Photo: Great-crested flycatcher by Gary Rasmussen
Hello everyone,
It was a lovely morning for a bird walk! We had lots of juvenile Robins again this week, and a higher number than usual of Purple Martins. We found a Cedar Waxwing sitting on a nest so we know that the baby boom continues. We had a close encounter with a young Great Blue Heron in the Japanese Garden who didn’t mind our presence at all.
One of the highlights of the morning was a flyover Osprey, a fairly unusual sight for the park. It flew directly over, at a low altitude, a group of us on the Music Bridge so we got some great up-close looks. The Green Heron young have changed from nestlings to fledglings and were sitting on the branches in their tree behind the museum. However, Cheryl and I are unsure if there are two or three chicks. Can anyone say with certainty that they saw three?
BIRDERS: Marian, Mike, Kristin, Jennie, Cheryl, Lillian, Jim, Gary, Becky, Leslie, Peter, Eric, Marilyn, Dorothy, Stefan, Ezra, Rob, Tracy, Karin, Marisa, Steve and welcome to Courtney, Letty and Joy.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:45am
WEATHER: Sunny, low 70s
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Eric, Steve
Canada Goose Number observed: 29
Wood Duck Number observed: 3
Mallard Number observed: 9
Chimney Swift Number observed: 14
Spotted Sandpiper Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 3
Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 4
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 7
Great Egret Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 7
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 1
Osprey Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
diurnal raptor sp. Number observed: 1
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 1
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 9
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 5
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 2
Purple Martin Number observed: 53
Barn Swallow Number observed: 24
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 3
House Wren Number observed: 1
Gray Catbird Number observed: 2
American Robin Number observed: 11
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 3
House Sparrow Number observed: 5
House Finch Number observed: 2
American Goldfinch Number observed: 9
Song Sparrow Number observed: 2
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 1
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 3
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 1
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 5
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 3
Indigo Bunting Number observed: 2
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