Notes on the Bird Life in the Mississippi Valley

Perhaps one of the most neglected areas in Iowa ornithology is in the Mississippi Valley region. Though it is of great importance and rich in bird life the scarcity of active observers is nothing more than amazing. With the possible exception of Dubuque the remainder of the Valley remains unknown. I think that a review of this region may encourage others to commence investigations in this region. Since the Mississippi River borders all of the counties waterfowl can be observed in good numbers during the migration as the case with all aquatic species such as the gulls and terns. Small sloughs, pot-holes, marshes, and back-waters abound everywhere it is a mecca for the waders and shore-birds. The largest stands of timber are found in the bottom lands and along the streams and lakes that attract the tree nesting birds with the addition of hundreds of miles of rolling prairies and its host of ground nesting species. The purpose of this paper is to place on record some of the more rare or uncommon birds observed during the last few years, the majority of the records, however, are from the present years field work