17 October 2014

Birdlife of a Hidden Park in Dundee

There is a bit of public greenspace at the western edge of Dundee. It could be considered a "secret" Omaha park, as their is no identifying Parks Department signage. The place is ensconced among the big houses of the neighborhood in the vicinity of Elmwood Park. Its little extent can be measured in square yards, which is probably less than a football field in size. There are only a few trees, with blase mown grass predominant. A bit more vegetational variety is provided by the adjacent yards of the neighbors, with their tended landscaping. A sole picnic table is available for a respite, if wanted. Parking is available only along the nearby street, which would then necessitate a steep jaunt up the narrow alley.

It is best to ride a bicycle to itty-bitty Little Elmwood Park. Then there are no problems with parking. The frame of a bike provides a portable seat anywhere beneath the tree-scape. Zero emissions are also a result.

More than a decade ago, this place was discovered by hearing some mention of the place, asking others where there was a park with this name, reviewing maps and other sleuth-work with the most important of a final result: a personal visit. The first bird records kept were from some time there on February 1, 2003.

There have been more hours spent here since then on different dates and seasons, to loiter and just enjoy the birds. This has occurred, typically, only once or twice a year, but overall, there have been sixteen visits to this little bit of urban space.

The vivid song of the Carolina Wren brought the most recent visit on October 15, 2014. The wren had been heard from a nearby boulevard, and so an adjacent street was cruised for a minute, but then ignored to get to the park. After a few minutes it called, and then one was seen foraging along. There is the possibility that two wrens were skulking about. Fast-moving robins were enjoying a bit of languishing water along the "driveway" for the residences, either to get a drink or appreciate a quick splash of refreshment.

Notable new species added to the site tally were the wren, six Cedar Waxwings and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. This visit provided the greatest number of species (19) ever observed here, with most of them regular Dundee residents. The usually present Chimney Swifts were gone for the season. There may have also been a Mourning Dove locally about. It is time for the Brown Creeper to occur, its fine lisping call denoting at times its route along the bark of one of the trunks of the big trees.

Overall, there have been 29 species observed at Little Elmwood Park. Ten or more species have been observed on only six visits. It would be nice to add the screech owl to the list, as they are probably resident in the area.

Values given in this table are a summary of the number of birds counted on visits during the year indicated.
Common Name 2003 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014
Red-tailed Hawk - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
Rock Pigeon 2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mourning Dove 5 - - - - 1 1 - - 4
Chimney Swift 7 - - - - 3 4 - - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - - - - - - - - - - 1 2
Downy Woodpecker 3 1 - - 2 1 - - 1
Blue Jay 3 - - 1 - - - - - - 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1 - - 2 1 3 2 3
White-breasted Nuthatch - - - - 1 - - - - 1 1
Brown Creeper - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - -
Carolina Wren - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
House Wren 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
Swainson's Thrush - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
American Robin 8 4 6 4 6 2 9
Gray Catbird 2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Brown Thrasher - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
European Starling 14 4 3 2 2 1 3
Cedar Waxwing - - - - - - - - - - - - 6
Orange-crowned Warbler - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
Chipping Sparrow - - - - - - 2 - - - - - -
White-throated Sparrow - - - - 4 - - - - - - - -
Dark-eyed Junco - - - - 2 - - - - - - 5
Northern Cardinal 5 - - 1 2 - - 1 2
Common Grackle 6 - - 2 4 1 - - 6
House Finch 3 - - - - 1 2 1 4
American Goldfinch - - - - 2 2 3 - - - -
House Sparrow 10 6 5 6 3 4 5

Any of the fine autumn days is a good time to good to this park and loiter among its special greenspace.