This field trip included visits to several popular birding sites in Vermillion and Vigo Counties in west-central Indiana. The trip was a joint effort by the Indiana Audubon Society and the Wabash Valley Audubon Society. Twenty-four participants began the day at the new Wabashiki FWA in West Terre Haute.

Rain and thunder coincided with the 7:30 start time which made for somewhat difficult birding in the morning. We had a flyover Caspian Tern at Wabashiki before the rain quickly increased intensity and forced us to move on for some car-birding in Universal Mine.

The rain persisted through the entire morning, however our spirits were lifted when we located eleven Black-necked Stilts standing in the shallow portion of a pond at Brouillettes Creek Road in Universal Mine. A Least Sandpiper was also seen here. Wilson’s Snipe were seen in many places alongside the roads. A pair of Vesper Sparrows was also found.


In the afternoon we made a valiant effort to locate what would have been a first documented Vigo County Smith's Longspur. Our group walked large sections of the Lenderman-owned, corn-stubble fields north of the small town of Sanford. At one point we heard a single rattle call of one Longspur species, but the bird was never positively identified. This location is idea for Smith’s and we are certain one can be found here in the future when the timing is right.

Dry air and a warm afternoon sun greeted us as we visited the flooded Wabash River bottom land south of Terre Haute at Kennett and Arbuckle Lane. Many areas along the Wabash, including this one have very good shorebird and waterfowl habitat following each flood event. Today we had good numbers, duck species, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a first of the season Grasshopper Sparrow. A lone and late Sandhill Crane was sighted flying northward.

Throughout the day we had difficulty locating warbler species, but managed a few later in the day at local Terre Haute city parks. These are each of our 92 species, excluding the unidentified Longspurs species is listed below.

Many thanks to Alan Bruner and Peter Scott for leading this trip and to all of those who drove the distance on this very rainy morning.

Canada Goose 26
Wood Duck 8
Gadwall 11
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 16
Blue-winged Teal 66
Northern Shoveler 23
Green-winged Teal 12
Redhead 1
Ring-necked Duck 6
Lesser Scaup 7
Bufflehead 6
Common Goldeneye 5
Hooded Merganser 12
Ruddy Duck 2
Ring-necked Pheasant 5 (four at Universal and one north of Sanford)
Wild Turkey 1
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 13
Double-crested Cormorant 32
Great Blue Heron 9
Turkey Vulture 18
Bald Eagle 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (Nick Brown at Highland Lawn Cemetery)
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
American Coot 80
Sandhill Crane 1
Killdeer 19
Black-necked Stilt 11 (Universal Mine)
Greater Yellowlegs 70 (conservative count, the majority of Yellowlegs
species were seen at Kennett Road)
Lesser Yellowlegs 30
Least Sandpiper 1 (Universal Mine)
Wilson's Snipe 91
Caspian Tern 1 (flyover at Wabashiki)
Rock Pigeon 13
Mourning Dove 8
Great Horned Owl 1 (Wabashiki)
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1 (Wabashiki)
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 (NE Vigo Co)
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 15
Horned Lark 23
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Purple Martin 7
Tree Swallow 35
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1 (NE Vigo Co)
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 (Dobbs Park)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 (Dobbs Park)
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 38
Gray Catbird 1 (Dobbs Park)
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 4
European Starling 36
Cedar Waxwing 2
Northern Parula 1 (Nick Brown at Highland Lawn Cemetery)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
Yellow-throated Warbler 2
Eastern Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 7
Vesper Sparrow 2 (Seen by Alan Bruner at Universal)
Savannah Sparrow 35
Grasshopper Sparrow 1 (Heard only at Arbuckle Road)
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 68
Eastern Meadowlark 32
Rusty Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 75
Brown-headed Cowbird 14
American Goldfinch 1 (Dobbs Park)
House Sparrow 10