Birds of the Grand Calumet River basin

Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, Wntr-Fall, 1999 by Kenneth J. Brock

Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors).--Butler (1898) referred to this small duck as a local summer resident. The Blue-winged Teal very likely nested in wetlands on the Grand Calumet River floodplain.

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata).--Mumford & Keller (1984) state that Butler (no reference or date given) reported nesting in Lake County. The wetlands along the Grand Calumet River would have included appropriate nesting habitat for this dabbler.

Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis).--Without specifying the exact locations, Mumford & Keller (1984) state that O. jamaicensis nested in Lake County in 1953, 1959, 1961, 1962, and 1965. Historical nestings probably occurred along the Grand Calumet River.

King Rail (Rallus elegans).--During the 19th Century, this species was a summer resident north of the Wabash Valley (Butler 1898). King Rails almost certainly the occupied marshes on the Grand Calumet River floodplain.

Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola).--Butler (1898) referred to Virginia Rails as local summer residents, principally in northern Indiana. This rail undoubtedly nested in the wetlands along the Grand Calumet River.

Sora (Porzana carolina).--According to Butler (1898), the Sora was a common breeder in northern Indiana.

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus).--Gallinula chloropus, a summer resident that breeds in the more extensive swamps (Butler 1898), almost certainly nested in the wetlands along the Grand Calumet River.

American Coot (Fulica americana).--Butler (1898) deemed F. americana to be a common summer resident in northern Indiana.

Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor).--According to Butler (1898), P. tricolor was a common breeding species in extreme northwestern Indiana. The last recorded nesting was in 1941 (Mumford & Keller 1984).

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger).--Black Terns were summer residents in the marshes north of the Kankakee River; they bred commonly at some locations (Butler 1898). Mumford & Keller (1984) indicate that 40 nests were found near Wolf Lake in 1924, making it highly likely that some nested within the Grand Calumet River Basin.

Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris).--Butler (1898) referred to this species as an abundant resident of Indiana's marshes. Cistothorus palustris surely nested at every site that provided the requisite cattail stands.

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis).--Woodruff (1907) deemed D. carolinensis to be an abundant summer resident in the Chicago region. The catbird probably nested in dense shrubbery on the river's floodplain.

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum).--A common summer resident in the Chicago region (Woodruff 1907), Bombycilla cedrorum very likely foraged, and perhaps nested, on the Grand Calumet River floodplain.

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia).--This species was an abundant summer resident of the Chicago region (Butler 1898). Undoubtedly, D. petechia nested along the Grand Calumet River.

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas).--Butler (1898) referred to this species as a common summer resident of the Chicago region. The Common Yellowthroat almost certainly nested in cattail marshes on the Grand Calumet River floodplain.