Photo: Eastern wood-pewee by Nate Chappell
Greetings to all,
This is Cheryl filling in for Jennie again and I am always happy to do it. She will be back next week.
It was a perfect day for birding in Jackson Park. Good weather conditions, an abundance of birds and some great people made the morning as good as it gets. Normally at the end of the walk, there is just a handful of birders left. This week was the anomaly with 11 birders at the end including young Ezra who is maybe 5-6, if even that. FYI: he is a great birder and has a vast amount of knowledge! In fact, those at the end of the walk were so reluctant to call it a day that we spent at least 20 minutes by the west side of the museum watching a Great Blue Heron and the Canada Geese!
As in the previous weeks, the family festivities continue. The fledglings are growing and many have left the nests already. We were fortunate to find 2 Eastern Kingbird nests this week and observed the parents feeding the chicks. The nests were in fairly close proximity to each other and we were surprised by that since we all assumed that Easten Kingbirds were pretty territorial. Other highlights include a beautiful male House Finch showing off in the Japanese Garden and an increased number of Cliff Swallows by the museum. Some of our counts were high and we assumed that we were observing many young birds. This is especially true for the Great Blue Herons as we felt that we were seeing them everywhere and they were very active. We only reported 6, but that may be a conservative number. Plus, Eagle eye Megan was on the walk, so that is a guarantee to give a higher count!
Many of you may remember the incident last year where the group observed a Great Blue Heron eating a muskrat. We thought that this was pretty uncommon but apparently, they eat small mammals more frequently than thought. While he was not on Saturday's walk, fellow birder and photographer, Steve, observed a Great Blue with a muskrat on the Thursday prior. Steve's picture is included.
BIRDERS: Mark, Adam, Jane, Cheryl, Leslie, Gary, Tracy, Karin, Peter, Marisa, Marian, Ezra, Stefan, Elizabeth, Jim, Lillian, Becky, Kristin, Megan, Nick, Marilyn, Dorothy, Sarah and Tyler
TIME: 8:00am to 11:45am
WEATHER: 72 degrees, sunny, light winds from the NE and NNE
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Steve (Great Blue Heron), Marisa (Barn Swallows) and Tracy (House Finch)
Canada Goose Number observed: 63
Chimney Swift Number observed: 7
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 3
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 9
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 6
Green Heron Number observed: 4
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 4
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 3
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 8
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 6
American Crow Number observed: 3
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 7
Purple Martin Number observed: 17
Barn Swallow Number observed: 23
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 30
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 7
House Wren Number observed: 3
European Starling Number observed: 2
Gray Catbird Number observed: 7
American Robin Number observed: 19
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 1
House Sparrow Number observed: 23
House Finch Number observed: 2
American Goldfinch Number observed: 9
Chipping Sparrow Number observed: 1
Field Sparrow Number observed: 1
Song Sparrow Number observed: 4
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 1
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 4
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 7
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 2
Common Grackle Number observed: 2
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 5
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 2
Indigo Bunting Number observed: 3
The best of birding to all,
Cheryl
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.