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Wooded Island Bird Walk

  • Wooded Island, Jackson Park Meet at the west side of the Columbia Basin Chicago, IL, 60637 United States (map)

Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson

Hello everyone,

Spring migration is winding down but we still had plenty of birds to keep us interested.  Redstarts were everywhere we looked; almost all females/juvenile males.  They are beautiful birds but I got a bit tired of them after a while I’m afraid.  It was also Oriole City with lots of Baltimore Orioles and four Orchard Orioles.  We even found an Orchard Oriole nest in the Japanese Garden, complete with mom on the nest and dad keeping watch a few branches above.

Warblers of special note were Canada, Northern Parula and Mourning. A house wren sang for us out in the open near the music bridge. And, the heron trifecta returned with Great Blue, Black-crowned and Green.

BIRDERS:  Kristin, Cheryl, Mark, Leslie, Marian, Jennie, Rob, Eric, Gary, Meghan, Nick, Stefan, Ezra, Tracy, Kaumudi, Marisa, Renate, and welcome to Peter and Tyler

TIME:   8:00am to 11:45am   

WEATHER: Cloudy, 58 degrees, light winds

Compiler: Cheryl        

Canada Goose   Number observed: 28

Wood Duck   Number observed: 7

Mallard   Number observed: 11

Chimney Swift   Number observed: 17

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 3

Spotted Sandpiper   Number observed: 1

Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 8

Herring Gull   Number observed: 1

Caspian Tern   Number observed: 1

Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 2

Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 5

Green Heron   Number observed: 1

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Number observed: 2

Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

Olive-sided Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Number observed: 1

Least Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

Eastern Phoebe   Number observed: 3

Eastern Kingbird   Number observed: 4

Philadelphia Vireo   Number observed: 1

Warbling Vireo   Number observed: 3

Red-eyed Vireo   Number observed: 1

American Crow   Number observed: 3

Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 3

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Number observed: 2

Purple Martin   Number observed: 5

Barn Swallow   Number observed: 15

Cliff Swallow   Number observed: 10

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Number observed: 4

House Wren   Number observed: 4

European Starling   Number observed: 2

Gray Catbird   Number observed: 1

Veery   Number observed: 1

Gray-cheeked Thrush   Number observed: 1

Swainson's Thrush   Number observed: 1

American Robin   Number observed: 3

Cedar Waxwing   Number observed: 30

House Sparrow   Number observed: 2

American Goldfinch   Number observed: 4

Chipping Sparrow   Number observed: 1

Song Sparrow   Number observed: 1

Orchard Oriole   Number observed: 4

Baltimore Oriole   Number observed: 8

Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 4

Brown-headed Cowbird   Number observed: 4

Common Grackle   Number observed: 4

Northern Waterthrush   Number observed: 1

Mourning Warbler   Number observed: 3

Common Yellowthroat   Number observed: 1

American Redstart   Number observed: 22

Northern Parula   Number observed: 1

Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 2

Yellow Warbler   Number observed: 8

Black-throated Blue Warbler   Number observed: 1

Canada Warbler   Number observed: 1

Wilson's Warbler   Number observed: 5

Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 2

Indigo Bunting   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

Later Event: May 28
Wooded Island Bird Walk