Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
After a flurry of springtime activity the birds are getting down to the business of nesting and raising their young. We saw several Baltimore Orioles but it didn’t seem like there were quite as many as last week. We found no Caspian Terns or Black-crowned Night Herons, but the Green Heron couple completed their nest in a tree behind the museum and a bird was on it. We managed to re-find the Hummingbird nest but mom was not on it, perhaps because the branch was blowing wildly in the wind and she got a bit seasick and needed to take a break. We did see our resident Orchard Oriole by the Osaka Garden and we hope it’s nesting too.
BIRDERS: Jenni, Nate, Josh, Rob, Trevor, Eric, Gary, Kristen, Becky, Marian N., Jane, Cheryl, Karin, Grace, Marian B., Ka Yee, Nigel, Jennie
TIME: 8:00am to 11:00am
WEATHER: Sunny, quite windy, mid-40s to low 50s
Compiler: Cheryl, but the list below includes Paul C’s observations.
Canada Goose Number observed: 56
Wood Duck Number observed: 2
Mallard Number observed: 11
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Number observed: 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 3
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 28
Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Larus sp. Number observed: 3
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 7
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 3
Great Egret Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 3
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 1
Alder Flycatcher Number observed: 1 - heard by Eric G.
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 1 – heard by Paul C.
Least Flycatcher Number observed: 1 – heard by Paul C.
Empidonax sp. Number observed: 2
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 3
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 3
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 5
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 3
American Crow Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 2
Purple Martin Number observed: 19
Tree Swallow Number observed: 2
Barn Swallow Number observed: 30
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 16 – confirmed by Paul C.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 1
House Wren Number observed: 2
European Starling Number observed: 12
Gray Catbird Number observed: 8
American Robin Number observed: 7
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 12
House Sparrow Number observed: 6
American Goldfinch Number observed: 9
Chipping Sparrow Number observed: 2
Song Sparrow Number observed: 4
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 2
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 10
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 14
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 2
Common Grackle Number observed: 3
Ovenbird Number observed: 1– heard by Paul C.
Mourning Warbler Number observed: 1– heard by Paul C.
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 3– heard by Paul C.
American Redstart Number observed: 1
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 11
Chestnut-sided Warbler Number observed: 1– heard by Paul C.
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 6
Indigo Bunting Number observed: 4
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