Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
It was a day of bird nest sightings. We found a Cedar Waxwing on a nest near the Darrow Bridge, several Oriole nests and a Green Heron nest behind the Museum, all with birds on or near them. We can’t wait to see the kids!
Warbling Vireos and Yellow Warblers serenaded us throughout the walk. We had the heron trifecta plus a Great Egret to entertain us.
Some of you may recall that last summer we could always count on finding an Indigo Bunting and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched in the dead tree in the middle of the Island. We think they were friends because they were always there together and we thought that their friendship would make a good children’s story. Well, their tree fell in a storm over the winter but the pair just moved across the path to another tree and were both there waiting for us. I think that the addition of the fallen tree to the story would make an exciting addition to the children’s book. Any writers out there??
BIRDERS: Hal, Eric, Marian, Jennie, Lucy, Cheryl, Grace, Christina, Gary, Stefan, Ezra, Kaumudi, Sebastian, Peter, Thomas, Julia, Steve, Tracy and welcome to Katya, Maria and Bulbul.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:30am
WEATHER: 60 degrees, cloudy, no wind
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Eric, Tracy and Steve
Canada Goose Number observed: 67
Wood Duck Number observed: 5
Mallard Number observed: 5
Chimney Swift Number observed: 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 3
Caspian Tern Number observed: 2
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 2
Great Egret Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 5
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 1
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 2
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 2
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 2
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 5
American Crow Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 1
Purple Martin Number observed: 25
Barn Swallow Number observed: 23
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 3
House Wren Number observed: 2
European Starling Number observed: 15
Gray Catbird Number observed: 3
American Robin Number observed: 2
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 9
House Sparrow Number observed: 3
American Goldfinch Number observed: 2
Song Sparrow Number observed: 3
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 2
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 8
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 11
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 9
Common Grackle Number observed: 1
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 7
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