Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
It was a beautiful spring morning for a bird walk, and for the annual Spring Bird Count. The sunshine, after so many dreary days, brought out the birders and the birds. It was great to have so many sets of eyes for the count.
We tallied a remarkable 63 species and we had a few nice highlights. The warblers have arrived and we had the special treat of three Black-throated Blue warblers, an infrequent visitor to the Island. Yellow warblers were singing all around us and Palm warblers were everywhere. We observed 12 Common Yellowthroats which is a higher number than we typically find.
Chimney Swifts were swooping above the soccer field feasting on the swarms of gnats that we have this year. Although the insects can be a bit annoying to us, they make great food for the birds so we don’t complain about them.
The Purple Martins were in, on and around their condos until a Cooper’s Hawk flew by and forced them to take flight. The hawk then proceeded to stick its head into the doorway of an apartment to try and catch one of the birds. It had not succeeded in catching lunch by the time we left.
Those birders who were able to stay until the end of the walk were treated to the sight of two gorgeous Orchard Orioles in the trees just west of the north lagoon.
BIRDERS: Kristin, Marian, Mark, Sandra, Dennis, Kelley, Simon, Leslie, Lillian, Mark, Pam, Jim, Jane, Jess, Edie, Larry, Stefan, Eric, Julia, Laurie, Marilyn, Jose, Brandon, Trevor, Madeline, Meryl, Cheryl, Jennie, Tim, Monica, Liz.
TIME: 8:00am to 12:30pm
WEATHER: Sunny, light breeze, around 50 degrees
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographer: Eric
Canada Goose Number observed: 17
Wood Duck Number observed: 7
Mallard Number observed: 10
Pied-billed Grebe Number observed: 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Number observed: 2
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 125
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 3
Solitary Sandpiper Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 20
Caspian Tern Number observed: 2
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 112
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 4
Green Heron Number observed: 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 4
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Northern Flicker Number observed: 4
Least Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Empidonax sp. Number observed: 2
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 5
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 7
Blue Jay Number observed: 21
American Crow Number observed: 5
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 6
Purple Martin Number observed: 28
Tree Swallow Number observed: 9
Barn Swallow Number observed: 31
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 17
House Wren Number observed: 4
European Starling Number observed: 7
Gray Catbird Number observed: 11
Brown Thrasher Number observed: 1
Eastern Bluebird Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 45
House Sparrow Number observed: 4
American Goldfinch Number observed: 23
Chipping Sparrow Number observed: 1
Fox Sparrow Number observed: 1
White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 6
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 31
Song Sparrow Number observed: 9
Lincoln's Sparrow Number observed: 3
Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 2
Eastern Towhee Number observed: 1
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 2
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 4
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 34
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 29
Common Grackle Number observed: 8
Black-and-white Warbler Number observed: 2
Tennessee Warbler Number observed: 1
Nashville Warbler Number observed: 1
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 12
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 1
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 35
Black-throated Blue Warbler Number observed: 3
Palm Warbler Number observed: 45
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 3
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 11
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 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