Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
Special announcement: We will have a bird walk this Saturday, December 25th at the usual time and place. Please join us if you can.
I wish I could say that we saw lots of amazing birds….but I can’t. The weather was pretty unpleasant and the birds were few and far between but we still enjoyed the search.
The highlight of the morning was the Merganser trifecta, with Hooded, Common and Red-breasted found on the east lagoon.
The lowlight of the day was the sighting of two beavers, and then the discovery of their damage to some trees in Bobolink Woods. Although I love all animals, I hate to see the trees in our beloved park being destroyed so I hope the Park District folks can trap and relocate the beavers.
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Leslie, Jennie, Eric, Marian, Jane, Marisa, Rob, Karin, Renate, Tracy
TIME: 8:00am to 10:00am
WEATHER: High 30s, cloudy, drizzle and rain.
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 123
Mallard Number observed: 6
Common Goldeneye Number observed: 3
Hooded Merganser Number observed: 7
Common Merganser Number observed: 1
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 23
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 9
Larus sp. Number observed: 14
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 2
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1, Heard by several people on separate occasions but never located
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
American Crow Number observed: 6
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 9
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 2
American Robin Number observed: 6
House Finch Number observed: 1
American Goldfinch Number observed: 3
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 6
If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
Corrections, additions and comments are welcome.
Recordings are not used to attract birds.
The Walks are free and open to one and all. They are held year-round. Newcomers are warmly welcomed.
Saturday morning walks: Start at 8:00 a.m. and cover a distance of two miles. Birders walk from the meeting spot counterclockwise onto Wooded Island. Exiting Wooded Island at the south end, the birders walk along the soccer field and enter the south end of Bobolink Meadow. The Meadow’s path leads to the Music Bridge. After crossing the Music Bridge birders walk through the parking lot and around the Columbia Basin (North Lagoon) and return to our meeting spot. In late fall, winter and early spring, the birders check for birds on the lakefront at the Outer Harbor near LaRabida Hospital and the Inner Harbor after the Wooded Island walk.
Meeting Spot: Birders meet on the west shore of the Columbia Basin (North Lagoon). Park on Stony Island Avenue near 59th Street, walk east across the parkland area, then cross Cornell Drive to reach the spot.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie