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Wooded Island Birding Outing

  • Jackson Park Chicago, Illinois (map)

Hello everyone,

The write-up below is from Cheryl. As you’ll see, I was otherwise occupied and missed the bird walk, but for a good reason! The kitty is a super sweet cat and is doing very well under Renate and Doug’s good care.

What a strange, unusual but exciting morning we had. We were initially greeted at the walk by Luther and fellow visiting birder Sam, with a friendly young cat walking with them. Apparently the poor thing had been following them for quite some time and showed no inclination of leaving the walk. As more birders arrived, she made it her mission to greet everyone. Jennie and Mike came to the rescue and got her into a carrier and a safe space. She was very hungry and liked Fancy Feast far more than Cheryl’s vegan jerky. She is currently being fostered by another group regular, Renate and will be cared for by Hyde Park Cats. Not a bird, but still an unusual sighting!

The raptors ruled the rest of the walk. Red-tailed Hawks, a Red shouldered Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon and a Cooper’s Hawk were all present and extremely active. The group observed them multiple times in multiple locations and even saw them together in the air and in a tree. Needless to say, the raptor activity kept the smaller birds hiding. While we still had plenty of Great Blue Herons and Egrets, it seems like our Japanese garden resident Black-crowned, Osaka is really gone. We have not seen him/her in 2 weeks. We wish it well on the journey to warmer weather.

The group once again performed a public service outside of the Japanese Garden. Someone had written multiple negative things that they wished to be free from on a ceramic plate and shattered it on the sidewalk. Not sure if the violent act freed the individual from the bad energy as they left the mess behind. The Wooded Island Bird Walk rallied to create positive energy by cleaning all of the fragments up. Thanks to all who helped.

BIRDERS: Cheryl, Laura, Seth, Katie, Ryan, Robert, Simone, Val, Maggie, Luther, Mark C., Sam, Marisa, Lex, Lily, Tally, Jan, Caterina, Lucy, Paul, Gary, Roger, Eric, Candide, Rachel, Jill, Pat, Renate, Debbie.

TIME: 8:00am to Noon          

WEATHER: 60s to 70s, sunny

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Marisa, Eric, Paul

  1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 105

  2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 33

  3. Mallard   Number observed: 6

  4. Chimney Swift   Number observed: 5

  5. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 8

  6. Herring Gull   Number observed: 1

  7. Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 7

  8. Great Egret   Number observed: 2

  9. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 6

  10. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

  11. Red-shouldered Hawk   Number observed: 1

  12. Red-tailed Hawk   Number observed: 2

  13. Belted Kingfisher   Number observed: 2

  14. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Number observed: 2

  15. Red-bellied Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

  16. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 4

  17. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 2

  18. Peregrine Falcon   Number observed: 1

  19. Blue Jay   Number observed: 1

  20. American Crow   Number observed: 6

  21. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 11

  22. Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 7

  23. Golden-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 5

  24. Brown Creeper   Number observed: 5

  25. European Starling   Number observed: 38

  26. Gray Catbird   Number observed: 3

  27. Hermit Thrush   Number observed: 1

  28. American Robin   Number observed: 8

  29. House Sparrow  Number observed: 1

  30. House Finch   Number observed: 3

  31. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 14

  32. Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 3

  33. White-crowned Sparrow   Number observed: 3

  34. White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 12

  35. Song Sparrow   Number observed: 1

  36. Northern Waterthrush   Number observed: 1

  37. Tennessee Warbler   Number observed: 1

  38. Nashville Warbler   Number observed: 2

  39. Yellow-rumped Warbler   Number observed: 9

  40. Black-throated Green Warbler   Number observed: 1

  41. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 3

 

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

Earlier Event: September 28
Wooded Island Bird Outing