Sparro wDark-eyed Junc oRed-winged BlackbirdCommon Grackl eBrown-headed CowbirdCommon Redpol lAmerican Goldfinc h

plicitly stated in the next, the observation wa smade by the author. These data, which includ emore than 100,000 individual records, arestored in computer filers accessible by persona lComputer.

Field data are not distributed uniforml yalong the river ; a disproportionate fraction o fthe reports are concentrated at easily accessi-ble sites . The most thoroughly sampled loca-tions, in order of descending importance, ar ethe Roxanna Marsh, Hammond Sanitary Dis-trict . Lagoons, DuPont, and Gary Sanitar yDistrict Reaches (Table 3) .

Modern data reveal that the watershed sup -ports an unusually rich avifauna . The wetland sprovide breeding or summer foraging habita tfor at least 64 species, including several tha tare on Indiana's endangered and threatene dspecies lists . In addition, the floodplain serve sas a resting and feeding area for numerousmigrants . Indeed, the greatest avian diversit yis seen during periods of migration .

Considerable species diversity is obvious i nthe monthly data collected at the DuPon tproperty by Mierzwa et al . 1991 (fig . 1) . Themaximum number of species occurs durin gthe May and August migration peaks, and th ewinter months have the lowest diversity .

Table 2 . Winter resident bird species in th eGrand Calumet River corridor. Those specie smarked with an asterisk (*) are rare (not present i nmost years) .

Common name

Genus and specie s

"Pied-billed Grebe'Double-crested

Cormorant'Great Blue Hero n*Black-crowned

Night Hero nCanada Goos eGreen-winged Tea lAmerican black duc kMallar d

"Northern Shovele r*Redhea d

Common GoldeneyeBuIiehead

'Hooded Merganse rCommon Merganse rRed-breasted Merganse rRing-necked Pheasan t

*Common Moorhe nAmerican Coo tRing billed Gul ltiering Gul lGlaucous Gul lRock DoveMourning Dov eBelted Kingfishe rDowny Woodpecke rBlue Ja yAmerican CrowCedar Waxwin gEuropean Starlin gNorthern Cardina lAmerican Tree sparro w

'"Fox SparrowSong SparrowSwamp SparrowDark-eyed JuncoRed-winged Blackbir dCommon Grackl eBrown-headed Cowbir dHouse Finc h

*Common Repol iAmerican Goldfinch

Contemporary Breeding Species andSummer Resident s

Habitat avaiiahility and quality are the mos tcritical factors for breeding birds . The typica lavian habitats in the Grand Calumet River Ba-sin include sluggish perennial streams, ponds ,

Bruntu canuden .si sAnal plutvr/wncho sBrrcephulu a/Leo/aMer ,gus .SBrratO rFu/ica americunaCorru.s bra(./ii rhvncho sBombeclllu ce ('acornLunius excuhito rS'pi,.c~llu nrboreaJunco hvenrali.sAgeluin .s pheenicerr .sQui .sculus guisculaMo/ethrus uterCurdueli.s 'famine( 'C'urefuel,S ristis

Podi/ymbus po(liccp sPhu/ucrocoru S ara itns

Arden lierodia sNveticoru.1 m'cticorus

Brunt(' cunadensi .sAnus creccaAnus rubripesArias platvrh mho sAnna' clvpeatc iAvthvu urnericanuBucephu/cr c/angulaBrrcephalu a/hen/aLophodvte .S cncullatu.sMergtis Merganse rMe 'gins se moto r1'husiarms (0/chicu sGal/um/a chloropusFu/icu umericun aLanus de/alvarcrr .si .sLan's. org(nlutu sLurus hi pe chore rrsColumba /iv/aZenuldu mucroiv aCedric alcyn rPico1(les pube .sceri s( ' sun,9cittu (. ristatuCorms brachyrhynchosBomhvcilla cc(lroru mStorms s'u/gari sCurdinulis coal/rut/i sSpi''eflu arboreaI'u .sserclla /lianaMelospiz.a mcdodiuMelo .spi,u georgian uJunco hvemuli sAge/aius phoeniceu sQrrisculu .s duiscu/ aMolothi-us (rte,-Carl)odacris nrcxicunu .sCurdue /i .s J/ummeuC'urduelis tristi .s

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cattail marshes, lakes, artificial ponds, an dmarshes infested with exotic plant species .Several of these provide important breedin ghabitat for many species on Indiana's list o fendangered and threatened species . Manywetland breeding species have successfull yadapted to cattail marshes, but none appear t ohave adapted to habitats infested with com-mon reed and purple loosestrife, two commo nexotics .

Current data indicate that 63 species occupythe Grand Calumet River floodplain duringthe summer breeding season (June and July) .Recent changes in the river's bird populatio ninclude a significant increase in non--breedin gherons and egrets . In addition, a substantia ldecrease in nesting by Common Moorhen sand American Coots was noted during the1990's . Two species, the Black Tern and Yel-low-headed Blackbird, have been extirpatedas breeding species in the Grand Calumet Riv-er Basin. Data not cited in the following ac -counts were taken from Mierzwa et al . 1991 .

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilyfnbus podi-ceps) . This grebe is a common summer res -ident on the channel ; the species is seen reg-ularly from late April through early Octobe rhut is most frequently reported in July an dAugust . The observation of three juveniles atRoxanna Pond in August 1984 and five youngat Bongi Pond in tune 1991 confirms loca lbreeding .

American Bittern (Botaurus lentigino -.sus) . -This Indiana-endangered species ha svirtually disappeared as a breeding speciesfrom Indiana . The only summer record for th ewatershed consists of a single bird flushedfrom the cattail marshes on the DuPont prop-erty on 11 July 1991 .

Least Bittern (Lrobrychus exilis) . lxob-fyclurs exilis, an Indiana-endangered species ,is a rare summer resident of the cattail marsh-es on the river's floodplain . The species wa sseen at Roxanna Pond in August 1983, and atleast two adults were found at that location i nJuly 1984 (seen by author) . The most recentsummer reports were made in the DulPont wet -lands, where one or two pairs were presen tthroughout the summer in 1991 .

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) .Though evidence of nesting is lacking, for-aging birds are seen regularly along muddybanks of the channel and especially at Rox-anna Pond. During 1996, this species nested

on the nearby Little Calumet River floodplai nin Lake County (Brock pers . ohs .) .

Great Egret (Ardea albus) . Over the lastdecade, observations of this species have in -creased dramatically, paralleling the establish-ment of a nesting colony at nearby Lake Cal-umet, Illinois . This expansion is especiall yencouraging because A. albus is currently o nIndiana's "species of special concern'" list .Today. birds are frequently observed feedingalong the channel and especially at Roxann aPond . During June and July at Roxanna ]Pond ,a mean of 9 .3 birds per year was recordedover the past 12 years ; the peak count was 3 0on 15 June 1996 . No evidence of nesting i savailable for the Grand Calm net River flood -plain ; presumably, the summer birds representeither foraging individuals from the Illinoi scolony or non-breeding wanderers .

Green Heron (Butorides striatus) .--Dur-ing, the summer, small numbers of B. sin-Mitt sare seen regularly along the channel . A peakcount of three was recorded at Roxanna Pondon 3 July 1985 . Though nesting has not bee nconfirmed, this species probalbly breeds spar-ingly in scrubby trees along the channel .

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticoraxnyeticorax) . Currently on Indiana's endan -gered species list, N. nvcticorax is a commo nsummer visitor to the Grand Calumet Rive rfloodplain . At Roxanna Pond, a mean of 5 . 5birds per year was observed during June an dJuly over the past dozen years . The 1 I bird scounted at Roxanna Pond on 8 July 1986 wereprobably post-nesting dispersals from th eLake Calumet rookery in Illinois . Evidence o flocal nesting is lacking ; most of the birds ob-served are presumed to be foraging birds fro mthe Lake Calumet colony .

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) .This species is an abundant summer residen tthat frequently nests on the floodplain .

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) . Aix sponsa i sseen regularly on the channel during the sum-mer. The species may occasionally nests in thewatershed; two young birds were observed atRoxanna Pond on I June 1985 . A peak sum-mer count of 12 was seen on 5 June 1987 .

Mallard (Ands platyrhynchos) . Substan -tial numbers of Mallards can be seen in th echannel of the Grand Calumet River duringthe summer. The peak summer count was 6 0at Roxanna Pond on 10 July 1982 . Counts o fdowny young at Roxanna Pond include seven

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Table 3 . The following species are migrants through the Grand Calumet River Basin . The Indian astatus of each of these migrants is defined according to Buskirk (1993) : en

endangered ; t hsc = special concern ; and ex — extirpated as a breeding species .

threatened ;

Common name Species name

Historical

Modern Statu s

Red-throated Loon Garda stellataCommon Loon Gavin im'ne rPied-hilled Grebe PodihVmhus pndicep .s

•Horned Grebe Potliceps mirth' sRed-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegertaDared Grebe Podiceps nigricoilisAmerican White Pelican Pelecouus erv[hrorhvucho sDouble-crested Cormorant Phalacrocoras nuritus

•American Bittern Botauru .s lentiginous

• e nI .cast Bittern lsohrvchus c_xilis

• e nGreat Blue Heron Ardea herodias

•Great Egret Art/ea tabus

•Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibi sGreen Heron Butoride5 sU-iatus

•Black-crowned Night Heron Nvcticorax nycticnra_v

• e nTundra Swan (

knu .s columhinnta.v

•Mute Swan Cygnus olor-Canada Goose Brcrtrta canadeusis

•Snow Goose ('hen caeru/escetr .sWood Duck Aix spoils('

•Green-winged Teal Arias crecca

•American Black Duck Arur .s rubripes

•Mallard Anus p/atyrhpu .hos

•Northern Pintail Anus crcuta

•Blue-winged Teal Anus di .scocs

•Northern Shoveler Arias clppeata

•Gadwall Arias strepe ra

•American Wigeon Arias anrericcrna

•Canvasback A_vthva vcrlisineria

•Redhead A_vthva canericarur

•Ring-necked Duck Avthva co/furls

•Greater Scaup Avlhvcr unrrilaLesser Scaup Aythva (Willis

•Black Scoter Melanitta nigraWhite-winged Scoter Melanitta /MSc('

Common Goldeneye Bucepha/a cktngulaB u l flehead Bucephala algeola

•Hooded Merganser Lophodvles cucu/lotus

•Common Merganser Mergus Merganser

•Red-breasted Merganser Mergu.s .scrrator

•Ruddy Duck Oxvura jamaicen .sis

•Osprey Pandion hulicretus

• enNorthern Harrier Cirrus cvcrneus

• e n

Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii

•Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jai/mice/Isis

•American Kestrel Falco sparr'erirrs

•Peregrine Falcon Pulco peregrinu .s

• e nVirginia Rail Rai/us limicola

• S c

Sora Por.ana caw/Ina

•Common Moorhen Gu/Grrul(' chloropu .s

•American Coot l Ldic(' nniericmur

•Black-bellied Plover Pluvio/i .s syuatcu-okt

•American Golden Plover Phn'ictli.s dorninicus

•

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Table 3 .--Con nued .

Common name Species name Historical

Modern Statu s

Semipalmated Plove rKilldee rAmerican AvocetGreater YellowlegsLesser Yellowleg sSolitary Sandpiper

Charadrius semipalmatu sCharadrius vociferusRecurvirostra americansTringa melanoleucaTringa flavipesTringa solitaria 0

Spotted SandpiperIIudsonian Godwi tMarbled Godwi tRuddy Turnston eRed Kno tSanderlin gSemipalmated SandpiperWestern Sandpipe rLeast Sandpiper

Actitis maculariaLimos(' haeniasticaLirrrosa fedo aArenaria interpre sCalidris canutusCalidris olbaCalidris pusill aCalidris mauriCalidris rninutilla 0

White-romped SandpiperBaird's Sandpipe rPectoral SandpiperDunlin

Calidris ,first/collisCalidris bairdiiCalidris melanoto sCalidris alpina 0

Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus 0

Buff-breasted Sandpipe rRuf fShort-billed Dowitcher

Tryngites subruficollisPhilornachus pugnaxLintnodromus gri.seus 0

Long-billed Dowitcher Lioiaodronrus scolopaceus 0

Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago 0

American Woodcock Scolopax minor 0

Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor 0 e xRed-necked Phalarop eFranklin's Gul lBonaparte's Gull

.Phalaropus lobatu sLarus pipixca nLarus philadelphia 0

Ring-billed Gul lHerring Gul lCaspian 'FernForster's Tern

Larus delawarensi sLarus argentatu sSterna caspiaSterna forsteri 0 e x

White-winged Ter nBlack Tern

Chlidonias leucopterusChlidonias niger 0 en

Mourning DoveBlack-billed Cucko oYellow-billed Cucko oCommon NighthawkChimney SwiftBelted Kingfisher

Zenaida rnacrouraCoccyeus erythropthahinu sCoccyzus americanusChordeiles minorChaetura pelagicaCeryle alcyon 0

Yellow-bellied SapsuckerNorthern FlickerOlive-sided Flycatche rEastern Wood-peweeAlder Flycatcher

Sphyrapicus variu sColaptes auratusContopus boreali sContopus virensEmpidonax alnorum 0

Willow Flycatcher Empidonax trailii 0

Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimu.s 0

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe 0

Eastern Kingbird Tyr'annus tyrannus 0

Purple Marlin Progne subis 0

Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor 0

N . Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis 0

Bank Swallow Riparia riparia 0

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Table 3 .—Continued .

Common name Species name Historical Modern Statu s

Cliff Swallow Hirunclo pvrrhorurl aBarn Swallow Hirunclo nrs/icct 0

Blue Jay C.' vanocitic cristclaAmerican Crow Conti/A' hrccltoThvncho .s' 0

Black-capped Chickadee Penis atricapilhts O

Brown Creeper Certltia antericana 0

House Wren Troglodytes aeclor tWinter Wren Troglodvles frog/oc/5/C .s 0

Marsh Wren Ci .s'lothorus palu .slris 0 t hGolden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa 0

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus ca/enchdc O

Gray-checked "[ t hrush C'crlharus ntiniuut.s O

Swainson's Thrush Caiharus usitdcuus 0

I [omit Thrush Calharus gutlauts O

Wood Thrush Hvlocich/a urusteliuo 0

American Rohin Mains niigralorius 0

Gray Catbird 1)i/m0eI/o eoro[incnsis O

Brown Thrasher I0.vosYOmc rrt/um 0

American Pipit Artlhtts spinole/lo aCedar Waxwing Botnhvcillcr cedrorunr O

European Starling Stur/ius vulgarly O

Warbling Vireo Vireo gih'u sRed-eyed Vireo Vireo olily/refis O

Golden-winged Warbler Venuieora chrvsopterc a e n'Tennessee Warbler Verntirora peregrirulOrange-crowned Warbler Verutir'or'o c'elctlo O

Nashville Warbler Vernrir'ora ru/iccipilla 0

Northern Parula Panda americiu mYellow Warbler I)endroica pcic'chia 0

Magnolia Warbler /)endroica magnolia O

Cape May Warbler /)endroica ligrine O

Yellow-romped Warbler 1)eac/roica coroncta O

Black-throated Green /)endroica r'irenss 0

Warble r131ackhurnian Warbler 1)endroic'a/trsca 0

Pal in Warbler Dendroicc pa/nu/nun 0 0

Bay-breasted Warbler 1)e iulrolca ca,slanea O O

Blackpoll Warbler I)endroica Sfrialct a O

American Redstart Selophogo rulicilla O O

Ovenbird Seiurus anrocapi/hrs' O O

Northern Waterthrush Se iurus novehorcrcen .sis O OConnecticut Warbler Oporor'nis agi[is OMourning Warbler Oporornis phi/rule/ph/a O OCommon Yellowthroat Geoihlvpis lrichas O 0Wilson's Warbler Wilson/a pctsll[u O OCanada Warbler Wilsortict canctden .si.s O OIndigo Bunting Passerine (wawa 0 ONelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Antmoclrainus ne/soru 0 0Fox Sparrow Passe cello 1/iaca 0 0Song Sparrow Melospiec melodic O 0Lincoln's Sparrow Melo .spi<c [incolnii O 0Swamp Sparrow MelospiCa georgicna O 0White-throated Sparrow /onotrichia alhicollis O 0White-crowned Sparrow Zouotrichia eucopluvs 0 OBark-eyed Junco Junco ltventa/is 0 0

BRUCK BIRDS 01 i TILE GRAND CALUMET

15 3

Table 3 . Continued .

Common name Species name Historical Modern

Statu sRed-winged Blackbird Age/a/us ghee nice usYellow-headed Blackbird X . xanthocephalu sEastern Meadowlark Stucnella magn aRusty Blackbird Euphagus' earn lino sCommon Grackle Quiscalus quiscula e eBrown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater ei sHouse Finch Carpodacus mexic'anu sPine Siskin ('arduells pinesAmerican Goldfinch Carduelis lrisfis

on 12 July 1984, six on 1 June 1985, 18 on 5June I987, and 20 on 3 July 1987 .

Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) . Auis&scurs is an uncommon visitor during thesummer. The peak summer count was tour atRoxanna Pond on 26 July 1986, and a mea nof one bird per year has been recorded at tha tlocation during the past 12 years . Thoug hprobable, breeding in the Grand Calumet Riv-er Basin has not been confirmed .

Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) .Though several nesting records are known fo rthis species in the Calumet region . the onl ysummer observation within the Grand Calu-met River Basin was a breeding, plumed malesighted at Roxanna Pond on 24 June 198 3(seen by author) . Recent nesting has occurredon the Little Calumet River floodplain (Broc k1986) .

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jaraicensis) .During the summer period, this species is reg-ularly seen flying above the floodplain . Nonests have been found .

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) .This diminutive falcon is seen regularly in theCalumet region during the summer. Breedingon the floodplain has not been confirmed, buta few birds might nest there .

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchi-cus) . This introduced species has been re -corded regularly throughout the summer atRoxanna Pond (seen by author) and was als onoted on the DuPont property in June 1991 .

Virginia Rail (Wallas livaicola) . Thoughrarely seen, K. lhnice/a, an Indiana "specie sof special concern," is a fairly common breed-er in the cattail marshes on the floodplain .Summer period birds were observed at Rox-anna Pond on 20 July 1982 (seen by author )and in the DuPont wetlands in 1991 . Specific

records at the latter site included a pair see non 15 June, and a family group (two adult sand two young) observed on I I July 1991 .

Sora (Porzana carolina) . The distribu -tion of the Sora is similar to that of the Vir-ginia Rail . June and July records include a nadult with three young in the DuPont Mars hon 11 July, an adult at Ivanhoe on I I June ,and a single bird in a Clark and Pine Swal eon 8 June 1991 . In addition, fully-featheredjuveniles have been recorded at Roxann aPond on four occasions during the fall ; thelargest count was live on 16 September 199 5(seen by author) .

Common Moorhen (Gal/Ina/a chloro-pus) . An abundant nesting species at Rox -anna Pond during the I980's . G. chleropushas declined markedly in numbers during th epast six years . The mean summer count be-tween 1980 and 1989 was 17 .5 per year ; i ncontrast, the average for annual June--Jul ycounts between 1990 and 1995 was only 1 .3 .Peak counts of young during the halcyo n1980's included 50 on 28 June 1984 and 1 3on 26 July 1986 .

American Coot (Fuliea americana) .Nesting coot populations on the floodplain ,like those of Sora and Common Moorhen ,have declined in recent years . During theI980's, numerous nestings were recorded a tRoxanna Pond ; the peak downy young coun twas 15 on 16 July 1983 (seen by author) .Breeding has not been confirmed at Roxann aPond since 1990 . The most recent confirme dnesting on the floodplain was in the DuPon tmarshes, where two young were found on 1 5June 1991 .

Killdeer (Gharadrius vociferus) . Thisspecies is a common summer resident on th efloodplain and breeds when appropriate nest -

1 5 4

PROCEEDINGS OF 'THI INDIANA ACADEMY OF SCIENC E

ing habitat is available . Young birds were re -corded at Roxanna Pond on 5 June 1987 . Peakcounts during the summer period include 1 1at Roxanna Pond on 25 June 1988 and Pou rat DuPont on 15 June 1991 .

Spotted Sandpiper (Aetitis macularia) ./Ictilis mono/ono is fairly common along th eGrand Calumet River during June and Jul yand almost certainly breeds on the floodplain .Spotted Sandpipers have been recorded a tRoxanna Pond 13 times during the summer ;the peak count was three on 9 July 1988 (see nby author) . In addition, two birds were oh-served in appropriate breeding habitat at Bon-gi Pond on 8 June 1991 .

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) .This secretive species frequents the DuPon tproperty, where it undoubtedly breeds . Mier-/ma et al . (1991) recorded woodcocks durin gthe summa- period (four on 7 June, three o n25 June, and one on 1 I July 1991) at DuPont .

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) .Though this species does not breed in th eGrand Calumet River Basin, foraging bird sare abundant throughout the summer. Thepeak count of 60 was observed at the Clin eAvenue crossing on 24 June 1995 .

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) . This In -diana-endangered species, which is on thebrink of extirpation as a breeding species i nIndiana, formerly nested on the floodplain .Black Terns were last recorded breeding in th eGrand Calumet River Basin in June 199 1when a nest containing three eggs was dis-covered in the DuPont marsh ; the nest wasabandoned by early July . Eggs were previous-ly discovered at this site in 1986 and 198 7(Indiana Department of Natural Resources ,unpubl . data) . The decline of the Black Ternis graphically illustrated by the decrease tha thas been observed in annual summer counts .During the 1980's, a mean of seven terns pe ryear was recorded during the summer. In con-trast, only 1 .2 birds per breeding season wer erecorded in the 1990"s (based on the report sof all observers who visited the site du ring thenesting period) . Summer period Black Tern shave not been reporte I from the watershe dsince 1991, suggesting the total absence o fbreeding birds .

Rock Dove (Columba livia) .—An abun-dant resident of nearby industrial sites, C . Livi ais frequently seen in (Jocks flying over th efloodplain . On occasion, a few individuals can

he seen feeding on the exposed mudilats a tRoxanna Pond .

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) .Small numbers of this species are seen fre-quently during the summer. Zenaida nut -cream probably nests, on occasion, i nscrubby floodplain trees . The peak count. offive individuals was taken on three differen tdates in 1988 (seen by author) and twice i n1991 .

Black-billed Cuckoo (Coceyzus erythrop-thalmus) . Although this species may occa -sionally nest in floodplain shrubs or oak sa-vanna, C. edwhroplhabnas is rare along th eGrand Calumet River. The only summer re -cord of this species was an observation a tRoxanna Pond on 11 July 1981 .

Y'el]low-billed Cuckoo (C'accyzus ameri-canus) .—The distr ibution and occurrence o fC. ar/tericantis is similar to that of the Black-billed Cuckoo . Summer records include th eobservation of lone birds at Roxanna Pond o n25 July 1987 (seen by author) and at Ivanho eon 15 June 1991 .

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) .Active B. virginianas nests have been ob-served in the cottonwoods along the Gran dCalumet River in the IJSX Reach .

Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles mi-nor) . Although this species does not nest o nthe floodplain, birds forage above the rive rthroughout the summer. Records during thesummer include two birds at Roxanna Pondon 21 July 1988 (seen by author) and one o nthe DuPont property on 11 July 1991 .

Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) .--Al-though the floodplain probably contains noappropriate nesting hahitat for C. pelagica, th especies is frequently seen foraging above th eGrand Calumet channel and nearby ponds . Apeak summer count of 20 individuals was ob-served over Roxanna Pond on 23 June 1990 .

Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) .—Thekingfisher is seen occasionally along the chan-nel, and the species may nest in sandy em-bankments on the floodplain . Srmimer record sinclude three at Bongi Pond, three at Roxann aPond, two at the Cline Avenue bridge, an done at DuPont .

Downy Woodpecker (Firoides pubes-cens) . Although nesting has not been con -firmed on the floodplain, P. pribescens is oc-casionally observed foraging in the marshe sand scrubby vegetation of the floodplain dur-

BROCK -BIRDS OF THE GRAND CAtUMEF

15 5

ing the summer. One was noted at the DuPon tmarsh on 25 June 1991, and two were seen a tthat location on 11 July 1991 .

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) .This species has been observed foraging i nscrubby vegetation on the floodplain and i nthe oak savanna habitat on the DuPont prop-erty . The Northern flicker was recorded at th elatter site on 7 June and I I July 1991 .

Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillur ingEutpidortnx traillii is sighted regularly durin g

the summer and very likely breeds in th efloodplain marshes . Summer period record sinclude five birds at DuPont and three at Rox-anna Pond . The peak count was three a tDuPont on 25 June 1991 .

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) .—The kingbird probably breeds locally on thefloodplain, where it is seen regularly durin gthe summer. Breeding period records includ eeight birds on the DuPont property during th esummer of 1991 and singletons at Roxann aPond in 1985, 1986, and 1991 (seen by au-thor) .

Purple Martin (Progne subis) . Thi slarge swallow is occasionally observed for-aging over the floodplain during the summer.In addition, late July pre-migratory flocks aresometimes noted on the power lines at th eGrand Calumet Lagoons (e .g ., 20 birds wereseen on 25 July 1995) .

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) .—Afew individuals of T. bicolor very likely nes tlocally on the floodplain wherever the requi-site cavities or nest boxes are available . Manyothers forage over the waterways and wet -lands of the Grand Calumet River. Summerperiod records include seven birds at DuPont ,four at Roxanna, and one at the Cline Avenu ebridge .

Barn Swallow (flirundo rustica) . Hirun-do rustica is an abundant summer resident o fthe floodplain, the species may nest beneat hthe bridges that span the channel . The peaksummer count was 70 at Roxanna Pond on 23June 1990 .

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) . Thiswidespread corvid is regularly noted on th efloodplain during tie summer .

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhyn-chos) .----Crows occasionally forage on th efloodplain during the summer. The largestcount was four birds at Roxanna Pond on 2 3June 1990 .

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) .—Thisspecies breeds sparingly in oak savanna an dscrubby second-growth areas on the flood -plain .

Marsh Wren (Cistotlaorus palustris) .--Cistothorus polustri .s, a threatened species i nIndiana, is a common nesting species in th ecattail stands along the channel and the adja-cent marshes . Summer records include 3 1birds (over 14 years) at Roxanna Pond and 3 5at the DuPont marsh in 199f . Birds perform-ing display flights were observed at the latte rsite on 11 July 1991 .

American Robin (Turdus rnigratorius) .This widespread species is occasionally ob-served in the Grand Calumet River Basin dur-ing the summer. The robin may nest in oaksavanna or scrubby second-growth areas o nthe Ioodplain. The peak summer period coun twas 30 on the DuPont property on 11 Jul y1991 .

Gray Catbird (Durnetella carolinensis) .Dumetella carolirrensis is a . common summe rresident on the floodplain . The species almos tcertainly breeds where the requisite scrubb yhabitat is available . The peak summer coun twas three on the DuPont property on II Jul y1991 .

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) .The thrasher is a local breeder that frequent sthe oak savanna habitat . Mieriwa et al . (1991 )recorded this species regularly on the DuPon tproperty .

Cedar Waxwing (Boinbycilla cedro-rum).—Bombycilla cedroruni is a fairly com-mon summer resident and sporadic breeder o nthe floodplain . A peak summer count of fourwas recorded by Mierwa et al . (1991) .

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) .This invasive species, first recorded in th eChicago area in 1925 (Mlodinow 1984), i snow abundant throughout the watershed . Al -though nesting habitat for this species is quit elimited on the floodplain, flocks of brownishjuveniles from nearby residential areas fly intothe river corridor. By early June, these flock sare common along the river. The largest coun twas 25 juveniles at Roxanna Pond on 5 Jun e1987 .

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) . —Deudroica petechia is a fairly common sum-mer resident on the floodplain, and the specie sprobably breeds there in small numbers . Sum-mer records include two reports from the

1 5 6


DuPont property one at Roxanna Pond an danother at the Cline Avenue bridge .

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis tri-chas) . A common species in the cattai lmarshes, L . tric•has nests regularly on thefloodplain . The peak summer period coun twas five at the DuPont marsh on I I July 1991 .One individual was performing display flights .

Northern Cardinal . (Cardinalis cardinal-is) . Small numbers of this species frequen tscrubby vegetated and oak savanna habitat son the floodplain .

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) .--Thiscolorful species is a con-anon summer- residen tin the woods of the Grand Calumet River Ba-sin . Summer records have come from Rox-anna Pond, the DuPont . property, and the Clin eAvenue bridge .

Eastern Towhee (P'ipilo erythrophthal-auus) . The towhee nests in oak savanna hab -itat on the floodplain . A young bird in fres hjuvenile plumage was seen on the DuPon tproperty on 25 June 1991 .

Song Sparrow (lYlelospiza inelodia) .This sparrow is a common summer residen ton the floodplain, where I assume it breeds .The peak count was seven song sparrows o nthe DuPont property on I I July 1991 .

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgi-ana) . Melospiza ,>;' corgicrna is a fairly com -mon floodplain resident during the summer,and multiple reports have been made fro mboth Roxanna Pond and the DuPont property .The peak count was two at the DuPont site o n25 June 1991 .

Red-winged Blacklbird (Agelaius phoeni-ceus) . The Red-winged Blackbird is a nabundant breeding species in the floodplai nmarshes . The species is present at virtuall yany site that supports substantial cattai lgrowth. A peak summer count of 17 was re -corded on the DuPont property on I I Jul y1991 .

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephal-us xanthocephalus) . This species, which i scurrently listed among Indiana's threatenedbirds, formerly nested on the Grand CalumetRiver floodplain . Yellow-headed Blackbird sare now believed to be absent as a breedin gspecies from all of Indiana . Xanthocephalu.cxanthoc•ephahrs nested at Roxanna Pond i n1984 (at least two pair), 198 .5 (at least onepair), and 1986 (at least one pair) . At least onepair nested in the cattails just east of. the Ken-

nedy Avenue bridge (DuPont Reach) in 198 6and 1987 .

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) .Foraging grackles are common on the flood -plain during the summer. The peak summe rcount was nine at the DuPont site on 7 Jun e1991 .

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothru sester) .- small numbers of this widespread nes tparasite are common along the floodplain dur-ing the summer. The peak count was two atDuPont on I I July 1991 .

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) . Al-though the Grand Calumet River Basin pro-vides sub-optimal breeding habitat for I . gal -hula, a few individuals or this specie sprobably nest in isolated trees along the flood -plain margin . One bird was recorded at Du -Pont on I I July 1991 .

House Finch (Carpodacus inexicanus) .Beginning in the early 1980's, C. mexicanusinvaded the Calumet region . The species i snow a common resident throughout the year .Birds have been recorded at Roxanna Pond .DuPont, and the Cline Avenue bridge durin gthe summer.

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) .Carchrell's trisris is a common summer resi-dent that almost certainly breeds in the marsh -es along the Grand Calumet River. The peaksummer count was five birds at the DuPon tmarsh on 11 July 1991 .

House Sparrow (Passer dorueslicus) .This species nests abundantly in the suburba nand industrial areas adjacent to the river. For-aging birds frequently appear along the flood -plain in the summer.

Contemporary Migrant s

Probably every species that regularly m igrates through the Chicago area has passe dover the floodplain ; however, only those spe-cies actually recorded on or above the GrandCalumet River system are included in this lis tof migrants . All the migrants that have bee nrecorded in the Grand Calumet River Basi nare tabulated in Table 2 . An annotated list o frare and uncommon migrants is provided be -low. The rarity of these species is listed i nBrock (1986) . Dominating the migrant list ar e26 waterfowl species and 30 shorebird spe-cies .

Red-throated boon (Gavin stellata) . One

BRO('K BIRDS OP' Ft1t GRAND CALUMET

15 7

was seen on the Grand Calumet Lagoons o n1 April 1979 .

Common Loon (Gavin immer) . A com-mon migrant on Lake Michigan, this speciesoccurs rarely on the Grand Calumet Lagoons .

Red-necked Grebe (Podieeps grise-gena). This species, rare throughout the Chi-cago region, has been sighted twice at theGrand Calumet Lagoons: once in November1993 and again in November 1995 .

Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricallis) . Asingle bird was present on Roxanna Pon dfrom 19 August 1978 until the pond froz eover on 25 November 1978 . Another was seenon the pond on 27 September 1980 .

American White Pelican (Pelecanus ery-throrhynchos) .—One was present on th eGrand Calumet Lagoons during the summe rof 1967 (Brock 1986) .

Cattle Egret (R'ubulcus ibis) . A breed-ing-plumed bird was seen at Roxanna Pon don 26 May 1989 .

Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) . I nthe fall, migrants occasionally land on th eGrand Calumet Lagoons . A flock of 108 bird swas noted at this location on I Decembe r1985 .

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) . Al-though this species regularly migrates acros sthe Calumet region. it rarely lands there . Chenc uerulcsc'cn .ti was recorded three times at Rox -anna Pond (twice in the fall and once in th espring) . The largest count (six) was seen o nI I April 1987 .

Greater Scaup tAythya marila) .—Thoughcommon on Lake Michigan in the winter, /Iv -thin cnuriln is rarely seen away from the lake .The only report in the Grand Calumet water-shed consists of two birds seen at Roxann aPond on 24 April 1982 .

Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra) . Thi sspecies, which is a regular fall migrant o nLake Michigan, was seen on the Grand Cal-umet Lagoons on 26 October 1980 .

White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca) .A single bird was seen on the Grand Calume tLagoons on 14 March 1992 (Brock peas .ohs .) .

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) . This Incii -ana-endangered species has been recorded a tRoxanna Pond on four occasions dur ing it smigration period .

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrines) .--Ls idence that this federally-endangered spe -

cies occasionally forages on the Iloodplai nwas provided by the sighting of an adul tperched on a transmission tower adjacent toRoxanna Pond on 31 October 1987 (Brockpers . (hs .) .

American Avocet (Recurvirostra ameri-cana) . A singleton was observed at Roxan -na Pond on I I May 1980.

Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemasti-ea).- -Bight birds were seen at Roxanna Pon don I I May 1978 . This record is the larges tnumber ever recorded in Indi,_ma (Mumford &Keller 1984) .

Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa).--Onebird was seen at Roxanna Pond on 10 and I IMay 1978 (Brock 1986) .

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) .A flock of 15 birds was seen ,at Roxanna Pon don 26 May 1988 .

Red Knot (Calidris cauutus) . This spe-cies is rarely recorded away from the sand ybeaches of Lake Michigan. A juvenile wa sseen along the muddy channel banks in theHammond Sanitary District Reach on 17 Au -gust 1977 .

Sanderling (Calidris alba).—A Sanderlin gwas seen at Roxanna Pond on 28 May 1983 .

Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) .This species, which is remarkably rare in th eCalumet region, has been recorded four time snear Roxanna Pond and the adjacent . Ham-mond Sanitary District Reach .

White-romped Sandpiper (Calidris fus-cicollis) . Fall migrants have been recorde don four occasions at Roxanrnt Pond .

Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) .--Ju-veniles were seen at Roxanna. Pond on 19 Au -gust 1988 (two) and 21 September 1989 (one) .

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (7ryngites sub-ruf eollis) .—This rare shorebird was observedon the extensive mudllats near Roxanna Pon dduring a period of low water on 10 September1988 .

Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) . A femal ewas seen m a Gary Sanitary District settlin gpond on 9 and 10 August 1986 (Peteajoh n1987) .

Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricot-or) . Pha/aropus tricolor has become quiterare in the Calumet Region during the pas tdecade ; consequently, the 28 birds recorded a tRoxanna Pond on 9 May 1978 (Kleen 1979 )are noteworthy .

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lob-

1 5 8


Table 4 . The following bird species were identified within the Grand Calumet River Basin . Pleas enote that the data are based on limited sampling ; data for each reach were collected only at those site saccessible from land . For a description of the sampling areas, see Last & Whitman 2002 (this volume ,pages 45-81) . Abbreviations : CV = Culverts Reach, HM _ Hammond Sanitary District Reach, RX =Roxanna March Reach, EC = East Chicago Sanitary District Reach, DP = DuPont Reach, GY = Gar ySanitary District Reach, and LC = Lagoons Reach .

Common name Species CV RX EC DP GY I . G

Red-throated Loon Curio stellata xCommon Loon Gavin imrnr r- xPied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps X X X xHorned Grebe Podiceps auritu.s X xRed-necked Grebe Podiceps griscgen aEared Grebe Podiceps rrigricollis XAmerican White Pelican Podiceps er_ythrorhynchos XDouble-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorux auritus X X XAmerican Bittern Botaurus Ientiginosus XLeast Bittern Ix ' dtychhs eeilis X XGreat . Blue Heron Are%<r

irodius X X X X xGreat Egret: Ards,

olbus X X XCattle Egret /3ubulcns ibis X X XGreen Heron But-orioles striutu.s X x xBlack-crowned Night Heron Nrz iicorax nvcticoraV X X XTundra Swan Cr

-,ass , ..rlumbianu .s XMute Swan Cs . ,ntrs olor X XCanada Goose Bn rnra carurden.sis X X X XSnow Goose Chen caercrlescerrs XWood Duck Aix sporisa X X XGreen-winged Teal Anus crecca X X XAmerican Black Duck Anos rubripes X X XMallard nas platyrhynclios X X x x X XNorthern Pintail Anon acuta XBlue-winged Teal Arias discors X X XNorthern Shoveler Areas clypeata X XGadwal l Ana.s strepera XAmerican Wigeon Ana.s umericana XCanvasback Aythya valisineria XRedhead Aythya americana X XRing-necked Duck Aythya cot/at-is X XGreater Scaup Aythya nrar'ilu XLesser Scaup Aythya (Orris X XBlack Scoter Melanitta nigru XWhite-winged Scoter Melanitta fiisea XCommon Goldeneye Bucephala clangula XBufflehead Bucephala albcola X XHooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullutus X. XCommon Merganser Mergus merganse rRed-breasted Merganser Mergus senator X XRuddy Duck Oxyuro jumuicen .vis X XOsprey Pundion huliaetus XNorthern Harrier Circu.v cvaneus XCooper ' s Hawk Accipiter cooperii X XRed-tailed Hawk Bute() jamaicensis X X XAmerican Kestrel Falco sparverius X X X

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrirurs XVirginia Rail Rat/us lirnicola X XSora Porzanu caroling X X XCommon Moorhen Gallinula chloropus x X. X

BROCK BIRDS OF THE GRAND CALUMET

15 9


Common name Species CV RX

EC DP GY LG

American Coot runty/ canlericanca X X ?s XBlack-bellied Plover Plut-iali .s .vyruncn'ola XAmerican Golden Plover Pltaa~icrlis torniraicus XSentipalmated Plover Charatriu .v senripalrnarus X XKilldeer C.'haradrw.v roc/feats X X X XAmerican Avocet Recurrirostra americ•ana XGreater Yellowlegs "/Tinga rnehnrolenca XLesser Yellowlegs Tringa flaa-ipes X X XSolitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaries X X XSpotted Sandpiper Actitis nracnlaria X X XRed Knot Calldris commis XFludsonian Godwit LimOra haemastica X.Marbled Godwit Lirnasa fedoa XRuddy Turnstone Arencarica inter-pre s XSandcrling Caliclris a/bcr X XSemipalmated Sandpiper Ca/iris pusi//a X X XWestern Sandpiper Calh/riv nrauri X X XLeast Sandpiper Caliclris minrrtilla X X XWhite-rumped Sandpiper Gann-is Xllaird's Sandpiper Ccalidri.s hairdii X XPectoral Sandpiper Caliclris nle/anotos X X x

Duttlin Ca//this alpi/ta X XStilt Sandpiper Caliclris hiunantopn .v X X XRuff Philonruchus pug//ax XBuff-breasted Sandpiper Tr_vn,ites srrbrufico//is XShort-billed Dowitcher Lirrrnodromus ,i/ri.veu.s X XLone-billed Dowitcher Llnrnotro ous scolopacens XCommon Snipe Gallinago gallina,a X X XAmerican Woodcock Seolopux minor X XWilson's Phalarope Phalan-pas tricolor XRed-necked Phalarope Phalaropes lohcalas XFranklin's Gull Laois pipivcan XBonapartc's Gull 1 .ara .s philatelphica XRing-hillcd Gull f.aru .s telasrcaren .si.v X X X XHerring Gull Laru .s ca;peraatirs X NCaspian Tcrn Sterrra caspia XForster's Tern Ste/7u/ forsteri XVVhite-winged Tern Chlidouias /eacopterus XBlack Tern Ch/idonia.v /tiger- X x

Mourning Dove Zenaita nrarroarra X x

Common Nighthawk Chlordeiles minor X NChimney Swint C'hactrara pehagica X X X XBelted Kingfisher Cerivle calc_vora X X X XYellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphvrapicras not-ins X XDowny Woodpecker Pico/des puhescera .sNorthern Flicker Calapte.s aurataas X XOlive-sided Flycatcher Contopus boreali s(?astern Wood-peewee Conlopus t-irerrs NWillow Flycatcher Lurpidorrcr_v /radii X Xbeast Flycatcher Lrnpidoncu rrailrimas XEastern Phoebe Savor//is phoebe X XEastern Kingbird /vran/ ars tvrcannus X XPurple Martin Prog/te subi,v X X XTree. Swallow Tcachycineta bicolor- X XN . Rough-winged Swallow S. serripennis X X

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EC DP

GY LG

Bank Swallow Riparia riparia X XCliff Swallow Hirundo pyrrhonola XBarn Swallow Hirundo rust/ea X X X XBlue Jay Cyanocilta cristata X X XAmerican Crow Corvus brachvr'hinchos X X X xBlack-capped Chickadee Pants atricapillus X XBrown Creeper Certhia (nne r'icana XHouse Wren Troglodvle.V aedon X XWinter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes XMarsh Wren Cisvothor'us palustris X XGolden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrap(' XRuby-crowned Kinglet Regulus ca/endrda XGray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus XSwainson's Thrush Catharus us/ulatus X XHermit Thrush Ca liarus guttatus X XAmerican Robin Tort/us inigratorius X X XGray Catbird Dumetella carolittensi.s X XBrown Thrasher Toxostoma rufarr XAmerican Pipit Anthus spinoletta XCedar Waxwing Bombvcilla cedronun X xEuropean Starling Slurrurs r'ulgaris XWarbling Birco Vireo gams XRed-eyed Vireo Vireo oli'aceus XGolden-winged Warbler Venn/roar chrvsoptera XTennessee Warbler Vermilion/ peregrina X xOrange-crowned Warbler Ver'mivora celala XNashville Warbler Vernrirurra r'uficajn//a X XNorthern Parula Panda americana XYellow Warbler Dendroica petechia X XMagnolia Warbler Dendroica magnolia X XCape May Warbler Dendroica //grim X XYellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronala X XBlack-throated Green Warbler Dendroica r'irens XBlack burnian Warbler Dendroica frt.sc aPalm Warbler Dendroica palmarum X XBay-breasted warbler Dendroica castanea X XBlackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata X X XAmerican Redstart Setophaga rulicil/a X XOvenbird Seiur'tts cturocapillus XNorthern Waterthrush Seiurus nor'eboracensis X XConnecticut Warbler Oporornis agars X.Mourning Warbler Oporor'nis phi/adelphia X .Common Ycllowthroat Geothlypis iris 'has- X XWilson's Warbler Wii.sonia pusilla X XCanada Warbler Wi/sonia canadensis XIndigo Bunting Passe rina cvanea X XEastern Towhee Pip/10 ervthropluhahnus XFox Sparrow Pas .serella iliaca X xSong Sparrow Melospic.a melodist X X XLincoln's Sparrow Me/ospiza lincolnii XSwamp Sparrow Me/asp/zit georgiana X XWhite-throated Sparrow Z000trichia albicollis XWhite-corned Sparrow Zonotrichia eucophrvs x xDark-eyed Junco Junco hvemalis X X X XRed-winged Blackbird Agelaitt .s phoeniceus X

I3ROCK —BIRDS OF THE GRAND CALUMET

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Tahle 4 .—Conti [med .


EC OP

GY I . GYellow-headed Blackbird X.

r'arn'/rnc'(plwln.s X X XRusty Blackbird Euphagn .c ear'olimr.c XEastern Meadowlark S[ra'ne//a nra,gna XCommon Grackle Quiarahr .c quisrula X X XBrown-headed Cowbird Mo/ollirn .c tiler X X X!louse Finch Carpculac'uc me .xic'anus X X XAmerican (hrldlinch C'arclnelis tri.ctis X X X X

alas) . This species has been recorded onl yonce in the Grand Calumet watershed . A sin-gle bird was seen at Roxanna Pond on 15 Jul y1982 .

Franklin's Gull (lams pipixcan) .—A nadult bird was observed on the Grand Calume tLagoons on 5 November 1991 .

White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucop-terus) . Indiana's only record of this Eurasia nspecies is a bird seen at Roxanna Pond on 1 9July 1979 (Brock 1983) .

Golden-winged Warbler (Verramivora chry -.soptera) . This Indiana endangered specie swas recorded at the DuPont wetlands on 23August 1991 .

Northern Parulla (Parula arnerficaaaa) .This warbler, which is rare in the Calumet re-gion, was observed in the cottonwoods alon gthe Grand Calumet River in the Hammon dSanitary District Reach on 27 Septembe r1980 .

Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agil-is) . On 24 May 1991, a migrant was flushe dfrom the oak savanna at DuPont .

Contemporary Winter Resident s

Birds that winter in the Grand Calumet Riv-er corridor are primarily aquatic species thattake advantage of the open water created b ythe effluent from local industries . All the spe-cies listed in Table 2 have been recorded o nor above the floodplain during the winter (De-cember through Fehruary) . If open water werenot present, Or fewer species would he pre -sent during the winter. Those species markedwith an asterisk (*) are rare (not present i nmost years) .

IMPACT OF DREDGIN G

Considerable evidence suggests that th emuddy substrate of the Grand Calumet Riveris contaminated (U .S . Fish and Wildlife Ser-

vice 1996) . The detection of mercury andPCB residues in failed eggs at the East Chi-cago Peregrine Falcon nest site (U .S . Fish andWildlife Service 1996) indicates that somecontaminants have entered the avian food we band poses a potential risk for birds that fee din the channel . Many birds spend extensiv etime foraging in this contaminated environ-ment . For example, on 30 December 1995 ,970 Mallards, plus other waterfowl species ,were counted in the Roxanna Pond and Ham-mond Sanitary District Reaches . These birdswinter on the river, apparently feeding exclu-sively on channel vegetation . Although thelong-term effects of prolonged exposure toGrand Calumet River pollutants on birds ar eunknown, lengthy exposure is certainly un-desirable .

Perhaps at even greater risk are the migran tshorebirds that consume members of the in -vertebrate infauna living within the substrate .Most migrant shorebirds depart within a fewdays, rendering their exposure brief, but th epotential for accumulating toxins is high be -cause they feed on organisms extracted di-rectly from the contaminated sediment . Thus ,removal of the contaminated sediment throug hdredging will have a positive long-term effec ton the avifauna . A major concern is that th edredging operation itself might increase con-tamination through the resuspension of sedi-ment during dredging . "This, possibility shoul dbe examined carefully within the context ofthe dredging methods employed .

OPPORTUNITIES

Roxanna Pond lies within a meander of th eGrand Calumet River north of Roxanna Stree tand about 0 .4 km to the west of Indianapoli sBoulevard (Roxanna Reach of the Grand Cal-umet River) . Water levels in this shallow pon dfluctuate widely, and they are seemingly more

1 6 2


dependent upon the rate of effluent dischargefrom local industries than on precipitatio nrates . Low water levels expose extensive mud -flats, which provide feeding habitat for mi-grant shorebirds . When water levels are ap-propriate, the pond serves as a resting an dfeeding area for hundreds of spring and fal lshorebird migrants . High water conditions ,however, entirely eliminate the mudflats ; onthese occasions, shorebirds cannot land at th epond .

At least 29 different shorebird species hav ebeen recorded at Rosanna Pond . The mostcommon species are the Lesser Yellowlegs ,Least Sandpiper, and Pectoral Sandpiper . Sev-eral rare shorebirds (sensu Mumford & Keller1984) have also been recorded at Roxann aPond. Among the rarities are the America nAvocet, Marbled Godwit, Hudsonian Godwit .Red Knot, Western Sandpiper, White-rumpe dSandpiper., Baird's Sandpiper, Buff-breaste dSandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Red -necked Phalarope .

Shorebird numbers at Roxanna Pond var ywidely from year to year depending upon theavailability of mudllats during migratio n(April through May and July through Octo-ber) . In August 1988, a year when low watergenerated extensive m udflats, 1150 Pectora lSandpipers were counted at the site . In con-trast . during August of the following year, wa-ter levels were very high, and only 11 bird swere recorded . The positive correlation be-tween shorebird numbers and mudflat expo-sure holds for all other shorebird species .

As was pointed out by Helmers (1992) ,shorebirds need staging areas for rest befor econtinuing their migration . For this reason, themanagement of water levels at Roxanna Pon dwould prove extremely beneficial to migratin gshorebirds . The establishment of a site man -aged solely for migrating shorebirds woul dprovide a sorely needed resting and feedingarea for these long range migrants .

In addition to dredging, site preparation wil lrequire the restoration of a muddy substrateand the construction of a low dike and gat ebetween the pond and the channel . The softsediment floor will provide habitat for an in -vertebrate infauna, which constitutes the pri-mary food source of migrating shorebirds .The dike will restrict flow to and from the

river, allowing water levels in the pond to b eadjusted through the gate . if the gate prove sinadequate for regulating water levels, it ma ybe necessary to install a pump .

Routine maintenance (e.g ., Helmers 1992 )will involve monitoring water levels to ensur ethat : 1) appropriate habitat is available durin gcritical migration periods (April—May andJuly—October), that 2) pre-migration wate rlevels are appropriate for development of a nadequate invertebrate infauna on which th eshorebirds can feed, and that 3) vegetation i scontrolled to maintain the mudflat habitat .Vegetation will be controlled by flooding dur-ing the non-migratory periods .

LITERATURE CITE DBrock, K .J . 1983 . Indiana's first White-winge d

Black Tern : An inland sight record . America nBirds 37 :109-III .

Brock . K .J . 1986. Birds of the Indiana Dunes . In -diana Univ . Press, Bloomington, Indiana . 178 pp .

Buskirk, W.B . 1993. Unpublished minutes of th eJuly 23, 1993, Indiana Department of Natura lResources Nongame Bird Technical Advisor yCommittee .

Butler, A .W. 1998. The birds of Indiana. 22"'' An-nual Report Indiana Department of Geology an dNatural Resources, pp . 575-1187 .

Ford, E .R ., C .C . Sanborn & C.B . Coursen . 1934 .Birds of the Chicago Region . Chicago Academyof Science, Chicago, Illinois . 80 pp .

Helmers, D .L . 1992. Shorebird management man -ual . Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Net -work, Manomet, Massachusetts . 58 pp .

Kleen, V.M . 1979. The changing seasons : Spring1978 . American Birds 32:1014 .

Mlodinow, S . 1984. Chicago Area Birds . ChicagoRev . Press, Chicago, Illinois . 224 pp .

Mumford, R .E. & C.E. Keller. 1984. The Birds o fIndiana . Indiana Univ . Press, Bloomington, In-diana . 376 pp .

Peterjohn, B .G . 1987. The changing seasons : Fal l1986 . American Birds 41 :96 .

Mier7wa, K .S ., S . Culherson, K .S . (King & C. Ross .1991 . Illinois-Indiana regional airport study : Bi -otic communities . Tech . Paper 7 . Append . E, Vol .It . "TAMS Consultants, Inc ., Chicago . Illinois .

U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service . 1996. EndangeredSpecies Act, consultation-biological opinion :Dredging of Indiana Harbor and Canal . 46 pp .

West, H .C. 1956. The status of the Grebe famil yin Indiana . Indiana Audubon Quarterly 34 :42-55 .

Woodruff, EM . 1907. The birds of the Chicagoarea . Natural History Survey Bulletin 7, Chicag oAcademy of Science . Chicago, Illinois .

birds of the grand calumet river basin - …. proceedings of the indiana academy of science...

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