Photo: Green heron by Lindsay Vacek

Hello everyone,

I was unable to attend the 10/1 bird walk but Cheryl is off on a whirlwind European vacation so I’m cobbling together a bird report based on her list.

It’s nice to see that the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are still around - they are always a favorite. The sparrows are definitely moving through with sightings of 5 different species, although the presence of the Dark-eyed Juncos is a reminder that winter is arriving soon. The Kinglets are out in full force and a nice diversity of warblers was also present. Cheryl says that the count of 6 Brown Creepers may be an undercount as they seemed to be everywhere.

Our resident Black-crowned Night Heron was at its usual post in the Japanese Garden.  I think we should name it Osaka since the garden used to be referred to as the Osaka Garden.  And we had the favorite heron trifecta today. On the non-avian front, turtles and a muskrat were out enjoying the fall weather.

BIRDERS:  Marian, Cheryl, Tiffany, Jane, Rob, Laura, Kristin, Hal, Mark, Gary, Rae, Nathan, Chris, Leslie, Becky, Roselle, Peter, Mary (visitor from N. Carolina), Ahmead, Christina, Marisa, Nick, Meghan, Stefan, Ezra, Pam, Larry, Edie, Karin.

TIME:   8:00am to 12:10pm   

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Leslie, Marisa and Gary       

1. Canada Goose Number observed: 107

2. Wood Duck Number observed: 11

3. Mallard Number observed: 12

4. Chimney Swift Number observed: 6

5. Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 3

6. Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 17

7. Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 1

8. Great Blue Heron Number observed: 6

9. Green Heron Number observed: 1

10. Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 3

11. Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1

12. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Number observed: 2

13. Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 2

14. Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2

15. Northern Flicker Number observed: 4

16. Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 1

17. Philadelphia Vireo Number observed: 1

18. Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 1

19. Blue Jay Number observed: 1

20. American Crow Number observed: 4

21. Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 4

22. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 12

23. Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 12

24. Red-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2

25. White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2

26. Brown Creeper Number observed: 6

27. House Wren Number observed: 2

28. European Starling Number observed: 12

29. Gray Catbird Number observed: 5

30. Eastern Bluebird Number observed: 1

31. American Robin Number observed: 10

32. American Goldfinch Number observed: 15

33. Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 13

34. White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 12

35. White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 23

36. Vesper Sparrow Number observed: 1

37. Song Sparrow Number observed: 1

38. Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 1

39. Orange-crowned Warbler Number observed: 1

40. Nashville Warbler Number observed: 1

41. American Redstart Number observed: 4

42. Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 1

43. Bay-breasted Warbler Number observed: 3

44. Blackpoll Warbler Number observed: 2

45. Black-throated Blue Warbler Number observed: 1

46. Palm Warbler Number observed: 1

47. Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 14

48. Northern Cardinal Number observed: 5

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