The student who surveyed this site

also charted the dates each species was

seen. On 1 May, five species were seen.

On 6 May, four species, one of which

was new, were seen for a total of six

species to that date. On 8 May, seven of

nine species were new for a total of 13

species. On 14 May, four of ten were

new for a total of 17. On 18 May, 15 of

23 were new for a total of 32. And on 24

May, 8 of 19 were new, bringing the sur-

vey total to 40 species.

The total number of species observed

by the five students in both urban and

suburban settings was 67.

Discussion

Although 12 new species, (see Table

1), were identified in the 12-square-block

area near Concordia College in 1997

compared to 1995, there were seven spe-

cies seen in 1995 which were not ob-

served in 1997. These were Peregrine Fal-

con, Northern Flicker, Brown Creeper,

House Wren , Cedar Waxwing, Palm War-

bler, and Vesper Sparrow. Peregrine Fal-

cons had nested on a nearby tower from

1990-1995, but it was demolished in De-

cember of 1995. The Vesper Sparrow was

an unusual urban sighting and the Pine

Warbler was not typical of the area either.

Brown Creepers and Cedar Waxwings are

not always seen in the area, but it seems

strange that no Northern Flickers or

House Wrens were observed.

One of the two students who surveyed

the above mentioned area observed 24 of

the 60 species Buff 0991) listed as either

"Widespread backyard birds" or "Com-

mon backyard birds east of the Rockies".

This, plus the fact that 12 new species

were found in 1997, enables me to feel

confident that additional surveys in future

springs would yield additional species.

It is interesting the Hairy Woodpecker

was observed in the suburban area, but

no Downy Woodpeckers were observed.

Hairys tend to like larger wooded areas

than Downys and the suburban area ob-

served was not a large wooded area.

In 1995, the House Finch was the sixth

most common species observed in the

urban area. That seemed to be a good

indicator of its rapid population growth

since the mid-80s. In 1997, the House

Finch was the third most common spe-

cies observed. We can see it has contin-

ued to expand its population, but one

has to wonder whether it will surpass the

House Sparrow which was the most com-

mon species in both 1995 and 1997. For

an overview of the expansion of the

range of the House Finch see "Odyssey

of the House Finch" by Losure 0997).

Of the 15 urban species found in the

area behind Arlington High School, nine

were represented by only one individual.

The fact that this area provided variety

and not large numbers of birds is further

illustrated by the fact that on any given

date of observation no more than three

birds of one given species of the 15

unique species were ever observed, and

that was true for only three species:

Brown Thrasher, Black-and-white War-

bler, and American Redstart.

As in 1995, in 1997 the order

Passeriformes was the best represented

order. The consistency of this phenom-

enon is striking. In 1995, 77% were

Passeriformes in the urban area. In 1997

it was 79%. The Passeriformes percentage

for the suburban area was 80%.

Literature Cited

Buff, Sheila. 1991. The Bird Feeder's

Handbook. NY: Lyons and Burford

Publishers.

Holtz, Robert. 1995. "Avian Species

Diversity and Utilization of an Urban

Area ," The Loon 67:163-165.

Lasure, Mary. 1997. "Odyssey of the

House Finch," The Minnesota

Volunteer, Sept.-Oct., 45-49.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1980. A Field

Guide to the Birds of Eastern and

Central North America. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Co.

Stokes, Donald and Lillian Stokes. 1996.

Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern

Region. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.

668 Overlook Drive, Roseville MN

55113.

42 The Loon Volume 70