Photo: Green heron by Lindsay Vacek

Hello everyone,

It was another glorious fall morning! It’s definitely getting quieter, bird-wise, but everyone was happy to just be able to spend some time outside. A handsome Cooper’s Hawk was spotted early in the walk, and a colorful American Kestrel was seen at the end of the walk, so we had raptor bookends.

We still have an Orange-crowned warbler hanging around and the Winter Wrens are still with us. We were treated to two Fox Sparrows which is always a nice sighting. Wood Ducks seemed to cover the Columbia Basin, and they are looking spectacular in their full plumage.

BIRDERS: Lucy, Marian, Cheryl, Leslie, Mike, Jennie, Mark, Jim, Lillian, Gary, Kristin, Alicia, Becky, Marisa, Ezra, Stefan, Courtney.

TIME: 8:00am to 11:15am                 

WEATHER: Mid 40s, with temperatures rising quickly, sunny, calm winds

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Alicia and Gary         

Canada Goose   Number observed: 125

Wood Duck   Number observed: 14

Mallard   Number observed: 6

Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 3

Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 4

Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 2

Hairy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

Northern Flicker   Number observed: 2

American Kestrel   Number observed: 1

American Crow   Number observed: 5

Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 6

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 1

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 7

Winter Wren   Number observed: 3

European Starling   Number observed: 16

Eastern Bluebird   Number observed: 1

American Robin   Number observed: 21

House Sparrow   Number observed: 20

House Finch   Number observed: 3

American Goldfinch   Number observed: 11

Fox Sparrow   Number observed: 2

Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 3

White-crowned Sparrow   Number observed: 1

White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 7

Song Sparrow   Number observed: 1

Eastern Towhee   Number observed: 1

Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 3

Orange-crowned Warbler   Number observed: 1

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