Photo: Green heron by Lindsay Vacek

Hello everyone,

It was family day again on Saturday!  We found a Goldfinch sitting on a beautiful nest that looked like it was made out of spiderwebs. The Cedar Waxwing nest that we thought was unoccupied the week before was indeed occupied with three very large juveniles. One of the parents was sitting at the top of the tree giving us the stink-eye. We took the hint and moved on quickly. We saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird feed a juvenile and a Northern Cardinal feeding nestlings. A juvenile Chipping Sparrow was hanging out with its parents.

The confusing fall warblers are arriving, but we only had a few Purple Martins flying about. Autumn is upon us.

BIRDERS: Hal, Mike, Jennie, Marian, Cheryl, Leslie, Mark, Alicia, Kristin, Peter, Adam, Mark, Trevor, Madeline, Ezra, Stefan, Eric, Rob, Miyoko, Letty, Becky, Chris, Karin, Renate, and welcome to Margo and Travis.

TIME:   8:00am to 11:15am   

WEATHER: Sunny, 60s to 70s, beautiful!

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Jennie (Black-crowned Night Heron) and Mike (all others)

Canada Goose   Number observed: 35

Mallard   Number observed: 7

Mourning Dove   Number observed: 1

Chimney Swift   Number observed: 4

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 4

Spotted Sandpiper   Number observed: 1

Herring Gull   Number observed: 2

Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 2

Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 7

Green Heron   Number observed: 6

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Number observed: 1

Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

Red-tailed Hawk   Number observed: 2

Belted Kingfisher   Number observed: 1

Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 2

Eastern Kingbird   Number observed: 1

Warbling Vireo   Number observed: 3

Red-eyed Vireo   Number observed: 1

American Crow   Number observed: 6

Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 2

Purple Martin   Number observed: 6

Barn Swallow   Number observed: 15

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Number observed: 1

House Wren   Number observed: 2

Gray Catbird   Number observed: 3

American Robin   Number observed: 18

Cedar Waxwing   Number observed: 4

House Sparrow   Number observed: 2

House Finch   Number observed: 2

American Goldfinch   Number observed: 27

Chipping Sparrow   Number observed: 5

Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 1

Cape May Warbler   Number observed: 1

Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 1

Bay-breasted Warbler   Number observed: 1

Black-throated Green Warbler   Number observed: 1

Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 1

Indigo Bunting   Number observed: 1

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