Photo: Green heron by Lindsay Vacek
Hello everyone,
It was a glorious fall day – the kind of day that makes putting up with Chicago’s winter weather worthwhile. We started the morning with the sighting of a Red-tailed Hawk being mobbed by crows. Poor hawk, those crows can be so annoying. Our other hawk sighting was of a Cooper’s Hawk posing on the log in the lagoon near the south bridge.
Three Orange-crowned warblers were a nice late fall surprise and Hermit Thrushes were abundant. The always popular Belted Kingfisher made an appearance and both Kinglets are still around. The Wood Ducks have grown up and look spectacular in their fine feathering.
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Leslie, Mike, Jennie, Roselle, Kristin, Rob, Gary, Eric, Marisa, Ezra, Stefan, Courtney, Madeline, Peter, Monica, Renate and welcome to Emily, Ken, Bob and Greg.
TIME: 8:00am to 12:15pm
WEATHER: 60 degrees, sunny, breezy
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Leslie, Eric and Mike
1. Canada Goose Number observed: 39
2. Wood Duck Number observed: 17
3. Mallard Number observed: 9
4. Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
5. Chimney Swift Number observed: 3
6. Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 3
7. Great Blue Heron Number observed: 3
8. Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
9. Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 1
10. Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
11. Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 1
12. Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 4
13. Northern Flicker Number observed: 4
14. Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 4
15. American Crow Number observed: 13
16. Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 5
17. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 7
18. Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 5
19. Red-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
20. White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 3
21. Winter Wren Number observed: 4
22. wren sp. Number observed: 1
23. European Starling Number observed: 5
24. Hermit Thrush Number observed: 8
25. American Robin Number observed: 16
26. House Sparrow Number observed: 3
27. Purple Finch Number observed: 1
28. American Goldfinch Number observed: 6
29. Field Sparrow Number observed: 1
30. Fox Sparrow Number observed: 3
31. Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 5
32. White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 4
33. White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 8
34. Song Sparrow Number observed: 2
35. Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 1
36. Eastern Towhee Number observed: 1
37. Orange-crowned Warbler Number observed: 3
38. Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 1
39. Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 14
40. Northern Cardinal 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