Meadowlark, Western*
Description: Look for these rare visitors in the Dixon Prairie. Although identical in appearance to the eastern meadowlark, they are less common and their songs are different.
Meadowlark, Eastern***
Description: Look for this classic grassland species in the Dixon Prairie. Like many grassland birds, the meadowlark has declined with its habitat availability.
Martin, Purple***
Description: The Garden's largest member of the swallow family is the purple martin. Look for them flying around or perched on the large, aluminum birdhouses on poles at various locations around the Garden.
Anyone walking the Garden perimeter in spring and summer is sure to notice the mini apartment complexes filled with purple birds flying in and out of their homes and calling “pew-pew.”
These purple martins, fascinating to watch, would not be here if it weren’t for the man-made apartments carefully tended by Garden staff, including Jim Steffen.
Mallard***
Description: Mallards are commonly seen on the lakes and throughout the Garden.
Loon, Common
Description: The common loon may be seen flying over, or less frequently on, the larger bodies of water at the Garden.
Longspur, Smith's
Description: This Great Plains migrant is a rare sighting in the Dixon Prairie.
Longspur, Lapland
Description: In early spring and late fall, look for this bird of the high tundra as it scurries along the paths in the Dixon Prairie or flies over in small flocks.
Lark, Horned
Description: One of the earliest nesting species in our region, this grassland species is most often seen flying over in spring, but occasionally lands in the Dixon Prairie.
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned
Description: This tiny migrant is most often seen in wooded areas of the Garden very early in the spring and late in the fall.
Kinglet, Golden-crowned
Description: This tiny migrant is most often seen in wooded areas in very early in spring and late in fall.
One day in early spring, two dainty birds, just 4 inches long, wearing golden crowns on their heads, flitted below eye level among the still-bare branches at the Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden. Using their thin, tiny bills, they snatched the first of spring's emerging insects and larvae hidden in branches.