Bird Checklist For Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

Hummingbirds nesting in a walnut tree near the Birthplace Cottage at Herbert Hoover NHS.

NPS Photo by Patricia McInroy

Birds perch, flutter, nest, hunt, and soar at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Their colors and songs add visible and audible vitality to the park’s dignified commemorative setting. This bird checklist, based on data from scientific surveys, is your own tool for measuring the vital signs of the park’s natural areas.

Key

Sp = Spring
S = Summer
F = Fall
W = Winter

A = Abundant, very numerous
C = Common, almost certain to be seen
U = Uncommon, present but not readily seen
O = Occasional, seen rarely

*Confirmed resident or breeder at Herbert Hoover NHS

Checklist

Seasonal abundance of 111 bird species at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

Common Name	Sp	S	F	W
Mallard*	C	C	C
Wood duck	O	O
Turkey vulture		U
Northern harrier	O	O	O
Rough-legged hawk				U
Red-tailed hawk*	C	C	C	C
Broad-winged hawk	O
Bald eagle*	U	U	U	U
Osprey	O	O
American kestrel*	C	C	C
Wild turkey	O	O	O	O
Northern bobwhite*	U	U	U
Ring-necked pheasant*	C	C	C	C
Great blue heron*	U	U
Black-crowned night heron		O
Killdeer*		C
Spotted sandpiper		O
American woodcock	O
Common Snipe		O
Rock dove	U	U	U	U
Mourning dove*	C	C	C
Yellow-billed cuckoo	U	U
Black-billed cuckoo		O
Eastern screech owl	U	U	U	U
Great horned owl*	C	C	C	C
Barred owl	O		O
Barn owl		O
Common nighthawk*	C	C
Chimney swift*	C	C
Ruby-throated hummingbird*		C
Belted kingfisher		O
Red-bellied woodpecker	U	U	U	U
Red-headed woodpecker*		U
Hairy woodpecker	U		U	U
Downey woodpecker*	C		C	C
Eastern kingbird*	C	C
Northern flicker	U	U	U
Great-crested flycatcher*	C	C
Willow flycatcher	O	O
Eastern phoebe		O
Eastern wood-pewee*	C	C
Horned lark	U	U	U	U
Barn swallow*	A	A
Cliff swallow*	A	A
Tree swallow*	C	C
Northern rough-winged swallow*	U	U
Purple martin*	U	U
Blue jay*	A	A	A	A
American crow*	A	A	A	A
Black-capped chickadee*	U	U	U	U
White-breasted nuthatch	U		U	U
Brown creeper	U	U
Sedge wren*	U	U
House wren*	C	C
Brown thrasher*		U
Gray catbird*	C	C
Northern mockingbird*	U	U
American robin*	A	A
Eastern bluebird*	C	C
Golden-crowned kinglet	U
Ruby-crowned kinglet	U
Blue-gray gnatcatcher		U
Cedar waxwing*	C	C	C
Loggerhead shrike	O
European starling*	A	A	A	A
Red-eye vireo*	U	U
Bell’s vireo	O	O
Yellow throated vireo	O	O
Warbling vireo	O	O
Cerulean warbler*	O
Kentucky warbler	O	O
Blue-winged warbler	O	O
Prothonatory warbler	O
Ovenbird		O
Louisiana waterthrush		O
Common yellowthroat*	C	C	C
Yellow warbler*	C	C
American redstart	O	O
Bobolink*		U
Eastern meadowlark*	C	C	C	C
Western meadowlark	O	O
Red-winged blackbird*	A	A	A
Brewer’s blackbird	U		U
Common grackle*	A	A	A
Brown-headed cowbird*		U
Baltimore oriole*	C	C
Orchard oriole	U	U
Northern cardinal*	C	C	C	C
Indigo bunting*		C
Rose-breasted grosbeak		O
Dickcissel*		C
Eastern towhee		O
Savannah sparrow*	U	U	U
Grasshopper sparrow*	U	U
Henslow’s sparrow*	O	O
Vesper sparrow	U	U
Lark sparrow	O
Dark-eyed junco*				A
American tree sparrow*				A
Chipping sparrow*	C	C
Field sparrow*	U	U
Harris sparrow	O		O
White-crowned sparrow	U		U
White-throated sparrow	U		U
Song sparrow*	C	C	C	C
Snow bunting				U
Evening grosbeak				O
Purple finch*				C
House finch*	U			C
American goldfinch*	C	C	C	C
House sparrow*	A	A	A	A

Sources

Jackson, L.S. C.A. Thompson, J.J. Dinsmore. The Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas. Univ. Iowa Press. Iowa City, Iowa. 484pp.

Peitz, D.G. 2007. Grassland Bird Monitoring at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site Iowa: 2005-2006 Status Report. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/HTLN/NRTR—2007/024. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Stravers, J.W. K.J. Mckay, T.W. McClenahan. 2004. Avian surveys at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/HTLN/HEHO/P2106020891. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.