An afternoon visit the Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area vicinity (2:30 to 4:00) to
the Wilderness Road Peat mining area produced a mix of shorebirds today
(8-29).

Killdeer ~400
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
SANDERLING  2 (beautiful nearly all white/gray plumaged birds)
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER  2 (1 breeding adult and 1 juvenile or molting adult)
WHIMBREL/CURLEW/GODWIT  2  Seen flying against a dark background and landing
in vegetation and not seen again. They were flying with a small (~25) flock
of Killdeer. They were obviously large (~ 1.5 to 2x Killdeer size),
predominately brown, long-necked birds. Bill length or shape could not be
determined for the 10 seconds or so they were observed @ circa 150 yards.

Non-shorebirds
1 horned lark that though that s/he was a Killdeer, walking among them for
over an hour - even taking flight with them and returning with Killdeer.
1 Great Egret
3 D-C Cormorant
1 Great Blue Heron
Mix of 20-30 Tree/Barn Swallows
Mourning Dove 5
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Song Sparrow 1

Habitat Note on Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area and Vicinitiy.

The Wilderness Road Peat Mining area (technically not a part of) the Funk
Bottoms Wildlife Area has some limited amount of habitat for shorebirds as
the flood waters continue to drop. (It is all wet/damp "edge" and no flats
per se) Habitat should still be good for a week or more unless the mine
operators decide to pump the pond near the road.

BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS during mining operations as the passing peat trucks
create zero visibility conditions from the dust. It would be best to get
completely off the road into one of 2 pullouts/drives on the north side of
the road. Also do not block any drives being actively being used by the
trucks. A telescope is required to cover most of the area as walking is not
permissible except along the roads. Note: this is all private property.

As the the condtions of the Wildlife Area proper:  Although slightly flooded
during the recent rains, most of the crops (corn, soybeans and sunflowers)
survived and furnish no shorebird habitat. There is some habitat south of
Rt. 95, but access involves near 1/4 mile distances - too far except for
ideal observing conditions and more or less inaccessible through the above
crops. For all practical purposes there will be little shorebird habitat
until and unless the area floods again.

Roger Troutman

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