Photo: Black-crowned night heron by Derrick Johnson
Hello everyone,
It was the day that all birders dream of. The trees were dripping with warblers and we were in heaven. We had 94 species for the morning! We spent over an hour in the wooded area just south of the Darrow bridge because a new bird would come in just as we were trying to leave. It was hard to tear ourselves away but we had to move on to see what other birds were waiting for us. We probably could have spent all day in that one spot though.
I’ve never seen so many Bay-breasted Warblers in one day. Chestnut-sided Warblers were everywhere too, and we had both Black and White and Blackpolls. Scarlet Tanagers kept popping up in various spots on the Island and of course Yellow Warblers were abundant. The Redstarts have returned too. We were lucky to find the fan-favorite Black-throated Blue and Blackburnian Warblers. It was a very colorful day.
The Great Egrets have returned and we had the heron trifecta with Great Blue, Green and Black-crowned Night Heron. A Red-headed Woodpecker was in the oak grove by the MSI south parking lot and it was chased away from its perch by a Northern Flicker. A Caspian Tern put on quite a show; it dove into the lagoon, came up empty, dove again, and came up with a fish. It flew a bit higher, tossed the fish in the air, then caught it and swallowed it. What an acrobat!
The biggest surprise of the day was the Wild Turkey that was strolling around near the Purple Martin Houses! That is one bird we did not expect to see in Jackson Park. However, it turns out that this is not the first turkey to visit us; we had one in 2021 too. But, it’s definitely not one of our regulars. I hope she sticks around.
It was a spectacular day!
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Marian, Mike, Jennie, Stacey, Pat, Leslie R-J, Mark C., Eric, Gary, Isabelle, Rachael, Beth, Leslie B., Tracy, Jane, Monica, Peter, Mark W., and welcome to Elizabeth, Niveda, Satya, Kaveri, and Don and Joyce who were visiting from Bristol England.
TIME: 8:00am start time, with varying finishing times. Marian, Cheryl and Jennie finished at 1:15pm.
WEATHER: 50s, cloudy, occasional light drizzle
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Gary, Eric, Leslie, Jennie
Canada Goose Number observed: 20
Wood Duck Number observed: 11
Blue-winged Teal Number observed: 2
Mallard Number observed: 9
Wild Turkey Number observed: 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Number observed: 2
Black-billed Cuckoo Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 1
Spotted Sandpiper Number observed: 3
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 6
Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Caspian Tern Number observed: 2
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 5
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 7
Great Egret Number observed: 3
Green Heron Number observed: 9
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 8
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-headed Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 4
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 1
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Least Flycatcher Number observed: 3
Empidonax sp. Number observed: 2
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 1
Great Crested Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 1
White-eyed Vireo Number observed: 2
Blue-headed Vireo Number observed: 1
Philadelphia Vireo Number observed: 2
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 9
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 5
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 12
Purple Martin Number observed: 9
Barn Swallow Number observed: 8
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 2
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 3
House Wren Number observed: 3
Marsh Wren Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 4
Gray Catbird Number observed: 7
Veery Number observed: 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush Number observed: 1
Swainson's Thrush Number observed: 2
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 1
Wood Thrush Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 13
House Sparrow Number observed: 3
American Goldfinch Number observed: 4
Chipping Sparrow Number observed: 1
White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 1
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 4
Song Sparrow Number observed: 2
Lincoln's Sparrow Number observed: 1
Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 3
Eastern Towhee Number observed: 2
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 1
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 6
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 15
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 5
Common Grackle Number observed: 7
Ovenbird Number observed: 1
Northern Waterthrush Number observed: 2
Golden-winged Warbler Number observed: 2
Blue-winged Warbler Number observed: 1
Black-and-white Warbler Number observed: 5
Tennessee Warbler Number observed: 3
Mourning Warbler Number observed: 1
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 8
American Redstart Number observed: 10
Cape May Warbler Number observed: 1
Northern Parula Number observed: 2
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 7
Bay-breasted Warbler Number observed: 10
Blackburnian Warbler Number observed: 7
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 12
Chestnut-sided Warbler Number observed: 10
Blackpoll Warbler Number observed: 3
Black-throated Blue Warbler Number observed: 3
Palm Warbler Number observed: 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 5
Black-throated Green Warbler Number observed: 3
Wilson's Warbler Number observed: 2
Scarlet Tanager Number observed: 7
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 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.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie