Birding Clayton County by Danny Akers (2006)

This is one of the easiest places to find singing Cerulean Warblers.

Important Bird Area.

A stop at Pikes Peak State Park (map available at park), south of McGregor, is a necessity when considering a birding trip in Clayton County. My best birding in the park has always been near the main overlook at the south entrance to the park. Just north of the main overlook is a bear mound. At least one Yellow-throated Warbler, a real gem this far north, has been seen here in the spring and early summer months since 2004. A walk to the Crow’s Nest and down to Bridal Veil Falls is always productive as well, as is a walk along the edge at the parking lot and to the Bear Mound north of the overlook. My Pikes Peak list is nearly 150 species. Highlights have included all seven regular woodpeckers, the five regular Empidonax flycatchers, Carolina and Winter wrens, both Kinglets, Gray-cheeked, Swainson’s, Hermit, and Wood thrushes, 27 warblers, including Pine, and several sparrows. During the summer months, there are usually four or five hummingbird feeders hung from a pine tree at the shelter at the north edge of the parking lot. I have estimated up to 55 hummingbirds here in the fall, but have not found anything unusual.

With approximately 8,000 acres in Yellow River State Forest and over 2,500 acres in Effigy Mounds National Monument, these two areas combined make up the largest public owned forest area in northeastern Iowa. The bird diversity in these areas is significant, and certainly at least 100 breeding bird species call this area home. Iowa Endangered species, which nest here, include the Bald Eagle and the Red-shouldered Hawk. Important woodland nesters include Veery, Cerulean Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Broad-winged Hawk, Acadian Flycatcher, Louisiana Waterthrush, Pileated Woodpecker, Wood Thrush, Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and a host of others. With the Yellow River and Paint Creek winding through these forests, and with the Mississippi River and its associated bluffs forming the eastern boundary, there exist unique habitats which contribute to bird diversity. During migration time, this Blufflands area hosts one of the best fall raptor migration viewing spots in the state. For the last 17 years, Effigy Mounds National Monument has hosted a Hawk Watch Weekend. This Environmental Education event allows thousands of people the opportunity to view migrating raptors, while biologists record the numbers and species of raptors migrating through. A raptor banding station also occurs at this site. Migrant Peregrine Falcons are occasionally banded here, and at least one historic Peregrine cliff eyrie exists within this area.