Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Final Greetings Bird Lovers,
Week 3 and the final week for me! This is truly not an easy task and I will be happy when Jennie and I can again share the reporting tasks for the Wooded Island Bird Walk. Thanks for all of the kind words of support.
It was a beautiful fall day full of birds. The walk was exceptionally long and again started slow, but we were rewarded with another sighting of the Blue-headed Vireo in the same grove as last week. Tracy also spotted a Chestnut-sided, which is late for this time of year and was able to get a slightly blurry photo good enough to make an ID from. There were so many Kinglets, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-rumped and Palm warblers, and Black-capped Chickadees that it was really difficult to actually count them. Sometimes, it seemed like we were surrounded by them. The catch phrase of the day was "What was that?" as another flitty warbler flew away from your view. Back sides of fall warblers are not the easiest to identify! Several unidentifiable flocks flew overhead just to make the day more complicated.
Today was eBirds Global Big Day celebrating migratory birds near and far. We sure did our part to join the celebration. All in all, when you mix good weather, good people and great birds, it is bound to be a good walk.
BIRDERS: Marion, Sanjeeve, Jane, Sarah, Leslie, Julia, Tracy, Renate, Kristin, Joe, Rob, Lillian, Jim, Jess, Mike, Natalie, Steve, Betsy, Cheryl
TIME: 8:00am to 12:15 pm
WEATHER: 69°F at start, Mostly Sunny with some cloud cover
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographer: Tracy- Yellow-rumped Warbler x2 and Golden crowned Kinglet
Observations:
Canada Goose Number observed: 57
Wood Duck Number observed: 31
Mallard Number observed: 4
Chimney Swift Number observed: 5
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 2
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 8
Great Egret Number observed: 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 4
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Number observed: 2
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
Blue-headed Vireo Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 2
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 15
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 13
Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 11
Red-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2
Brown Creeper Number observed: 3
European Starling Number observed: 2
Gray Catbird Number observed: 7
Brown Thrasher Number observed: 1
Eastern Bluebird Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 2
thrush sp. Number observed: 2
House Finch Number observed: 1
American Goldfinch Number observed: 23
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 7
White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 15
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 14
Eastern Towhee Number observed: 1
Tennessee Warbler Number observed: 1
Nashville Warbler Number observed: 2
American Redstart Number observed: 1
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler Number observed: 1
Palm Warbler Number observed: 17
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 19
warbler sp. (Parulidae sp.) Number observed: 10
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 5
passerine sp. Number observed: 24, flyovers
Until I do this again, enjoy the season and enjoy the birds,
Cheryl
PS: Best wishes to our fellow birder Bruce as he competes in the Boston Marathon!
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.