BIRD COUNT

Volunteers from two states joined forces last weekend to complete the Illinois Department of Conservation's Spring Bird Count in Alexander County.

The groups sighted 107 of the estimate 125 species of birds in the county, with the Red-winged blackbird the most numerous. Other birds with high populations levels included house sparrow, the common grackle, American goldfinch, Northern cardinal, Tennessee Warbler and common yellowthroat.

Exceptional birds the groups discovered included a nesting blue-winged warbler, adjacent to Beanfield Road near Olive Branch; a hooded merganser on Horseshoe Lake, bald eagles on Horseshoe Lake, and three pileated woodpeckers near a the Grapevine Trail campground.

The Alexander County count is a project of the Four Season Audubon Society of Southeast Missouri, but non-members do assist. Participants this year included Richard and Mary Dippold, Thebes; Gail Hercules and Les Honey, both of Cairo; Dennis Wheeler of Jackson and Mary Maginel of Cape Girardeau. Ida Domazlicky of Cape Girardeau served as compiler.