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Wooded Island Bird Walk

  • Wooded Island, Jackson Park Meet at the west side of the Columbia Basin Chicago, IL, 60637 United States (map)

Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson

Hello everyone,

It was a cuckoo day – yellow-billed cuckoos that is.  We found 4 cuckoos on the Island which is a high count for us.  We heard them calling often during our walk so there may have been more that we couldn’t see. Karin, Marian and I went to Washington Park on Saturday afternoon and found 2 black-billed cuckoos, so they are obviously passing through right now.

As we did last week, we saw lots of Baltimore Orioles, but this week we added a handsome male Orchard Oriole. We also found an oriole nest and a hummingbird nest, both with moms around or on the nest.  And, a Green Heron couple was working together to build a new nest in a tree behind the museum.  Our Wooded Island family is growing and I’m looking forward to seeing the kids.

BIRDERS: Gary, Cheryl, Marian, Mike, Bruce Mc., Bruce M., Kristen, Betsy (from Philadelphia), Karen (from Virginia), Eric, Kaumudi, Marisa, Karin, Mark, Leslie, Maria, Chris, Ka Yee, Jennie.

TIME:   8:00am to Noon        

WEATHER: Hazy sunshine and hot.

Compiler:  Cheryl

Canada Goose   Number observed: 21

Blue-winged Teal   Number observed: 1

Mallard   Number observed: 10

Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Number observed: 4

Chimney Swift   Number observed: 2

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 4

Spotted Sandpiper   Number observed: 3

Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 5

Green Heron   Number observed: 2

Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 3

Northern Flicker   Number observed: 1

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Number observed: 3

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

Willow Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

Empidonax sp.   Number observed: 1

Eastern Phoebe   Number observed: 1

Eastern Kingbird   Number observed: 5

Warbling Vireo   Number observed: 2

Red-eyed Vireo   Number observed: 4

American Crow   Number observed: 2

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Number observed: 2

Purple Martin   Number observed: 26

Tree Swallow   Number observed: 12

Barn Swallow   Number observed: 12

Cliff Swallow   Number observed: 2

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 1

White-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Number observed: 2

Gray Catbird   Number observed: 13

Eastern Bluebird   Number observed: 1

Swainson's Thrush   Number observed: 2

American Robin   Number observed: 8

Cedar Waxwing   Number observed: 1

House Sparrow   Number observed: 3

House Finch   Number observed: 1

Pine Siskin   Number observed: 3

American Goldfinch   Number observed: 5

Chipping Sparrow   Number observed: 2

Song Sparrow   Number observed: 2

Orchard Oriole   Number observed: 1

Baltimore Oriole   Number observed: 12

Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 7

Brown-headed Cowbird   Number observed: 1

Common Grackle   Number observed: 6

Common Yellowthroat   Number observed: 2

American Redstart   Number observed: 1

Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 2

Yellow Warbler   Number observed: 3

Chestnut-sided Warbler   Number observed: 4

Black-throated Green Warbler   Number observed: 1

Wilson's Warbler   Number observed: 1

Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 1

Indigo Bunting   Number observed: 9

           

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