IOWA BIRD LIFE Vol. XLVIII No. 1 March, 1978 Published by the IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 2 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 VOL. XLVIII No. 1 MARCH 1978 PAGES 1-56 CONTENTS FIRST IOWA FORAY 3-24 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIVITY 24-30 CHRISTMAS COUNT 30-43 BIRDING AREAS OF IOWA 43^6 FIELD REPORTS 47-52 GENERAL NOTES 52-54 BOOK REVIEWS 55-56 NOTICES 56 COVER 56 OFFICERS OF THE IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION President - George E. Crossley, 1890 Wood St., Dubuque, Iowa 52001 Vice-President - Carl Kurtz, Route 1, St. Anthony, Iowa 50239 Secretary - Mrs. Mary Lou Petersen, 235 McClellan Blvd., Davenport, Iowa 52803 Treasurer - Mrs. Ruth E. Buckles, 5612 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50310 Editor - Peter C. Petersen, 235 McClellan Blvd., Davenport, Iowa 52803 Librarian - Mrs. Beryl Layton, 1560 Linmar Drive, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404 Executive Council: Dorothy A. Brunner, Nora Springs, Iowa Larry Farmer, Westfield, Iowa Richard Mooney, Des Moines, Iowa W. Ross Silcock, Malvern, Iowa The Iowa Ornithologists’ Union was organized at Ames, Iowa, February 28, 1923, for the study and protection of native birds and to promote fraternal relations among Iowa bird students. The central design of the Union’s official seal is the American Goldfinch, designated State Bird of Iowa in 1933 Publication of the Union: Mimeographed letters, 1923-1928; THE BULLETIN 1929-1930; IOWA BIRD LIFE beginning 1931. SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $5.00 a year, single copies $1.25. Subscriptions to the magazine is included in all paid memberships, of which there are six classes as follows: Life Member, $100.00, payable in four equal installments; Contributing Member, $15.00 a year; Supporting Member, $10.00 a year; Family Member, $8.00 a year; Regular Member, $5.00 a year; Junior Member (under 16 years of age), $2,00 a year. EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE 235 McClellan blvd. DAVENPORT, IOWA 52803 Pubhshed quarterly by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union at 235 McClellan Blvd,, Davenport, Iowa. 52803. Second cl ass postage paid at Davenport, Iowa. Subscription $5.00, single copies $1.25, The First Iowa Foray (continued) 3 The Vascular Plants of Fremont County, Iowa JAMES H. PECK LAWRENCE J. EILERS DEAN M. ROOSA Department of Biology Department of Biology Iowa State Pres. Board Univ of Wisconsin - LaCrosse Univ. of Northern Iowa Wallace State Office Bldg. LACROSSE, WISC. CEDAR FALLS, IOWA DES MOINES, IOWA Fremont County is located in extreme southwestern Iowa. Its flora includes species typical of eastern forests of the interior highlands region and species typical of the dry, western plains (Fay, 1953). The forest species are found in protected valleys, while the western species are found on the exposed slopes and ridges. The synusial pattern of the valleys and loess ridges results in the jux- taposition of eastern and western floristk elements within a distance of a few meters. The peripheral location of the county and the phytogeographic contrasts of its flora make the county of considerable importance to the natural history of Iowa. Surprisingly, a county flora for Fremont County has not been previously published. As part of the 1977 Foray, jointly sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union and the Iowa State Preserves Board, we have prepared a county flora and have noted the species that were identified during the foray (June 3-7, 1977). While the flora reflects the entire county, our observations were primarily restricted to Washington township. Additional plants were recognizable to genus, but they could not satisfactorily be identified to species at the time of the foray. The presentation of the county flora along with the Foray list will also provide a convenient check list for future forays to Fremont County. The list is subdivided into four parts : pteridophytes, gymnosperms, flowering dicots, and flowering monocots. Families, genera, and species are arranged alphabetically within the subdivisions. Scientific and common names reflect usage in standard botanical manuals (Fernald, 1950; Gleason, 1952; Gleason and Cronquist, 1963; Wherry, 1961). The list is based upon compilation from a regional flora of southwestern Iowa (Fay, 1953) and a recent study of the pteridophytes of Iowa (Peck, 197$), from limited inspection of herbarium sheets at Iowa State University, and from lists of plants observed or collected during the foray. In- troduced or adventive species are noted with an asterisk (*}, while species identified during the foray are noted with a plus ( -I- ) . PTERIDOPHYTES — FERNS AND FERN ALLIES ADIANTACEAE + AdiaiUum pedatuin L. AZOLLACAE Azolla mexicana Presl ASPLENIACEAE Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link -HCysiopteris protrusa (Weath.) Blasdeil MAIDENHAIR FERN FAMILY Northern Maidenhair Fern MOSQUITO FERN FAMILY Mosquitoe Fern COMMON FERN FAMILY Walking Fern Creeping Fragile Fern Editor’s note; Since the articles in Part 2 of the Foray Report do not relate directly to birds of cost of printing these papers is being underwritten by an independent source, not I.O.U. funds. 4 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 EQUISETACEAE + Equisetum arvense L. -j-Equisetum hyemale L. + Equisetum X ferrissii Clute + Equisetum laevigatum A. Br. OPHIOGLOSSACEAE + Botrychium virginianum CL.) Sw. GYMNOSPERMS CUPRESSACEAE + Juniperus virginiana L. HORSETAIL FAMILY Field Horsetail Common Scouring -rush Hybrid Scouring-rush Smooth Scouring-rush ADDERS-TONGUE FAMILY Rattlesnake Fern CYPRESS FAMILY Eastern Red Cedar DICOTYLEDONEAE ACANTHACEAE Rueilia humilis Nutt. ACERACEAE + *Acer ginnaia Maxim. + Acer negundo L. + Acer saccharinum L. AIZOACEAE Mollugo verticillata L, AMARANTHACEAE Amaranthus graecizans L. * Amaranthus retroflexus L, Amaranthus tamariscinus Nutt. ANACARDIACEAE + Rhus glabra L. + Rhus radicans L. ANNONACEAE -j-Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal, API ACE AE + Cicuta maculata L, + *Conium maculatum L. -I- Cryptotaenia canadensis (L.) D.C. * Caucus carota L. Lomatium foeniculaceum (Nutt.) Coalt. & Rose + Osmorhiza claytonii (Michx.) Clarke. + Gsmorhiza longistylis (Torr.) DC. + Pastinaca sativa L. + Sanicula canadensis L. + Sanicula gregaria Bickn. + Taenidia integerrima (L.) Drude APOCYNACEAE + Apocynu m cannabinum L. Apocynum sibiricum Jacq. ARALIACEAE + Aralia racemosa L. Panax quinquefolus L, FLOWERING PLANTS ACANTHUS FAMILY Wild Petunia MAPLE FAMILY Amur Maple Box Elder Silver Maple CARPET-WEED FAMILY Carpet -weed PIGWEED FAMILY Prostrate Pigweed Green Pigweed Water-hemp SUMAC FAMILY Smooth Sumac Poison Ivv CUSTARD-APPLE FAMILY Pa paw PARSLEY FAMILY Water Hemlock Poison Hemlock Hone wort Queen Anne's Lace Hairy Parsley Sweet Cicely Smooth Sweet Cicely Wild Parsnip Black Snakeroot Common Snakeroot Yellow Pimpernel DOGBANE FAMILY Indian Hemp Indian Hemp GINSENG FAMILY Spikenard Ginseng ASCLEP I AD ACE AE MILKWEED FAMILY + Ampeiamus albidus (Nutt.) Britt. Sandvine 5 FIRST IOWA FORAY -fAsclepias incarnata L. + Asclepias syriaca L. + Asclepias tuberosa L. + Asdepias verticillata L. -FAsclepias viridiflora Raf, var. lineatis (Gray) Fern, ASTERACEAE Actinomeria alternifolia (L.) DC. + Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. Ambrosia psilostachya DC. var. coronopifolia (T. & G.) Farw. H-Ambrosia trifida L. Antennaria neglecta Greene + * Anthemis cotula L. *Artemesia biennis Willd. -FArtemesia ludoviciana L. Aster ericoides L, Aster iaevis L. Aster oblongifolius Nutt. Aster ontarionis Wieg. Aster praealtus Pair. Aster sagittifolius Wed. + Aster sericeus Vent. Aster simplex Willd. Bidens cernua L. Bidens frondosa L* Bidens tripartita L. Bidens vulgata Greene -FCacalia atriplicifolia L. -FCacalia tuberosa Nutt. + *Carduus nutans L. Cirsium altissimum (L.) Spreng. Cirsium flodmanii Rydb. Cirsium undulatum (Nutt.) Spreng. Conyza canadensis (L.) Cron. Conyza ramosissimus Cron. + Coreopsis palmata Nutt. + Dyssodia papposa (Vent.) Hitchc, *Eclipta alba Hassk. Ereehtites hieracifolia (L.) Raf. + Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers, Erigeron philadelphicus L. Erigeron strigosus Muhl. Eupatorium altissimum L, Eupatorium purpureum L. Eupatorium rugosum Houtt. Eupatorium serotinum Michx. * Gnaphalim obtusifolium L Haplopappus spinulosus (Pursh) DC. Helenium autumnale L. Helianthus annus L. Swamp Milkweed Common Milkweed Butterfly Weed Whorl ed Milkweed Green Milkweed ASTER FAMILY Wing-stem Small Ragweed Western Ragweed Giant Ragweed Pusseytoes Dogfennel Wormwood Prairie Sage Frost Weed Smooth Aster Aromatic Aster Willow Aster Arrow-leaved Aster Silky Aster Panicled Aster Stick-tight Beggar-ticks Beggar-ticks Beggar-ticks Pale Indian Plantain Tuberous Indian Plantain Musk-thistle Tail-thistle Thistle Thistle Horseweed Low Horseweed Tickseed Fetid Marigold Fireweed Daisy -flea bane Fleabane Fleabane Tall Thoroughwort Joe-Pye Weed White Snakeroot Late Boneset Catfoot Sneezeweed Common Sunflower 6 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1973 Helianthus hirsutus Raf. Helianthus laetiflorus Pers. Helianthus maxmiliani Schrad. Helianthus strumosus L. Helianthus tuberosus L, Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet Iva xanthifolia Nutt. Kuhnia eupatoriodes L Lactuca canadensis L. Lactuca floridana (L.) Gaertn. Lactuca ludoviciana (Nutt.) Riddell + Lactuca pulchella (Pursh) DC. Lactuca scariola L. Liatris punctata Hook. Liatris spheroidea Michx. +Lygodesmia juncea (Pursh) D. Don. Parthenium integrifolium L. Prenanthes alba L. Rudbeckia laciniata L. + Rudbeckia hirta + Senecio glabellus Poir. Silphium integrifolium Michx. Solidago altissima L. Solidago canadensis L. Solidago ftexicaulis L. Solidago gigantea Ait. Solidago graminifolia (L.) Salisb. Solidago missouriensis Nutt. Solidago nemoralis Ait. + Solidago rigida L. Solidago speciosa Nutt. Solidago ulmifolia Muhl. *Sonchus asper (L.) Hill + * Taraxacum officinale Weber. + Tragopogon dubius Scop. Vernonia altissima Nutt. Vernonia baldwmi Torr. BALSAMINACEAE Impatiens biflora Willd. + Impatiens pallida Nutt. BERBERIDACEAE * Berberis vulgaris L. BETULACEAE + Corylus americana Walt. + Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch BIGNONIACEAE + *Campsi$ radicans (L.) Seem. + *Catalpa speciosa Warder Stiff -haired Sunflower Showy Sunflower Pale-leaved Sunflower Jersuaiem Artichoke Ox-eye Marsh Elder False-boneset Wild Lettuce Blue Lettuce Prairie Lettuce Wild Lettuce Prickly Lettuce Dotted Blazing Star Blazing Star Skeleton Plant Fever Few Rattlesnake Root Tall Coneflower Black-eyed Susan Ragwort Rosinweed Tail Goldenrod Canadian Goldenrod Zig-zag Goldenrod Smooth Goldenrod Lance-leaved Goldenrod Missouri Goldenrod Gray Goldenrod Stiff Goldenrod Showy Goldenrod Elm -leaved Goldenrod Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle Common Dandelion Goatsbeard Ironweed Ironweed JEWELWEED FAMILY Spotted Touch-me-not Pale Touch-me-not BARBERRY FAMILY European Barberry BIRCH FAMILY Hazelnut Ironwood TRUMPET CREEPER FAMILY Trumpet Creeper Indian Bean FIRST IOWA FORAY 7 BORAGINACEAE * Cynoglossum officinale L. Hackelia virginiana (L.) Johnst. Lithospermum canescens (Michx.) Lehm. Lithospermum incisum Lehm. Onosmodium molle Michx. var. occidentale (Mack.) Johnst. BRASS1CACEAE + Arabis canadensis L. *Brassica kaber (DC.) L, Wheeler *Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic. + Cardaria draba (L.) Desv. *Descurainia pinnata (Walt.) Britt, var. brachycarpa (Rich- ards) Fern. *Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb Lepidium virginicum L. Rorippa isiandica (Oeder) Borbas Rorippa sessiliflora (Nutt.) Hitchc. Rorippa sinuata (Nutt.) Hitchc. * Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop, CAMPANULACEAE Campanula americana L. + Triodanis perfoliatis (L.) Nieuwl. CANNABINACEAE + * Cannabis saliva L. Humulis lupulus L. CAPPARIDACEAE Cleome serrulata Pursh CAPRIFOLIACEAE + Lonicera dioica L. Lonicera prolifera (Kirchn ) Rehd. + + Lonicera tatarica L. + Sambucus canadensis L. + Symphoricarpos occidentalis Hook. + Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Moench. -fTriosteum perfoliatum L, CARYOPHYLLACEAE Paronychia canadensis (L.) Wood * Saponaria officinalis L. * Saponaria vaccaria L. + Silene dichotoma Ehrh. * Silene noctiflora L. + Silene stellata (L.) Ait. BORAGE FAMILY Hound’s Tongue Beggar’s Lice Hoary Puccoon Narrow-leaved Puccoon False Gromwell MUSTARD FAMILY Sickle Pod Charlock Shepard’s Purse Hoary Cress Tansy Mustard Herb Sophia Poor Man’s Pepper Yellow Cress Yellow Cress Yellow Cress Hedge Mustard BLUEBELL FAMILY Tall Bellflower Venus’ Looking-glass HEMP FAMILY Hemp Common Hop CAPER FAMILY Stinking Clover HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY Wild Honeysuckle Wild Honeysuckle Tatarian Honeysuckle Common Elder Wolfberry Coralberry Feverwort PINK FAMILY Forked Chickweed Bouncing Bet Cow Herb Forking Catchfly Night-flowering Catchfly Starry Campion 8 CELASTRACEAE 4-Celastrus scandens L. Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq. CERATOPHYLACEAE + Ceratophyllum demersum L. CHENOPODIACEAE + Chenopodium album L. Chenopodium hybridum L. Chenopodium atriplicifolium (Spreng.) Coult. Salsola kali L, var. tenuifolia G.F.W. Mey. CONVOLVULACEAE * Convolvulus arvensis L. Convolvulus sepium L. -fCuscuta polygonorum Engelm. * Ipomoea hederacea Jacq. CORNACEAE + Cornus drummondi C. A, Meyer Cornus obliqua Raf. CUCURBITACEAE * Cucurbita foetidissima HBK, Sicyos angulatus L. ELEAGNACEAE * Eleagnus angustifolia L. EUPHORB IACEAE + Acalypha ostryaefolia Riddell + Acalypha virginica L. Euphorbia corollata L. Euphorbia dentata Michx. Euphorbia glyptosperma Engelm, Euphorbia heterophylla L. Euphorbia marginata Pursh Euphorbia serpens HBK. Euphorbia serphyllifolia Pers, Euphorbia supina Raf. FABACEAE + Amorpha canescens Pursh -f Amorpha fruticosa L, + Amphicarpa bracieata (L.) Fern. Apios americana Medic, Astragalus canadensis L. Astragalus lotiflorus Hook. + Cassia marilandica L. +Cercis canadensis L. Chamaecrlsta fasciculata (Michx.) Greene * Crotalaria sagittalis L. Dalea aiopecuroides Willd. + Dalea enneandra Nutt. + Desmanthus iilmoensis (Michx.) MacM. - XLVIII, 1978 BITTERSWEET FAMILY Bittersweet Wahoo HORNWORT FAMILY Coon ta il GOOSEFOOT FAMILY Lamb’s Quarters Maple-leaf Goosefoot Winged Pigweed Russian Thistle MORNING-GLORY FAMILY European Bindweed Wild Morning-glory Dodder Morning-glory DOGWOOD FAMILY Rough -leaved Dogwood - Silky Dogwood GOURD FAMILY Wild Pumpkin Bur Cucumber OLEASTER FAMILY Russian Olive SPURGE FAMILY Three-seeded Mercury Three-seeded Mercury Flowering Spurge Wild Poinsettia Snow-on-the-mounlain Milk Purslane PULSE FAMILY Leadplant Indigo-bush Hog Peanut Groundnut Milk Vetch Milk Vetch Wild Senna Redbud Patridge-pea Rattle Box Foxtail Dalea Prairie Clover Tick Clover IOWA BIRD LIFE 9 FIRST IOWA FORAY Desmodium Desm odium + Desmodium Loud. + Desmodium Wood Desmodium Desmodium canadense (L.) DC, canescens (L.) DC. cuspidatum (Muhl.) giutinosum (Muhl.) iilinoense Gray paniculatum (L.) DC. + Gledtsia triacanthos L. GlycyrrhUa lepidota (Nutt.) Pursh -FGymnocladus dioica (L.) K. Koch Lespedeza capitata Michx. * Lespedeza cuneata (Dumont) G. Don. * Lespedeza stipulacea Maxim. + * Medicago lupulina L. + * Medicago sativa L. + MeliIotus alba Desr. + * Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. + Oxytropus lambertii Pursh + Petalostemum candidum (Willd.) Michx, + Petalostemum purpureum (Vent.) Rydb, + Psoralea argophylla Pursh Psoralea esculents Pursh + Robinia pseudoacacia L. Strophostyles helvola (LJ Ell. Strophostyles leiosperma (T. & G.) Piper * Trifolium pratense L. + Trifolium procumbens L. *Vicia villosa Roth. FAGACEAE Quercus imbricaria Michx. + Quercus macrocarpa Michx. + Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm. 4- Quercus rubra L. + Quercus velutina Lam. FUMARIACEAE Corydalis micrantha (Engelm.) Gray Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh. HALORAGACEAE Myriophyllum exalbescens Fern. Myriophyllum pinnatum (Wall.) BSP. HIPPOCASTANACEAE + *Aesculus glabra Willd. HYDROPHYLLACEAE + HydrophyUum appendiculatum Michx. Showy Tick -trefoil Hoary Tick-trefoil Pointed -leaved Tick -trefoil Tick-trefoil Panicled Tick -trefoil Honey Locust Wild Licorice Kentucky Coffeetree Bush -clover Bush-clover Korean Clover Black Medic Cultivated Alfalfa White Sweet Clover Yellow Sweet Clover Locoweed While Prairie Clover Purple Prairie Clover Scurf -pea Prairie Turnip Black Locust Trailing Wild Bean Wild Bean Red Clover Low Hop-clover Vetch BEECH FAMILY Shingle Oak Bur Oak Chestnut Oak Red Oak Black Oak FUMITORY FAMILY Slender Fumewort Dutchman’s Breeches WATER MILFOIL FAMILY Water Milfoil Water Milfoil HORSE CHESTNUT FAMILY Ohio Buckeye WATERLEAF FAMILY Waterleaf 10 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 Hydrophyllum virginianum L. HYPERICACEAE Hypericum prolificum L. Hypericum sphaerocarpum Michx. JUGLANDACEAE + Carya cordiformis (Wang,) K, Koch + Carya ovata (Mill) K, Koch Carya tomentosa Nutt. Juglans cinerea L. + Juglans nigra L. LAMIACEAE Hedeoma hispida Pursh Hedeoma pulegioides (L.) Pers. * Leonurus cardiaca L. Lycopus americanus Muhl. * Marrubium vulgare L. Mentha arvensis L. Monarda fistulosa L. * Nepeta cataria L. Physostegia parviflora Nutt. Prunella vulgaris L. Pycnanthemum pilosum Nutt. Salvia reflexa Hornem. Scutellaria lateriflora L. Stachys palustris L. Stachys tenuifolia Willd Teucrium canadense L. Teucrium occidentale Gray LENTIBULARIACEAE Utricularia vulgaris L. LINACEAE Linum sulcatum Riddell LYTHRACEAE Ammannia coccinea Rotlb. MALVACEAE Callirhoe involucrata (T. & G.) Gray + Hibiscus militaris Cav. * Hibiscus trionum L. *Sida spinosa L. MENISPERMACEAE + Menispermum candense L. MORACEAE + * Madura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid + * Morns alba L, + Morus rubra L. NYCTAGINACEAE + Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) MacM. NYMPHACEAE + Nelumbo lutea (Willd.) Pers, Virginia Waterleaf ST. JOHN’S-WORT FAMILY Shrubby St, John’s-wort SL John's -wort WALNUT FAMILY Bitternut Hickory Shagbark Hickory Mockernut Hickory Butternut Black Walnut MINT FAMILY Rough Pennyroyal Pennyroyal Motherwort Water Horehound Horehound Wild Mint Wild Bergamot Catnip False Dragonhead Self Heal Mountain Mint Lance-leaved Salvia Skullcap Woundwort Smooth Hedge Nettle Germander Wood Sage BLADDERWORT FAMILY Bladderwort FLAX FAMILY Flax LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY Tooth-cup MALLOW FAMILY Poppy Mallow Halberd-leaved Rose Mallow FI o wer -of -a n-hour Prickly Mallow MOONSEED FAMILY Moonseed MULBERRY FAMILY Osage-orange White Mulberry Red Mulberry FOURO’CLOCK FAMILY Four -O’clock WATER LILY FAMILY Yellow Lotus FIRST IOWA FORAY 11 Nymphaea tuberosa Paine OLEACEAE =f Fraxinus americana L. + Fraxinus pensylvanica Marsh + Fraxinus pensylvanica Marsh, var. subintegerrima (VahL) Fern. ONAGRACEAE + Circaea quadrisulcata (Maxim.) Franch. & Sav. Gaura coccinea Pursh * Gaura parviflora Dougl. + Jussiaea repens L. + Oenothera biennis L. + Oenothera serrulata Nutt. + Oenothera speciosa Nutt. OXALIDACEAE Oxalis europaea Jord. Oxalis stricta L. Oxalis violacea L. PHYRMACEAE + Phyrma leptostachya L. PHYTGLOCCACEAE + Phytolacca americana L. White Water Lily OLIVE FAMILY White Ash Red Ash Green Ash EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY Enchanters Nightshade Scarlet Gaura Velvet ty Gaura Floating Primrose-willow Evening Primrose White Evening Primrose WOOD SORREL FAMILY Lady's Sorrel Violet Wood Sorrel Wood Sorrel LOPSEED FAMILY Lopseed PGKEWEED FAMILY Pokeweed PLANTAGINACEAE Plantago aristata Michx. + * Plantago lanceolata L. * Plantago major L. + Plantago purshii R. & S. -F Plantago rugelii Dene. Plantago virginica L. PLATANACEAE + Plat anus occidentalis L. POLEMONIACEAE Phlox divaricata L. Phlox pilosa L. POLYGALACEAE Poly gala verticillata L. POLYGONACEAE Polygonum aviculare L. Polygonum coccineum Muhl, + Polygonum convolvulus L. Polygonum erectum L. Polygonum hydropiper L, Polygonum lapathifolium L. Polygonum pensylvanicum Polygonum persicaria L Polygonum punctatum Ell. Polygonum scandens L, + Polygonum virginianum L. FRumex crispus L. Rumex maritimus L. var. fueginus (Phillippi) Dusen. Ell. PLANTAIN FAMILY Buckhorn Plantain English Plantain Common Plantain Salt & Pepper Plant RugePs Plantain Hoary Plantain PLANETREE FAMILY American Sycamore PHLOX FAMILY Blue Phlox Prairie Phlox MILKWORT FAMILY Whorled Milkwort BUCKWHEAT FAMILY Knolweed Water Smartweed Black Bindweed Erect Knotweed Water Pepper Pole Smartweed Pinkweed Lady’s Thumb Water Smartweed Climbing False-buckwheat Curly Dock Golden Dock 12 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 Rumex obtusifolius L. PRIMULACEAE Lysimachia ciliata L. PYROLACEAE Monotropa uniflora L. RANUNCULACEAE + Actea pachypoda Ell. + Anemone cylindrica Gray + Anemone virginiana L. + Aquilegia canadensis L. Clematis pitched T. & G. + Delphinium virescens Nutt. + Ranunculus abortivus L. Ranunculus pensylvanicus L. Ranunculus recurviatus Poir. Ranunculus scleratus L. + Thalictrum dasycarpum Fisch. & Lali. RHAMNACEAE -HCeanothus americanus L. + Ceanothus ovatus Desf. Rhamnus lanceolatus Pursh ROSACEAE + Amelanchier arborea Michx. Crataegus calpodendron (Ehrh.) Medic. Crataegus mollis (T & GJ Scheele Fragarta vesca L. var. americana Porter Geum canadense Jacq. Geum laciniatum Murr Potentilla arguta Pursh Potentilla norvegica L. Potentilla paradox Null. Potentilla rivalis Nutt. -I-Prunus americana Marsh. + Prunus serotina Ehrh. + Prunus virginiana L. Rosa arkansana Porter Rosa woodsii Lindl. Rubus alleghenlensis Porter Rubus idaeus L. + Rubus occidentals L. RUBIACEAE + Cephalanthus occidentalis L. + Galium circaezans Michx. + Galium concinnum T. & G. Galium obtusum Bigel. + Galium triflorum Michx. + Houstonia nigricans (Lam.) Fern RUTACEAE + Zanthoxylum americanum Mill. Bitter Dock PRIMROSE FAMILY Fringed Loosestrife WINTERGREEN FAMILY Indian Pipe CROWFOOT FAMILY Doll’s Eyes Thimbleweed Tall Anemone Columbine Leather Flower Prairie Larkspur Small-flowered Crowfoot Bristly Crowfoot Crowfoot Cursed Crowfoot Meadow-rue BUCKTHORN FAMILY New Jersey Tea Red root Buckthorn ROSE FAMILY Shadbush Hawthorn Hawthorn Woodland Strawberry White Averts Rough Avens Tall Cinquefoil Rough Cinquefoil Bushy Cinquefoil Cinquefoil Wild Plum Black Cherry Choke Cherry Rose Rose Blackberry Red Raspberry Black Raspberry MADDER FAMILY Butlonbush Wild Licorice Bedstraw Bedstraw Sweet-scented Bedstraw Bluets RUE FAMILY Prickly-ash 13 FIRST IOWA FORAY SALIC ACE AE * Populus alba L. 4 Populus deltoides Marsh. Populus tremuloides Michx. -I-Salix amygdaloides Anderss. 4- Salix humilis Marsh. 4 Salix interior Roulee 4Salix nigra Marsh, 4 Salix rigida Muhl. SANTALACEAE 4Comandra umbeilata (L.) Nutt, SAXIFRAGACEAE Penthorum sedoides L. Ribes americanum Mill. 4 Ribes missouriense Nutt, Ribes odoralum WendL SCROPHULAR1ACEAE Bacopa rotundifolia (Michx.) Wettst. + Castilleja sessiliflora Pursh Geradia aspera Dougl. Gerardia tenuifolia Vahl. Lindernia anagallidea (Michx.) Pennell Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell Mimulus ringens L, 4Penstemon grandiflorus Nutt. Scrophularia marilandica L. *Verbascum thapsus L. Veronica peregrina L, Veronicastrum virginicum (L.) Farw. SOLANACEAE * Datura stramonium L. * Lycium halimifolium Mill * Nicandra physa lodes (L, ) Pers. Physalis subglabrata Mackenz, fit Bush Physalis virginiana Mill. Solanum carolinense L. + * Solanum nigrun L. * Solanum rostratum Dunal. STAPHYLEACEAE Staphylea trifolia L. T1L1ACEAE 4Tilia a meric an a L, ULMACEAE 4Celtis occidentals L 4Ulmus americana L, 4Ulmus rubra Muhl. URTICACEAE 4 Laportea canadensis (L.) Guad. 4Parietaria pensyl vania Muhl. WILLOW FAMILY Silver -leaved Poplar Cottonwood Quaking Aspen Peach-leaved Willow Prairie Willow Sandbar Willow Black Willow Heart-leaved Willow SANDALWOOD FAMILY Bastard Toadflax SAXIFRAGE FAMILY Ditch Stonecrop Wild Black Currant Missouri Gooseberry Buffalo Currant FIGWORT FAMILY Water Hyssop Painted Cup Harsh Gerardia Slender-leaved Gerardia False Pimpernel False Pimpernel Monkey Flower Beard-tongue Figwort Common Mullein Neckweed Culver’s Root NIGHTSHADE FAMILY Jimson Weed Matrimony -vine Apple-of-Peru Ground Cherry Ground Cherry Horse-nettle Black Nightshade Buffalo-bur BLADDERNUT FAMILY Bladdernut BASSWOOD FAMILY Basswood ELM FAMILY Hackberry American Elm Red Elm NETTLE FAMILY Wood Nettle Pellitory 14 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 + Urtica dioica L. VEEBENACEAE Lippia lanceolata Michx. Verbena bracteata Lag. & Rodr. + Verbena stricta Vent, Verbena urticifolia L. VIOLACEAE Viola pedatifida G. Don. Viola pensylvanica Michx. Viola viarum Pollard VITACEAE Ampelopsis cordata Michx. + Parthenocissus quinquifolia (L.) Planch. + Vitis cinerea Engelm. ZYGOPHYLIACEAE *Tribulus terrestris L. Stinging Nettle VERVAIN FAMILY Frogfruit Hoary Vervain White Vervain VIOLET FAMILY Prairie Violet Stemmed Yellow Violet Plains Violet GRAPE FAMILY Raccoon -grape Virginia Creeper Winter Grape CALTROP FAMILY Puncture Weed FLOWERING PLANTS — MONOCOTYLEDON AE AGAVACEAE ALOE FAMILY + Yucca glauca Nutt. ALLISMATACEAE + Alisma subcordatum Raf. Echinodorus rostratus (Nutt.) Engelm. Sagittaria englemanniana J. C Smith +Sagittaria graminea Michx. -I-Sagittaria latifolia Willd. ARACEAE Arisaema dracontium (L.) Schott TArisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott CYPERACEAE + Carex Carex + Carex 4- Carex Carex Carex + Carex Carex Carex Carex Carex + Carex Carex Carex + Carex + Carex Carex + Carex Carex Carex Beargrass WATER PLANTAIN FAMILY Water Plantain Bur head Arrowhead Arrowhead Duck Potato ARUM FAMILY Green Dragon Jack-imthe-pulpit SEDGE FAMILY amphibola Sleud. artitecta Mackenz. atherodes Spreng. blanda (Dew,) Boott brevior (Dew.) Mackenz. cephalophora Muhl. davisii Schw. & Torr. eburnea Boott gravida L. H. Bailey hitchcockiana Dew. hystricina Muhl, ex. Willd. iacustris Willd. laeviconica Dew, molesta Mackenz, normalis Mackenz. oligocarpa Schkuhr. pensylvanica Lam. rosea Schkuhr. ex Willd. sparganioides Muhl ex Willd. sprengelii Dew. ex Spreng. FIRST IOWA FORAY 15 Carex stipata Muhl. Carex stricta Lam. Carex subereela (Olney) Britt. Carex tribuloides Wahl. Carex vesicaria L. + Carex vuipinoidea Michx. Cyperus acuminatus Torr. & Hook. Cyperus diandrus Torr. Cyperus erythrorhizos Muhl. Cyperus esculentus L. Cyperus inflexus Muhl. Cyperus odoratus L. Cyperus rivularis Kunth. Cyperus schweinitzii Torr. + Eleocharis acicularis CL.) R. & S. + Eleocharis calva Torr. Eleocharis obtusa (Willd.) Schultes + Scirpus acutus Muhl. Scirpus americauus Pers. -I-Scirpus atrovirens Willd. +Scirpus fluviatilis (Torr.) Gray + Scirpus pendulus Muhl, + + Scirpus validus Vahl. POACEAE Agropyron smithii Rydb. + Agropyron trachycaulum (Link) Malte. + Andropogon gerardi Vitman + Andropogon scoparius Michx. Aristida oligantha Michx. Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr. Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. Bouteloua hirsuta Lag, * Bromus commutatus Schrad. + * Bromus inermis Leyss. + Bromus japonicus Thunb. Bromus purgans L. * Bromus racemosus L. + Bromus tectorum L. Calamogrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. Yellow Nut-grass Great Bulrush Three-square Common Bulrush River Bulrush Greal Bulrush GRASS FAMILY Wheat Grass Bearded Wheat Grass Big Blue Stem Little Blue Stem Prairie Three-awn Grass Side-oats Grama Blue Grama Hairy Grama Smooth Brome Japanese Brome Downy Chess Blue-joint Grass Calamovilfa longifolia (Hook.) Schribn. * Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Muhl. + * Digitaria sanguinalis (LJ Scop. Diplachne fascicularis (Lam.) Beauv. *Echinochloa crusgalli(L.) Beauv. Sand Reed Smooth Crab Grass Common Crab Grass Barnyard Grass 16 JOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 Echinochloa muricata (BeauvJ Fern. Eleusine indica (LJ Gaertn. Ely mus canadensis L. + EJymus villosus Muhl. Eragrostis cilianensis (All.) Link Eragrostis hypnoides (Lam.) BSP. Eragrostis pectinacea (Michx.) Nees Eragrostis spectabilis (Pursh) Steud. * Festuca elatior L. + Festuca obtusa Biehler + Festuca oetoflora Wait H-Glyceria striata (Lam.) Hitchc. + Hordeum jubatum L. + Hordeum pusilium Nutt. + Leersia oryzoides (LJ Sw. Leersia virginica Willd. + *Lolium multiflorum Lam. + Lolium temulentum (LJ Darnel Muhlenbergia cuspidata (Torr.) Muhlenbergia racemosa ( Michx J BSP. Panicum capillare L. Panicum dichotomiflorum Michx. * Panicum miliaceum L. FPanicum scribnerianum Nash Panicum virgatum L. + Paspalum ciliatifolium Michx. + Phalaris arundinacea L. + Phragmites communis Trin. * Poa pratensis L. * Setaria faberii Herrn. + * Setaria lutescens ( Weigel J Hubb. Setaria verticillata (LJ Beauv, * Setaria viridis (LJ Beauv. + Sorghastrum nutans (LJ Nash *Sorgum halepense (LJ Pers. -t-Spartina pectinata Link Sphenopholis obtusata (Michx J -PSporobolus asper (Michx.) Kunth. Sporoboius cryptandrus (Torr.) Gray Tridens flavus (LJ Hitchc, -F * Zea mys L, IRIDACEAE Sisyrinchium campestre Bickn. JUNCACEAE + Juneus dudleyi Wieg. + Juncus interior Wieg. Juncus nodosus L, Barnyard Grass Goose Grass Canada Wild Rye Slender Wild Rye Virginia Wild Rye Stink Grass Purple Love Grass Meadow Fescue Nodding Fescue Six-weeks Fescue Fowl Manna Grass Squirreltail Little Barley Cut Grass White Grass Italian Rye Grass Bearded Darnel Rydb, Witch Grass Pr>so Millet Schribner’s Panicum Switch Grass Bead Grass Reed Canary Grass Reed Kentucky Blue Grass Nodding Foxtail Yellow Foxtail Bristly Foxtail Green Foxtail Indian Grass Johnson Grass Cord Grass Seri bn. Drop Seed Sand Drop Seed Purple top Cultivated Corn IRIS FAMILY Blue-eyed Grass RUSH FAMILY FIRST IOWA FORAY Path Rush 17 + Juncus tenius Willd. Juncus torrevi Coville LEMNACEAE + Lemma minor L. + Lemma trisulca L. + Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid. LILIACEAE Allium canadense L. + * Asparagus officinalis L. Erythronium albidum Nutt. * Lilium tigrinum Ker, + Polygonatum biflorum (Walt.) Ell. + Smilax hispida Muhl. GRCHIDACEAE Corallorhiza odontorhiza (Willd.) Nutt. + Orchis spectabilis L. PONTEDERIACEAE Heteranthera limosa (Sw.) Willd. POTAMOGETONACEAE + Potamogeton foliosus Raf Potamogeton illinoensis Morong + Potamogeton nodosus Poir. + Potamogeton peetinatus L. + Potamogeton pusillus L. Potamogeton zosteriformis Fern. SPARGANIACEAE + Sparganium eurycarpum Engelm . TYPHACEAE + Typha latifolia L, ■f Typha X glauca Godr. DUCKWEED FAMILY Duckweed Star Duckweed Water Flaxseed LILY FAMILY Wild Onion Garden Asparagus Trout Lily Tiger Lily Solomon’s Seal Greenbrier ORCHID FAMILY Coral Root Showy Orchis PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY Mud Plantain PONDWEED FAMILY Illinois Pondweed Sago Pondweed Flat -stem Pondweed BUR-REED FAMILY Bur -reed CATTAIL FAMILY Common Cattail Hybrid Cattail SUMMARY DATA County Flora Foray 1977 FAMILIES 97 71 GENERA 297 153 SPECIES 550 230 LITERATURE CITED Fay, M. J. 1953 The Flora of Southwestern Iowa. Ph. D. Dissertation, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, (unpublished). Fernald, M. L. 1950 Gray’s Manual of Botany. 8th Ed. American Book Company, N.Y. Gleason, H. A. 1952 The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northwestern United States and Adjacent Canada. 3 Vol. Hafner Press, N.Y. Gleason, H. A. and A. Cronquist. 1963 Manual of the Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Van Nostrand Reinhold, N.Y. Peck, J. H. 1976 The Fteridophyte Flora of Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. 83:143-160. I l IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 18 Wherry, E. T. 1961 The Fern Guide. Doubleday & Company, Inc. (now available from Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania, 9414 Meadowbrook Ave,,Phila- delphia, Pa. 19118.) The Bryophyte Flora of Fremont County, Iowa FRANK D. BOWERS JAMES H. PECK Department of Biology Department of Biology Univ. Wisconsin -Stevens Point Univ. Wisconsin -LaCrosse STEVENS POINT, Wis. 54481 LaCROSSE, Wis. 54601 The bryophyte flora of Iowa is rather well known, but additions to the state list and county lists continue to be made (Peck, 1976; 1977). As part of the 1977 Foray to Fremont County, Iowa, one of us (JHP) made an extensive series of collections from Waubonsie State Park, Washington Township. Less systematic collecting was conducted along drainage ditches and floodplain woods in Washington Township. Identifications of these collections were made by one of us (FDB), and the results compared with the flora reported by Conard (1956). Thirty-five species were collected during the foray, including 19 species not previously known from the county. The 19 county records included two state records (Fissidens osmundoides, and Frullama brittonlae) as well as the second report of Tortella tortuosa and the third report of Leskeella nervosa in Iowa. In addition seven records reflected a significant westward extension of the Iowa distribution of those species. In this report we present a county bryophyte flora that includes the 40 species reported by Conard (1956) and the 19 records added during Foray 1977. Species collected during the foray were denoted with a single plus sign (+ ), while county records were noted with a double plus sign ( + + ). Fifty-nine bryophytes are now known from Fremont County, including 51 mosses, 7 liverworts and one hornwort. We feel that additional records can be made by further collecting in Fremont County. Nomenclature follows that presented in Crum, Sleere, and Anderson (1973) and Schuster (1977). SYSTEMATIC LIST Mosses AMBLYSTEGIACEAE 4- Amblystegium varium (HedwJ Lindb. Amblystegium varium (HedwJ Lindb. var, ova turn (Grout) Grout Campylium hispidulum (Brid.) Milt. + Hygroamblystegium tenax (HedwJ Jaeg. & Sauerb. Leptodictyun brevipes (Card. & Ther. ex Holz.) Broth. Leptodictyum riparium (HedwJ Warns! . + Leptodictyum trichopodium (Schultz) Warnst. BRACHYTHEC1ACEAE Brachythecium acuminatum (HedwJ Aust. 4- Brachythecium oxycladon (Bridj Jeg. & Sauerb. Brachythecium salesbrosum (Web. & Mohr) B.S.G. -t-Bryhnia gramincolor (Brid.) Grout Eurhynchium hians (HedwJ Sande Lac. + Eurhynchium pucheilum (Hedw J Jenn. + + Rhynchostegielia compacta (C, Muell.) Loeske Rhynchostegium serrulatum (HedwJ Jaeg. & Sauerb. FIRST IOWA FORAY 19 BRYACEAE Bryum argenteum Hedw. Bryum caespiticiurn Hedw. + + Bryum lisae De Not var. cuspi- datum (B.S.G,) Marg, + + Bryum pseudotriquetrum (Hedw.) Gaertn., Meyer & Scherb. + + Pohlia nutans (Hedw.) Lindb, DICRANACEAE + + Dicranella varia (Hedw.) Schimp. DITRICHACEAE Ceratodon purpureas (Hedw.) Brid. ENTODONTACEAE Enlodon challenger] (Par.) Card. + + Entodon cladorrhizans (Hedw.) C. Muell. + + Entodon seductrix (Hedw.) C. Muell. FABRONIACEAE Fabronia ciliaris (End.) Brid. FISSIDENTACEAE -|--|-Fissidens osmundoides Hedw. Fissidens taxifolius Hedw. Fissidens viridulus (Sw.) Wahlenb. FUNARIACEAE F unaria hygrometrica Hedw. Physcomitrium pyriforme (Hedw.) Hampe HYPNACEAE + + Callidadium haldanianum (Grev.) Crum + Platygyrium repens (Brid.) B.S.G. + + Pylaisiella selwynii GOndb) Crum, Steere & Anderson Taxiphyllum deplanatum (Bruch & Schimp. ex Sul.) Fleisch. LESKEACEAE HhLeskea gracilescens Hedw. + + Leskea obscura Hedw. + + Leskeella nervosa (Brid.) Loeske MNIACEAE + Mnium cuspidatum Hedw. Mnium stellare Hedw. ORTHOTRICHACEAE + Orthotrichum pumilum Sw, POLYTRICHACEAE Atrichum altecristatum (Ren. & Card.) Irel. + + Atrichum angustatum (Brid.) B.S.G. POTTIACEAE + + Barbula fallax Hedw. Barbula unguiculata Hedw. + + Desmatodon obtusifolius (Schwaegr.) Schimp. + + Tortella tortuosa (Hedw.) Limpr. Weissia controversa Hedw. THUIDIACEAE -f-Anomodon minor (Hedw.) Fuernr. + Haplocladium virginianum (Brid.) Broth. TIMMIACEAE + Timmia megapolitana Hedw. Liverworts CONOCEPHALACEAE HhConocephalum conicum (L.) Dumort. FRULLANIACEAE + + Frullania brittoniae Evans + + Fruilania eboracensis Gottsche Frullania inf Lata Gottsche LOPHOCOLEACEAE Lophocolea heterophylla (Schrad.) Dumort. REBOULIACEAE Reboulia hem ispha erica (L.) G. L. & N. RICCIACEAE Riccia fluitans L. Hornworts ANTHQCERGTACEAE + + Phaeoceros laevis (L.) Prosk. LITERATURE CITED Conard, H. S. 1956 Mosses and liverworts of Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. 63:345-354, Crum, H. A., W. C, Steere, and L. E. Anderson. 1973 A new list of the mosses of North America North of Mexico. Bryologist 76: 85-130. IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 20 Peck, J. H. 1976 An annotated bibliography to the literature on bryophytes in Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. 82:198-202. Peck, J. H. 1977 New state and county bryoflora records from Iowa Bryologist 80:352-353. Schuster, R. M. 1977 Boreal Hepaticae, a manual of the liverworts of Minnesota and adjacent regions. Bryophytorum Bibliotheca 11. Cramer Reprint. Preliminary List of Lichens of Fremont County, Iowa DENNIS DUNLAP I.S.U. AMES, IOWA The following is a preliminary list of lichens of Fremont County, Iowa, as represented by the collections made during the foray and during a subsequent brief visit to Waubonsie State Park. Intensive collecting was not done and further collections will undoubtedly add to the list, as can be seen by the absence from the list of some lichens widespread in Iowa. Lack of rock outcrops and low rainfall in this part of the state both contribute to a somewhat depauperate lichen flora. Because of the complexity of certain genera of crustose lichens, these were iden tified only to genus. Nomenclatare follows Hale and Culbertson 1970. Graphidaceae Graphis scripts (L.) Ach. Parmeliaceae Candelaria concolor (Dicks.) B. Stein C. fibrosa (Fr.) Mull. Arg. Parmelia aureulenta Tuck. P. rudecta Ach. Pertusariaceae Pertusaria sp. Physciaceae Physcia aipolia (Ehrh.) Hampe P. ciliata (Hoffn.) Du Rietz (Neck.) Poetsch P. tribacoides Nyl. Physciopsis elaeina (Sm.) Poelt. Physciopsis syncolla (Tuck, ex Nyl.) Poelt, Physconia detersa (Nyl.) Poelt Teloschislaceae Xanthoria fallax (Hepp) Arn. X, Candelaria (L.) Th, Fr. Opegraphaceae Opegrapha sp. Verrucariaceae Dermatocarpon hepaticum (Ach.) Th. Fr. P. orbicularis P. stellaris (L.) Nyl. P. millegrana Degel. Fungi Imperfecti Lepraria membranacea (Dicks.) Vain. The Butterflies of Fremont County, Iowa and the Cabbage Principle JOHN C. DOWNEY Dept, of Biology, U.N.I. CEDAR FALLS, IOWA Table l summarizes the known published records of butterflies collected in Fremont County, together with data from most of the state's large butterfly collections, both public and private. Also given on the table is a summary of the dates of collection (indicated in 10 day periods) of adults from which season flight data may be inferred. Fremont County collecting dales are indicated by the letter “x M or if they were collected during the recent foray, by an “F”, while dates of FIRST IOWA FORAY 21 collections from other areas in the state are shown with the letter “o”. The skewness of the x’s toward the April-May part of the season is an accident of sampling, presumably due to the sparsity of collecting in the county, and the netting of most of the species on similar dates. Had we only Fremont County records, our view of flight duration of the species involved might be considerably distorted. As can be noted on Table 1 (letter “F”), twenty of the species now recorded from Fremont County were taken during the foray conducted June 3-7 and eight of these are new county records. An additional thirty butterfly species known to have a widespread distribution throughout the state, and which are to be expected in Fremont County, are listed in Table 2. Notice that perhaps our most common butterflies such as the imported or European Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapae, and the Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, have not been reported from the county as yet, and are also lacking in the major collections survey! It is also anticipated that many less common, rare, and transient species will eventually be located in the area* Thus, perhaps fewer than half of the expected butterfly species have been collected in the county to the present time. One-hundred thirty-two species are presently recognized as having been collected in the state. The apparent absence of many species in the county is an illusion created by the lack of intensive collecting. Several state lists have appeared (Scudder, 1869; Parker, 1870; Osborn, 1890; Lindsay, 1917), but Fremont County records .are not identified. It might be expected that counties in which there are resident Lepidopterists might have the most recorded species. In Iowa this would appear to be so: for example, Cass (Pellet, 1915); Linn (Berry, 1914); Muscatine (Walton, 1878); Scott (Putnam, 1876); Winneshiek (Porter, 1908); and Woodbury Counties (Lindsey, 1915). Elsewhere (Downey, 1966, pg, 165), I have noted that there is no correlation of published county collecting records from those counties in which there are institutions of higher learning, even those with relatively large collectons and which teach entomology courses. However, Black Hawk, Johnson and Story Counties, the sites of the state Regents Universities, have also had resident collectors at one time or another, and all have rather extensive lists of butterfly species, not all of which have as yet been published. In the case of Fremont County, I know of no published resident lepidopterists, or institutions of higher learning with entomological courses wihtin the county, but the natural areas, such as Waubonsie State Park, have provided an attraction to several recent collectors (Downey, Heitzman, Miller, Roosa and Voss) and resulted in several new state records (Miller, 1961). With several unique vegetational features, such as yucca, one might predict that associated new and interesting Iowa records such as the yucca feeding Megathymidae, will eventually be collected in the county. Further, the occurrence of Hesperia ottoe, Staphylus hayhursti and Panthiades m - album in Waubonsie State Park, all of which have only one or two other captures within the state, indicate a degree of endemism not shown in other areas of the state. Much more collecting needs to be accomplished in the county. In addition to providing some preliminary information on the butterflies of Fremont County, I would like to call attention to what might be called an “error of arrogance”, our willingness, when we know a little about the organisms in an area, to assume we know a lot more than we do. That is, because we can record the capture of those rare Iowa butterflies in the county, we might be mislead into thinking we know all the rest of the information about the butterflies of the area. Quite naturally, we usually tell of what we do know, rather than allude to what we TABLE I BUTTERFLIES OF FREMONT COUNTY. IOWA ADULT FLIGHT PERIOD SPECIES COMMON NAME APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT SOURCE HESPERIIDAE AmblyscLrtci. vlalla iEdw i Roadside Skipper X oo 0 q Heiizman, i9« Airy ton op* 1* hlnitn* 'Scud > Dus led Skipper X F Euphyes twirls met* cornet (Harris) Dun Skipper X 00 000 00 hcbomoek (Hams Hobomok Skipper X ooo 0 Polite* con 8 Cram i Peck 5 Skipper ox 000 00 ooo 0 o Pollies (hemlstoclei iLalr t Tawny -edged Skipper 0 oox 000 ooo q Hesperia otloe Edw Qltoe Skipper xo 0 PNolisora tstuliu* iFabr i Common Sooty-wing ox oo ooo ooo Pyrgus com muni* communis iGroie) Checkered Skipper Foo OOQ ooo 0 q 0 new, foray Erynnls brlio brlio (Bdv. A Let. 1 Sleepy Dusky -wing ox xo Heiizmen. 1963 Erynnls martial!* (Scud , ) Mol lied Dusky-wmg X 00 0 Burns, ish Erynnls horallus (Scud A Burg ' Horace s, Dusky -wing X XX 000 0 X 0 Burns, I9fcf ErynnU juvenilia Juvenilia (Fabr i Juvenal's Dusky-wing X xo QO Burns, IdW SUphylua bnyhursll iEdw - Southern Sooty-wing X oo 0 QO TSoryfres baltiyllus iSmilhi Southern Cloudy-wing 0 oo 00 00 X Thoryhes pt lades pyl*d«s iSeud.l Norihern Cloudy-wing X Foo 0 0 Arhalarus lyclade* (Geyeri Hoary Edge XX X Miller. t%] Epargyrru* elarus Cram i Silver Spur led Skipper X OOQ 000 ooo q PAP 1 LION ID AE Papillo polyxene* aaterlu* Stall , Black or Par$mp Swallowtail oo xoo 0 0 ooo 0 Papllllo cresphontes Cram Giant Swallowtail X oo QO ooo 0 Heitiman, >957 Papillo gtauciM glaucus Lsnn Tiger Swallowtail 0 000 xo ooo ooo Heitzman, I9SJ Eurytlde* marcellus iCrem i Zebra Swallowtail X 00 Fx 0 HeiLaman. 1963 PIEHJDAE Leilas eurvlbeme Bdv AllaJIa Butterfly, Orange Sulpher oo xoo ooo QOO OOQ OOO L'ollas phllodlce phllodlce Gadl Common or Clouded Sulphur Q 0 x Foo ooo ooo OOQ 0 0 Colli* cevonla eesonls (Sloll > Dog Face xo 0 oo o o Euchloe oJympla Edw > Olympia X 0 Hei Izman. 1963 LYCAEXIDAE Harkenclenu* Illui tltu* iFflbr i Coral Hairsiresk F o ooo new, feray Ssiyrlum ciluius (ilicrr (Codt ) Banded Hairstreak Foo QOO new. foray Salyrlum caryaevoru* (McD i Hickory Hairslreak X 0 Miller , 1961; Voss, 1961 Callophry* hrnrlcl turner! Clench Henry's Elfin X X Voss, I%1, HeiUman, ]96J Pan [blade* m- album Whilc-M Hairstreak 0. X Miller, l«l, Voss, 1961 Stroymon mrllnus humull iHamsi Gray Hairslreak X X q 0 000 0 0 0 Lycaena hyllus iCrairi I rUhoe Guerin -Mens ( Bronze Copper Foo OOQ ooo 0 0 new. foray Lycaena xanlhlodr* dlonr (Scud 1 Great Cupper Foo QOO new. foray Everes corny r La* comyntas iGodl ! Eastern Tailed Blue oox 000 000 QOO ooo Criuirlm arglolus pirudarglolus i.ttdv & LeC i Spring Azure 00 0 Fxo ooo ooo oo NYMPH ALIDAE rlilerodimpa celll* cellli Bdv & LeC . 1 Hackberry Butterfly 0 Foo ooo ooo Llmenlll* arthe-mls aalyanax (Fabr . Red Spotted Purple Foo 000 ooo q Vanessa alalanta rubrla (FnahslJ Red Admiral 0 oox Foo QOO ooo 0 Nymphalls anllopa (Linn . > Mourning Cloak 0 OOQ F o 0 0 0 q 0 Polygon la Interrogation Is (Fabf.j Question Mark OOQ 0X0 OOQ QOO QO Q Q Heiiunan. 1967 Polygon!* comma (Harris • Hop Merchant, Comma CIO ooo 0X0 CKKi 0 0 q q Hoi luman. 1967 Polygon tu progne (Cram / Cray Comma OOP XO 0 00 QOQ 00 Hciltman. 1967 Chlosyne nyclels nycteU iDbldyj Silver Checker spot Foo ooo 00 new. foray Chlosyne gorgone carious (Beak Gorgone Checkerspot 0 0 Fxq ooo ooo Phyclode* thsros (Drury) Pearl Crescent 000 Foo ooo ooo ooo q new, foray Speyerl*. Idatla i Drury i Regal Frit Illary ox 000 oo q Speyerl* cybele cybele (Fabr.l Great Spangled Priiillary Foo ooo GOO 0 o new. foray Speteria aphrodlolt iFabr > Aphrodite 00 0X0 00 0 DANAIDAE Danaus plrtlppus l Linn ' Monarch. Milkweed BuLierfly X Foo ooo QOO OChj qoo SATYRJDAE Mrgisto cyrarla cy mela (Cram t Utile Wood Satyr 0 Fxq ooo 0 Ccrcyonis pcgala Olympus (Bdw i Wood Nymph, Grayling 0 QOO xoo 0 don’t know concerning an area, but most of us are guilty of jumping the gun of knowledge regarding an area. Perhpas in the case of butterflies, this type of error might be euphemistically called the "cabbage (butterfly) principle”, and might be summarized by the following question. If we don’t know anything about the spatial and temporal distribution of our very common species like the cabbage butterfly, how likely is it that we really know anything regarding the same items for our rare and endangered species? The above caution derives from the tacit but unproved general assumption among naturalists that more is known about the birds and the butterflies of a given area, than about most other groups of animals and plants. No doubt this is due to the large number of avid amateur hobbyists and naturalists who are attractd to these "well-known” groups, and who have contributed so much to the science. On the other hand, even if this be only partially true, and if the well-known and Common Cabbage Butterfly has not been collected from Fremont County as yet, it makes one realize how little the furrow of knowledge has been ploughed. What we are attempting to note, of course, is the lack of even the most elemental information about butterflies, from one of our most biological exciting FIRST IOWA FORAY Table 2. List of butterflies of widespread distribution in Iowa which are expected to occur in Fremont County 23 Lerodea eufala (Edw.) Euphyes bimacula (Gr. & Rob.) Atrytone arogos iowa (Scud.) Atrytone delaware delaware (Edw. ) Atalopedes campestris (Bdv.) Pompeius verna verna (Edw.) Wallengrenia egeremet (Scud.) Polites origenes origenes (Fabr.) Polites mystic (Edw.) Hylephila phyleus phyleus (Drury) Anclyoxypha numitor (Fabr.) Pieris protodice Rdv. & LeC. Pieris rapae (Linn.) Phoebis sennae eubule (Linn,) Eurema mexicana BdvJ Eurema lisa lisa (Bdv, & LeC.) Eurema nicippe (Cram.) Nathalis iole Bdv. Satyrium liparops strigosa (Harris) Satyrium acadica acadica (Edw.) Lycaena phlaeas americana Harris Hemiargus isola ake (Ediw.) Libytheana bachmannii bachmannii (Kirtl.) Asterocampa clyton (Bdv. & LeC.) Limenitis archippus archippus (Cram.) Vanessa virginiensis (Drury) Vanessa cardui (Linn.) Precis coenia (Hubn.) Euptoieta claudia (Cram.) Lethe portlandia (Fabr.) counties, and to challenge collectors with the vast amount of work needed to be done. A hoped for corollary, particularly profitable to the non-lepidopterist, is that even our (supposedly) best known groups have woefully inadequate data on which to build worthwhile ecological platforms. If we cannot contribute data on Pieris rapae Linn, in Fremont County, what implicatons has this for the study of our less common, rare and possible endangered kinds? Admittedly, many collectors will overlook the extremely common kinds of things in their search for “more productive and interesting” biological finds, and the latter might be more likely to be published, thus skewing the data. Our point in the “cabbage-principle” however, is that even if we do know of the presence of one or two rare species in an area, one should not jump to the conclusion that all other information is also known about those species or their more common relatives in the same region. Further, the most significant of the biological assessments in restricted localities are likely to be derived from the composite representatives of major taxa, as well as their cyclic fluctuations, particularly apparent with the more common kinds of organisms. While we might over-generalize about these “generalizatons”, the cabbage- principle at least cautions us that we need much more basic work on even our “best -known” groups, before we can call significant our baseline data on many of our natural areas. Berry, G. H. 1914 A list of the Lepidoptera of Linn County, Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. ScL, 21:279-316, Burns, J. M. 1964 Evolution in Skipper Butterflies of the Genus Erynnis. Univ. Calif. Publ. in Entom., 39:1-37. Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley. Downey, J. C. 1966 Distribution of Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) in Illinois. Trans. III. State Acad. Sci., 55(2) : 163-168. Heitzman, J. R. 1963 Summary (of the) 1962 season, News Lepid. Soc., 4:8. LITERATURE CITED 24 IOWA BIRD LIFE XLVIll, 1978 1967 North American annual summary for 1966. News Lepid. Soc.. 3:10. Lindsay (sic), A. W. 1917 A list of the butterflies of Iowa . Ent. News, 28 : 327-353. Lindsey, A. W. 1915 The butterflies of Woodbury County. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., 21:341-346. Miller, L. D. 1961 Notes on nine Iowa butterfly species including four new to the state. Jour, Lepid, Soc., 15(2} :97-98. Osborn, H. 1890 Butterflies in Iowa. Amer. Ent. 1 (New Series) : 226. Parker, H. W. 1870 Iowa butterflies. Amer. Ent. & Bot,, 2:175. Pellett, F. C. 1915 Butterflies of chance occurrence in Cass Co., Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., 21:347-348. Porter, A. F. 1908 A list of local Lepidoptera found at Decorah, Iowa. Ent. News, 19:369-372. Putnam, D. J. 1876 List of Lepidoptera collected in the vicinity of Davenport, Iowa. Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci., 1:174-177. Scudder, S. H. 1869 A preliminary list of the butterflies of Iowa. Trans. Chicago Acad, Sci., 1(2): 326-337. Voss, E. G, 1961 Season’s Summary, 1960. News Lepid. Soc., 4:8. Walton, A, B, 1878 List of Lepidopter of Muscatine County, Iowa. Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci., 2:191-192. Productivity of Red-winged Blackbirds in Prairie Pothold Habitat GARY L. KRAPU U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA 58401 Productivity of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) has been studied widely in North America (Case and Hewitt, 1963; Meanley and Webb, 1963; Young, 1963; Fankhauser, 1964; Brenner, 1966; Goddard and Board, 1967; Holcomb and Twiest, 1968; Miller, 1968; Robertson, 1972; Holm, 1973; Oolbeer, 1976), but scant information has been published on productivity of the species in marsh and upland habitats of the north central United Stales, a major breeding area. This study measured productivity of Red-winged Blackbirds in field and marsh habitats at the southern edge of the Prairie Pothole Region in northwest Iowa. METHODS Description of the study site. ~ The study was conducted on the Barth Tract of the Spring Run Game Management Area (GMA), Center Grove Twp., Dickinson Co., Iowa. The area of approximately 200 ha is predominantly rolling grassland interspersed with small fields and marshes . Six marsh and three upland sites were selected for study. Marsh sites (nos. 1-6) were 0.04, 1.21, 5.26, 0.61, 0.57, and 1.62 ha, respectively, while two upland sites were fields measuring 6.39 and 3.36 ha. The 25 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIVITY third upland site was a two-row Hackberry (Celtis sp. ) planting approximately 900 m in length. Following the system of Stewart and Kantrud (1971), sites were all semi permanent (Class IV) marshes. Smooth Bromegrass (Bromus inermis) and Alfalfa (Medicago saliva) were dominant plants of the upland sites studied. A more detailed description of the Spring Run GMA is presented by Krapu et al. (1970). Field measurements. - Field studies were conducted from late May through mid-July 1967. Overwater nests in emergent vegetation were located by systematically wading through the marsh at 2-4 day intervals. Upland nests were located through observation of territorial males and by systematically dragging an 18 m length of rope with weights at 1.6 m intervals over upland sites. Each nest was marked for relocation with white engineer's tape and a metal tag enscribed with the nest number; both were attached to stems approximately 1 m from the nest . Data recorded during the initial visit to an active nest site included : species, nest number, location of nest, date, vegetation type at nest site, number of Red- winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird eggs, and nest height above ground or water surface. Subsequent visits were made at 2-4 intervals until the nesting attempt was terminated, During each subsequent yisit to a nest, the following data on slate of nesting progress were recorded: number of eggs or nestlings; oc- currence of egg loss or fledgling mortality and cause, if known. Censuses were conducted on marsh 6 at regular intervals to determine number of females and production per territorial male. Territories were plotted for each male. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Reproductive rate. -- Red-winged Blackbirds laid 441 eggs in 127 marsh and 28 upland nests, 189 hatched (42.9 percent) and 89 fledged (20.2 percent). Completed clutches ranged from 2-5 eggs and averaged 3.6. Nest success at marsh and upland sites averaged 30 percent and 4 percent, respectively (Table 1). Hatching rate of eggs in marsh nests was approximately double those in upland nests. Nest success rates in marsh habitat were comparable to those reported in other regions but rates in upland habitat were markedly lower than reported elsewhere (Table 2) . Productivity of Red-winged Blackbirds on the study area seems low when viewed relative to the percentage of eggs that produced fledglings (Table 1). However, actual recruitment rate (young fledged per nesting female or per territory ) was examined on marsh 6 and indicate a much higher degree of success than otherwise suggested. For example, eggs were laid in 33 nests built within territories of 9 males. Each of these males had from 1-3 females (Table 3). An estimated population of 20 females was present on the wetland and produced 15 broods; 2 females may have been double-brooded. Approximately one-half of the females were successful in their apparent initial nesting attempt and 65-75 percent of the females reared broods al a mean rale of 1.75 young per nesting female or 3.8 young per territorial male. In comparison, other studies have reported number of fledging young per male territory in marsh habitat as follows : 2.6-3. 7 in New York (Case and Hewitt, 1963), 5.7 in Wisconsin (Beer and Tibbitts, 1950), and 8.1 in Maryland (Meanley and Webb, 1963). Continued nesting, presumably renesting, enhanced productivity at marsh sites . A lack of marked females prevented a quantitative assessment of the level of renesting but other studies have reported its regular occurrence. Dolbeer (1976) reported a renesting rate of 19 percent in upland habitat in Ohio. Fankhauser (1964) working in the Coastal Plain in Maryland reported that Red-winged Black- birds renested when the first nest was destroyed early in the season and in some 26 IOWA BIRD LIFE XLVIII, 1978 TABLE 1. Red-winged Blackbird productivity in various marsh and upland cover types. b a Percent c Percent of eggs Number nest Total Percent Percent producing Cover type of nests success eggs hatched fledged fledgings Marsh d Cattail 48 35 147 52 49 25 Sedge 24 17 71 31 46 14 Burreed 23 25 49 61 63 39 River Bulrush 18 11 55 24 31 7 Slender Bulrush 12 42 38 61 48 29 Whitetop 2 100 8 88 86 75 Total 127 30 368 47 51 24 Upland Hackberry 16 6 40 20 25 5 Brome-alfalfa 10 0 28 21 0 0 Sweet Clover 1 0 1 0 0 0 Prairie Rose 1 0 1 0 0 0 Total 28 4 73 25 11 3 a Containing at least one egg. b Fledging at least one young, c Represent nestlings that fledged . d Red-winged Blackbirds also nest in willows (Salix sp.) in the vicinkty of study areas. TABLE 2. Nest success and fledging rates reported in the literature are compared with those of the present study. a Percent c Locality Number of nests nest success Percent fledged Reference Upland New York 156 15-30 - Case & Hewitt (1963) Connecticut 162 34 26 Robertson (1972 Ohio 186 31 Dolbeer < 1976) Iowa 28 4 3 Present study Marsh Oklahoma 243 27 24 Goddard & Board (1976) Wisconsin 518 29 23 Young (1963) Connecticut 738 53 44 Robertson (1972) Iowa 127 30 24 Present study a Containing at least one egg. b Fledging at least one young, c Represents nestlings that fledged. ins lances reared two broods. Case and Hewitt (1963), based on New York studies, indicated that a female usually started nesting within a few days after nest destruction in April or May but renesting gradually declined during June. During the presenl study, some males continued to defend territories into late July and nestlings were seen during the first week of August. Factors affecting nest success. -- Cowbird parasitism presumably contributed RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIVITY 27 to the low nest success rates at upland sites; 29 percent of the upland nests were parasitized as compared to only 2 percent of the marsh nests. Parasitism appeared to trigger desertion; no cowbirds fledged from blackbird nests. In upland nests that did hatch, high mortality of nestlings occurred from starvation either because of desertion by females or an inadequate food supply. It is noteworthy that few new nests were initiated in the uplands after 20 June, whereas attempts in marsh habitat continued into late July. Voigts’ (1973) observation that marsh nesting Red-winged Blackbirds at Rush Lake in northwest Iowa shifted from terrestrial to marsh foods after 20 June lends support to a hypothesis that changes in food availability may have contributed to early cessation of nesting in the uplands despite high nest losses from initial attempts. Red-winged Blackbird nest success varied with the supporting cover type (Table l). Nest location relative to shore and water depth appeared more im- portant than plant species involved. Greater water depth at nest sites probably afforded increased protection from predators. Francis (1971) reviewed the studies of Meanley and Webb (1963) and Goddard and Board (1967) and concluded nest success is related to vegetative form but that plant species and growth stage within a single vegetative form have only a minor effect. Ten plant genera sup- ported nests in fields and marshes on the Spring Run GMA. Additional plant genera probably were utilized as nest sites in northwest Iowa. Stowers et al. (1968) identified 30 plant genera supporting Red-winged Blackbird nests in habitats used at the southern edge of the species range in Florida, whereas only three were identified at the northern edge in subarctic Canada (Krapu, 1973). At the latter location, the species was restricted largely to wetland habitat. There was no indication that nest height influenced nest success in either marsh or upland habitats. Height of upland nests ranged from 20. 3-121.9 cm above ground and averaged 58.4 cm whereas marsh nests ranged from 12.7-91.4 cm above water and averaged 38.1 cm. Mean nest height (in cm) in the marsh cover types was as follows; Cattail (Typha sp.), 16,7; Sedge (Carex sp.), 14.4; Burreed (Sparganium eurycarpum), 11.5; River Bulrush (Scirpus fluviatilus), 16.4; Slender Bulrush (S. heterochaetus), 13.4; and Whitetop (Scoloehloa festucacea), 17.0. Francis (1973) found nest height did not significantly affect Red-winged Blackbird nest success in Ohio studies. Causes of egg and nestling loss were often difficult to identify during the study but mammalian predation appeared to be the principal cause of nest destruction. Several mammalian predators and sign were seen on the study area. Opossum (Didelphis virginianus) were observed during daylight hours searching marsh edge vegetation and Raccoon (Procyon lotor) sign was present in the vicinity of destroyed nests. Feral House Cats (Felis domestical were seen on the area and one was observed carrying a juvenile Red-winged Blackbird. A 3.5 hour ob- servation of hunting activity of a female Mink (Mustela vison) on marsh 6 on 6 July 1967 provided some insight into foraging patterns in pothole habitat and potential impact on nesting blackbirds. The Mink was first observed at 0815 leading five half-grown young through the upland toward the marsh. The female left the young in cattails at the marsh edge and began hunting. Although usually hidden from view a flock of hovering blackbirds marked its movements around the wetland. The Mink circled the marsh twice during the forenoon. Approximately 0.5 hours after hunting began, an incubating Virginia Rail (rallus llmicola) was flushed from a marked nest containing 10 eggs. An hour later eight of the rail eggs were gone and presumably eaten. The Mink was observed bringing 2 Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) and a Meadow Vole (Microtus Pennsylvania^ ) back to the young. The three remaining active blackbird nests were not located during her forenoon 28 IOWA BIRD LIFE XLVIII, 1978 foray around the marsh but all the nestlings had disappeared by the following morning. The last active blackbird nest on marsh 6 was destroyed the night of 11* 12 July when the nest contained four 5-day-old nestlings. The female Mink con- tinued to forage in the vicinity of the marsh as late as 23 July. Eberhardt (1974) studied Mink food habits at rearing dens near marshes in central North Dakota and found that blackbirds comprised 3 percent of the avian prey. TABLE 3. Red -winged Blackbird recruitment per territory on marsh no* 6 and relationship to no. of females and nests. Territorial Estimated Total No. fledged male no. no. females nests per territory 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total 2 (0) a 3 (3) 2 ( 2 ) 3 (1) 2 ( 2 ) 3 (2) 3 (3) 1 (1) 1 (1) 20 (15) 4 5 2 7 4 4 3 2 2 33 0 6 5 3 5 4 7 2 3 35 a Number of females that successfully reared broods is shown in parentheses. TABLE 4. Red winged and Yellow-headed Blackbird productivity in the deep marsh zone. Number Number Species nests eggs Percent hatched a Percent of eggs Percent producing fledged fledging RWBB 48 136 56 37 21 YHBB 43 142 51 51 26 a Represents nestlings that fledged. By cutting stems supporting nests. Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) caused the loss of one Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) and two Red-winged Blackbird nests. Garter Snakes (Thamnophis radix) entered black- bird nests and consumed some nestlings. In two separate incidents, Garter Snakes were observed devouring Yellow-headed Blackbird nestlings. Vegetative growth caused some overwater nests to tip sufficiently to cause eggs to fall into the water, particularly late in the nesting season. Thunderstorms accompanied by high winds caused some egg loss and nestling mortality at both upland and marsh sites. Fledgling blackbirds were found dead on nearby roads, apparently victims of collisions with motor vehicles. Spatial distribution of Red-winged Blackbird territories and nests on certain study area marshes was affected by the concurrent presence of nesting populations of Yellow-headed Blackbirds. The Yellow-headed Blackbird through interspecific territoriality excludes Red-winged Blackbirds from central marsh habitat in areas where the species are sympalric (Oriansand Willson, 1964; Weller and Spatcher, 1965). Interspecific competition seems to exclude Red -winged Blackbirds from broad areas of relatively secure central marsh habitat that would otherwise be utilized. Productivity of Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds 29 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIVITY nesting in peripheral and central locations, respectively, of the deep marsh zone is shown in Table 4. Yellow-headed Blackbird hatching success was 4 percent less but survival to fledging was 14 percent greater than recorded for Bed-winged Blackbirds. SUMMARY Productivity of the Red-winged Blackbird was studied at six marsh and three upland sites on a 200 ha game management area in northwest Iowa. Nest success, egg hatching, and fledging rates averaged 4 percent, 25 percent, and 3 percent on uplands and 30 percent, 47 percent, and 24 percent in marshes, respectively. Poor reproductive success in upland habitat resulted when nesting was terminated in mid-June following an initial failure. Cowbirds parasitized 29 percent of the upland nests and 2 percent of the marsh nests. Red-winged Blackbird fledgling rate in the deep marsh zone of semi-permanent marshes was 14 percent below that of Yellow- headed Blackbirds, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I lhank Raymond J. Greenwood for critically reviewing the manuscript, Milton W. Weller for support and useful advice throughout the study and David R. Parsons for assistance in collection of field data. Data were collected while I was employed by the Iowa Conservation Commission in waterfowl studies under Pittman-Robertson Project W-105-R. LITERATURE CITED Beer, J, R. and D. Tibbitts, 1950. Nesting behavior of the Red-winged Blackbird. Flicker. 22(31:61-77. Brenner, F, J. 1966, The influence of drought on reproduction is a breeding population of Red winged Blackbirds. Am. Midi. Nat. 76(1) :201-210. Case, N. A. and 0. H. Hewitt. 1963, Nesting and productivity of the Red-winged Blackbird in relation to habitat. Living Bird 2:7-20, Dolbeer, R. A. 1976. Reproductive rate and temporal spacing of nesting of Red-winged Black- birds in upland habitat. Auk 93(2) : 343-355. Eberhardt, L, E, 1974, Food Habits of Prairie Mink (Mustela Vison) During the Waterfowl Breeding Season, M, S. Thesis, Univ. of Minnesota. 49 p. Fankhauser, D P. 1964. Renesting and second nesting of individually marked Red-winged Blackbirds. Bird Banding 35(2) : 119-121. Francis, W, J, 1971. An evaluation of reported reproductive success in Red-winged Black- birds. Wilson Bull. 83(2) : 178-185. 1973. Blackbird nest placement and nesting success. W'ilson Bull. 85(1) : 86-87. Goddard, S. V, and V. V. Board. 1967. Reproductive success of Red -winged Blackbirds in north central Okla- homa. Wilson Bull. 79(3): 283-289. Holcomb, L. C. and G. Twiest. 1968. Ecological factors affecting nest building in Red-winged Blackbirds. Bird Banding 39(1): 14-22. Holm, C. H. 1973. Breeding sex ratios, territoriality, and reproductive success in the Red- winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Ecology 54(2) : 356-365. IOWA BIRD LIFE XLVIII, 1973 30 Krapu, G, L. 1973. Red winged Blackbirds nesting near Great Slave Lake, N. W. T. Blue Jay 31(3): 147-149. , D. R. Parsons and M. W. Weller. 1970. Waterfowl in relation to land use and water levels on the Spring Run Area. Iowa State J. Sci. 44(4) ; 437^52. Meanley, B and J. S. Webb. 1963, Nesting ecology and reproductive rate of the Red-winged Blackbird in tidal marshes of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Region. Chesapeake Sci* 4(2 ) 90-100 Miller, R. S. 1968. Conditions of competition between Red-wings and Yellow-headed Black- Blackbirds. J. Aniin. Ecol. 37:43-61. Orians, G. H, and M. F. Willson. 1964, Interspecific territories of birds. Ecology 45(4) :736-745. Robertson, R. J. 1972. Optimal niche space of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeni- ceus). I. Nesting success in marsh and upland habitat. Can. J. Zool.5Q:247- 263. Stewart, R. E. and H, A. Kantrud. 1971. Classification of natural ponds and lakes in the glaciated prairie region. Bur. Sport Fisheries and Wild!. Resour. Publ. 92. 57 p. Stowers, J. F., D. T. Harke and A. R. Stickley, Jr. 1968. Vegetation used for nesting by the Red-winged Blackbird in Florida. Wil- son Bull. 80(3): 320-324. Voigts, D. K. 1973. Food niche overlap of two Iowa marsh Icterids. Condor 75(4) : 392-399. Weller, M, W. and C. S. Spatcher. 1965, Role of habitat in the distribution and abundance of marsh birds. Iowa Agr, and Home Econ. Exp. Sta. Spec. Rep. 43. 31 p, Young, H. 1963. Age specific mortality in the eggs and nestlings of blackbirds. Auk 80(2) : 145-155. 1977 la Christmas Bird Count Summary ROSS SILCOCK MALVERN Reports were received from 31 localities this year, one less than in 1976. Losses were Pine Hollow (cancelled due to severe weather), Wapsipinicon River Valley (also a weather casualty with only six hours in the field), and Webster City. Several other counts were definitely hampered by weather, Des Moines and Iowa City among them. Much welcomed new counts this year are DeSoto *NWR and Mason City. There were three name changes, two due to small shifts in count circles: Larrabee moved a couple miles south and became Cherokee, and Wheatland moved about Smiles north and became Lost Nation. Bentonsport is now known as Keosauqua, Davenport again led all counts with 67 species, but a close challenge was made by Dubuque with 64,an outstandingly complete count - an example of what can be done with close coverage by good observers. Participants were down to 453 from last year’s record 484, probably weather- related, as was the drop for the second straight year in the total species count. This I CHRISTMAS COUNT 31 year 110 were recorded, down from last year’s 115 and the record 116 in 1975, The drop is apparently due to chance misses of a few rare species, as shown under “Notable Misses ”, below. This year’s prize for the most unusual happening on a CBC definitely goes to the Red Rock group, who were surprised upon returning to their parked cars by several officers of the law who were interested in their activities in the area. It seems a dead body had been located nearby and the entire birding group became suspects, were interrogated, and subsequently released after a two-hour delay. Little did Compiler Stravers suspect that the body was planted by the Shenandoah group, who wanted to delay the Red Rock count and beat them this year. Species Comments This section will discuss species reports about which I have some reservations, or would like to comment upon. All are marked in the Table with an asterisk. Of course, comments are welcome. Please do not construe this as personal criticism ; it is meant to be constructive. American Bittern: The DeSoto compiler reported an American Bittern the documentation which included the following descriptive section: “Bird flew in front of vehicle at about 30 yeards and landed in tree approximately 150 yards away. Typical bittern outline. Broad short wings, dark brown coloration, slow measured wingbeats,” This does not eliminate Black-crowned Night Heron, which is as likely as American Bittern in the Missouri Valley in early winter. Indeed, the fact that the bird landed in a tree suggests that it was a Night Heron, the most likely species being the Black-crowned. Conclusive field marks for American Bittern (black whisker mark and dark primaries in flight) were not noted. Furthermore, the Night Heron flies with slower wingbeats than the American Bittern and has shorter, broader wings. Considering the above, I submit that this bird was just as likely to have been a Black-crowned Night Heron (immature). Red- breasted Merganser: One was reported from Omaha with no details. Males are readily indentified, but females must be carefully separated from female Common Mergansers, Details should be provided. Northern Goshawk: One was reported from Lost Nation, with good details. Acceptance of N, Goshawk reports requires separation from Cooper’s Hawk. Brown-plumaged birds are very difficult to separate in the field, Swainson's Hawk: Only one was reported this year, from DeSoto NWR. It was identified as a dark -phase Swainson’s Hawk on the basis of its generally brown coloration and its white throat. While the identification may be correct, I have doubts, based on the following: (a) The dark phase is rare, even at optimum occurrence times for the species. (b) No mention was made in the details provided of tail pattern or underwing pattern. If well seen, this information could help eliminate, for example, an im- mature dark-phase Red-tailed Hawk (note that immature Red-tails do have barred tails) or one of the wide range of plumages of the Rough-legged Hawk, both species being very common this year. (c) There has never been a specimen of Swainson’s Hawk taken in winter north of Texas in the central United States (see Browning, American B irds 28 : 865 ) . (d) Specimens indicate that some 82 percent of those birds found in the United Stales in winter are immatures, which are very difficult, if not impossible, to identify in the field (see also Browning). (e) If indeed any Swainson’s Hawks occur this far north in winter, are we calmly identifying the 82 percent of these which are immatures as something else? 32 IOWA BIRD LIFE XLVllI, 1978 Very few counts report "Buteo sp"; this year only Iowa City and Omaha did so. Furthermore, if only 18 percent of the Swainson’s Hawks occurring in winter in the United States are adults, then one could assume that the 11 reports in the last ten Iowa CBC’s could be extrapolated to include the 50 immatures which were misidentified as something else. I submit that there just are not this many Swainson's Hawks in Iowa in witner, if any. Golden Eagle: The three individuals reported (with excellent details may in fact be two, as Petersen suggests that the Princeton and Davenport birds may have been the same ; their plumages appeared to be identical. “Red-shafted” Flicker: Reported from three localities, but included with Common Flicker in the Table. DeSoto NWR had five, Mason City one, and Omaha three. Savannah, Field, and Lincoln’s Sparrows: The only report of Savannah Sparrow was from DeSoto, with excellent details provided. However a Field Sparrow was reported from Lamoni, but no details were given, A Lincoln’s Sparrow was found at Muscatine, well described. Details must be provided for each of these species, as well as Chipping Sparrow, which was not reported this year. See also Vesper Sparrow, below. Vesper Sparrow: Five were reported from Ottumwa, without details. As this is not a difficult bird to identify when the white tail-feathers are seen, it should be simple to document. Identification becomes risky without seeing these white feathers. There are several Iowa CBC reports of this species, but only two were documented: one well -described at Clinton in 1962, and one poorly described from Davenport in 1964, when four were "closely observed by Elton Fawks". Such documentation depends heavily on the ability of the observer, who, however, may not beknwon to the compiler (in this case I am convinced). "Oregon Junco”: Reported from DeSoto NWR (1) and Omaha (4), but in- cluded with Northern Junco in the Table. Best Birds According to past CBC data, the following may be the best finds for 1977: (a) Swan sp: This is the first Iowa CBC report of a swan, found at Riverton on the Shenandoah count. Some apparently were seen during the count period at IBL 42:12). The possibility remains that the Riverton swan could have been a Trumpeter (see longer note), (b) American Bittern: The controversial DeSoto bird. If this bird was indeed an American Bittern, it would be the third Iowa CBC report. If a Black-crowned Night Heron, the second Iowa CBC report. (c) Greater White-fronted Goose: Also only the second Iowa CBC report, and also from DeSoto NWR. The first was reported from Omaha, indicating that these birds linger with Snow Geese. (d) Pine Grosbeak: Although the fourth Iowa CBC report, this may be the "Bird of the Year” due to its general rarity at any time in Iowa, See under "Population Comments". Notable Misses Perhaps most surprising is Red Crossbill, in light of the increased numbers of finches in the State this year. It was however reported during the count period at Decorah. Two other species seen during the count period but missed on count day were Pied -billed Grebe and Bufflehead, both at Dubuque. These species and others CHRISTMAS COUNT 33 1977 1976 1975 1974 25 2 134 11 468 20 432 4 466 53 599 15 which have been seen more than five times in the last ten years are listed below : Pied-billed Grebe seen 8 years Rubyn:rowned Kinglet seen 9 years Bufflehead 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler 6 Hooded Merganser 8 Red Crossbill 7 Hermit Thrush 7 Population Comments Pine Grosbeak: This is only the fourth time this species has been recorded on an Iowa CBC, yet this year it was found at three localities (Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Yellow River Forest) for a total of 43 individuals. At present the in- vasion appears to be restricted to the northeast, but as winter progresses, more may be found further south and west. I have an unconfirmed report of one at Omaha. The previous reports were in 1972, one at Muscatine, 1964 (12 atDaven- port) and 1954 (15 at Dubuque and one at Pine Hollow), Other Winter Finches: Numbers are definitely up for three of these species, although hardly at invasion levels. This year's totals are about the same as those of 1975: Evening Grosbeak Common Redpoll Pine Siskin Purple Finch numbers are about the same as last year's, but far below the banner year of 1974: Purple Finch 511 632 380 1275 Dirunai Raptors: Of the four most common in Iowa in winter (Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Bald Eagle, and American Kestrel), number of the first three were sharply higher this year, the Kestrel about average, Comparing this year’s totals with the aveage number present 1974-76, Rough-legged Hawk was up 155 percent, Red-tailed up 58 percent, and Bald Eagle up 82 percent. There seem to be more immature Red-tails in the state this year, suggesting that the entire population may be wintering further north (immatures generally winter further south than adults). Possible the rodent population is at a high level in this area, which also would explain the extremely high numbers of Rough-legged Hawks present. The Bald Eagle story seems to improve each year, this year’s total of 489 easily beating last year’s CBC record of 297. The numbers of immatures seen would indicate good breeding success in recent years. Field Flocking Birds: Included here are Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, and Snow Bunting, all of which showed massive increases this year. This year Prior 3-year averages Horned Lark 5099 680 Lapland Longspur 1749 145 Snow Bunting 574 84 The addition of the DeSoto count greatly helped the totals for Horned Lark and Lapland Longspur, but did not contribute to the Snow Bunting total, indicating that there indeed was a build-up in number of these species, American Robin: This species also showed a marked increase over its prior three-year average: 1108 compared to the average of 219, a five-fold increase. At least in southwest Iowa these birds were abundant around multiflora hedges in the refuges. Significant Decreases: Three species fell into this category: This year Prior 3-year average Mourning Dove 773 1297 Red-headed Woodpecker 159 690 Carolina Wren 9 26 34 IOWA BIRD LIFE - XLVIII, 1978 The Carolina Wren probably is showing the effects of last year ’s severe winter , a well-known environmental hazard for this species. Heavy snows in much of the stale have probably driven the Mourning Doves south as their ground-feeding habits were curtailed. Last year's Red-headed Woodpecker numbers were markedly increased despite the cold winter* probably because of birds moving south from Minnesota (see last year’s CBC summary), thus increasing the prior three-year average. However this does not entirely explain this year’s decrease. Rock Dove: As suspected, this species does occur at all locations, being reported from all this year for the first time for a grand (?) total of 6916 in- dividuals. We will now be able to chart its progress, hopefully downward. 1. ALLEMAN (15 mile diameter circle centered on Alleman and including Big Creek Lake, Chichaqua Wildlife Refuge, Jester Park, Saylorville Dam north to Jester Park, and areas between these locations) Dec. 19; 6a.m. to 5 p.m. Temp. 25- 30; wind: NW. Overcast, moderate to heavy snow in afternoon, i to 2 inches old snow at start, no open water seen. Observers (3) in 1 party : Dean Mosman (compiler ), Diane and Mike Mosman. Details of unusual observations: Red -shouldered Hawk seen at north end of Big Creek Lake. One Evening Grosbeak coming to feeder. Other species seen during census period : Common Redpolls also seen. Comments: Tape recordings used to attract owls. Red-headed Woodpeckers missing from count area. 2. BURLINGTON (A 15-mile diameter circle centered on highway 99 at Flint Creek bridge and including Lock and Dam 18, Crystal and Carthage Lakes and Mississippi River bottoms) Dec. 31 : 7:30 a. m. to 5 p.m. Temp. 24-35; wind : 10 mph from N. Overcast, light fog in morning, snow beginning mid-afternoon ; snow cover 0 to 1 in. ; Mississippi channel open, other water frozen. Observers (9) in 5 parties: Bruce and Catherine Bosley, Christina Cowles, Charles and Jane Fuller, Barry Geng, Anna Mae and Peter Lowther, and Gil Miller. Other species seen during census period : Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, Field Sparrow. 3. CEDAR RAPIDS (15 mile diameter centered on Federal Building including Cedar Lake area, Marion Springs, Cedar River, woodlands, orchards, nurseries, roadsides, city parks, same as in prevous years.) Dec. 17: 6:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Temp. 46 to 37; wind: 5-15 mph from SE. five percent snow concentrated in ditches; overcast with intermitent rain. Observers (29) in 5 parties: Leroy Bata, Rob Bradley, Dr. Duane Carr, Floy Erickson, Irene M. Haerther, Vickie Hixson, Jim Kettlekamp, Beryl Layton, Lucile Liljedahi, Brian Nelson, Weir Nelson, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Nissen, Roberta Oppendahl, Mr, and Mrs. Bert Rosenberg, Joan Sanders, Lillian Serbousek (compiler), Bobbie Shaffer, Fred Thompson, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Vane, Rob Vane, Dr. and Mrs. Peter Wickham, Nancy Wickham, Myra G, Willis and Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich Zobac. Details of unusual observations: Pine Grosbeak, seen about l k block away in bare tree and again in pine near by. Visibility overcast but able to make accurate identification. Other species seen during census period : Brown Thrasher, Common Redpoll. 4. CHEROKEE (15 mile diameter circle centered on U.S. 59 2 miles south of Larrabee to include Martins Access, Little Sioux River, Mill Creek, and the Cherolee Sewage lagoon) Dec. 18: 8a.m. to 4 :30p.m. Temp. 25-33; wind: 5-15 mph from W-NW. Partly cloudy, no snow cover with 90 percent of the streams and 100 percent of the lakes frozen over. Observers (10) in 4 parties: Horace and Mary Autenrieth, Judy Bierman, Dick CHRISTMAS COUNT 35 Bierman (compiler ), Joe Beals, Sandy Beals, Marion Brewer, Larry Farmer, Pat Williams, plus Mildred Thompson at her feeder. Comments : Woodpeckers and nuthatches seem to have finally recovered since the January 1975 blizzard. 5. CLINTON (15 mile diameter circle centered on Elk River Jet., Iowa, same as previous years.) Jan, l: 6:30 a. m, to 5:30p.m. Temp. 3 to 20; wind: 15-30 mph from NW. Overcast, clearing late AM snow flurries early A.M., 6” new drifted snow over old drifts, river 90 percent ice covered. Observers (8) in 3 parties: Joel Ellefson, Fred Lesher, Mary Lou and Peter Petersen (compiler), Ernie and Rozi Sadler, William Smith and Paul Van Nieuwenhuyse. Comments : Fresh snow brought Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings to roads. 5. DAVENPORT (15 mile diameter circle, centered on former toll house location on the I 74 bridge, same as previous years.) Dec. 18: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m, Temp, 28 to 35; wind: 5-15 mph from NW. Overcast, ground bare, river 20 percent ice covered. Observers (32) in 19 parties: Carl Bengston, Brad Boyd, Jane Carpenter, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Dau, Dale Dickinson, Joel Ellefson, Elton Fawks, Margaret Flesher, Mr. and Mrs. Jake Frink, Jim Harper, Mary and Tom Hawkinson, Dick Hazel, Mark Henderson, Mr, and Mrs. Gene Hollen, Fred Lorenzen, Dorothy Marquis, Beth and Rod Mast, Kim Norris, Mr. and Mrs. Peter C. Petersen (compiler), April and Ernie Sadler, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Swanson, Ralph Troll, Bill Wallower and Walter Zuurdeeg (Quad-City Audubon Society). Details of unusual observations: Golden Eagle, an immature, seen by Elton Fawks and Jim Harper at Hampton, 111. at 100 yards, 7X binoculars, light base of tail above and below, dark terminal band, feathered tarsus, present since 12-9. Glaucous Gull near Hampton, 111., seen in flight with Herring Gulls, at 50 yds. 7 X binoculars, very pale mantle, seen by Elton Fawks. Other species seen during census period: Saw-whet Owl, Yellow-bellied Sap- sucker, Meadowlark (sp). Comments: Lack of snow cover made locating grassland birds almost im- possible. 7. DECORAH (A 15-mile diameter circle centered on NE corner S24, T99N, R8W.) Dec. 17: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Temp. 35 to 43; wind: 10-25 mph from S. Overcast, fog, intermittent light rain all day ; 0-3 in. snow cover ; streams partly open. Observers (15) in 4 parties: Florence Albright, Francis Arness, Alan Branhagen, Ruth Fretheim, Oivind Hovde, Darwin Koenig (compiler), Pat Koenig, Germaine Kuhn, Ron Leeander, Marlene Michel, Mr. and Mrs. Dale Nimrod, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Rohm and Joe Schauefebuel. Details of unusual observations ; Great Blue Heron -- Present along the same stretch of creek all fall. On count day, 4 observers watched it for 5 minutes, on the ground and in flight, al distances as close as 190 yards. Long legs and neck; great size; long, straight bill; blue-gray body coloration; whitish head with black feathers running from back of eyes to back of head; and, in flight, the neck folded back on shoulders were observed. Golden Eagle -- Immature, 4 observers watched it in flight for 3 minutes from as dose as 250 yards . The white patches at the base of the primaries (both on upper and under surface of wings) ; solid dark wing linings and body; large size (com- pared to two Red-tailed Hawks flying in the area at the same time) ; and white tail with dark terminal band were observed. Other species seen during census period: Red-winged Blackbird, Evening Grosbeak, Red Crossbill. So^whei Owl Belted Kingfisher it n s i t r =T Hi * sc I ifl S* 4: *1 h& I ® * H 4fr tA cl * «' .8 * s Ls ,= sig*; i- « - £ u G M * - £ » £ £ i h u Siw E u « G l 8-2 . .£ - a #f 3? tft fcfl U U hJ$ ►-H-Sft ££ : L. ^ - ti 5 S 8 &* — «i »»B [A a u ¥ ^ u S v a j> L « y t a s _ .asm It H i*