Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
It was a very cold winter morning on the Island but we managed to get as many species of birds as the number of birders. It’s always a sad day when we have more birders than birds.
I was thinking that I would have a hard time coming up with a highlight of the walk for this report until a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk flew in and put on a nice show for us. We got great looks as it flew all around and then perched for photo opportunities. See Eric and Marisa’s wonderful photos, attached.
We were a bit surprised to see two Great Blue Herons on the shore of the frozen lagoon, but happy to see a few American Tree Sparrows in the east parking lot.
BIRDERS: Kristin, Cheryl, Leslie, Mike, Jennie, Marian, Lillian, Jim, Eric, Becky, Rob, Marisa, Julia, and Bruce at the end of the Wooded Island walk. He, Leslie and Cheryl visited the harbors but the rest of us just wanted to get home to a nice hot cup of coffee.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:00am
WEATHER: 15 degrees, light wind, sunshine and blue sky, until about 9:30am when a huge dark cloud that covered the entire sky moved in and over us. It looked like something out of a horror movie.
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers:
Marisa – Downy Woodpecker and flying Red-tailed Hawk
Eric – Perched Red-tailed Hawk and American Tree Sparrow
Canada Goose Number observed: 8
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 6
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 2
Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 7
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 2
American Goldfinch Number observed: 1
American Tree Sparrow Number observed: 5
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 7
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 1
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 5
Inner/Outer Harbors, Leslie, Bruce with some input from Cheryl
11 Species observed, 247 individuals
Canada Goose Number observed: 150
Mallard Number observed: 23
Lesser Scaup Number observed: 3
Bufflehead Number observed: 3
Common Goldeneye Number observed: 2
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 50
Herring Gull Number observed: 8
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 3
American Tree Sparrow Number observed: 3
Northern Cardinal 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