Photo: Common yellowthroat by Randy Streufert
Hello everyone,
Great news! The Chicago Bird Alliance online store now has t-shirts available with the Wooded Island Bird Walk logo! Click the link and order yours today! https://chicagobirdalliance.org/cba-store
We started out the morning with the great sighting of a Black-billed Cuckoo sitting high in a tree. Unfortunately, it didn’t pose for us and flew away pretty quickly but many of us got some good looks.
We had a flyover flock of Cedar Waxwings – about 30 – and there were plenty more in the area. We heard their high-pitched whistling during the whole walk. The flycatchers were well represented today with Pewee, Alder, Willow, and Kingbird but oddly no Phoebe. We still have plenty of warblers around too. We also found a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in its nest in the Japanese Garden so we hope to see baby gnatcatchers in a few weeks.
The highlight of the day, however, was not a bird but a family of raccoons. As we were entering the center path of the island, we checked out the usual raccoon hole and didn’t see anything. But we did hear this odd chattering and wondered what it was. Then we saw mom raccoon climbing up the tree with a youngster in her mouth and another one climbing behind her. And they were all chattering. She put the first baby in the tree cavity and then turned around to get the other one. Suddenly the first baby fell out of the hole! We all gasped in horror. Cheryl assured us that baby raccoons bounce so it was most likely just fine. Mom got the second kid into the hole and then climbed back down the tree to retrieve her wayward child. And sure enough, she climbed back up the tree with the unharmed baby firmly clenched in her jaw. She deposited it in the hole with a slap and then they all snuggled in together. It was a very dramatic morning!
BIRDERS: Ken, Marian, Caterina, Darby, Luther, Cheryl, Simone, Robert, Jennie, Mike, Jen, Pam, Gabriel, Hillary, Lucy, Roger, Mark C., Eric, Beth, Isabella, Marisa, Nivedes, Rob, Annie, Larry and welcome to Jan, Colm, Annabell, Lorelei and Caroline.
TIME: 8:00am to 12:15pm
WEATHER: Sunny, low 60s
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Pam and Eric
Canada Goose Number observed: 21
Mallard Number observed: 8
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Number observed: 1
Black-billed Cuckoo Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 3
Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 4
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 2
Alder Flycatcher Number observed: 2
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 2
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 5
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 8
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 2
Blue Jay Number observed: 12
American Crow Number observed: 4
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 2
Tree Swallow Number observed: 5
Purple Martin Number observed: 28
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 2
Barn Swallow Number observed: 12
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 20
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 5
House Wren Number observed: 6
European Starling Number observed: 7
Gray Catbird Number observed: 7
Veery Number observed: 2
Swainson's Thrush Number observed: 2
American Robin Number observed: 13
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 40
House Sparrow Number observed: 4
American Goldfinch Number observed: 5
Chipping Sparrow Number observed: 1
Song Sparrow Number observed: 2
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 3
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 7
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 27
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 3
Common Grackle Number observed: 4
Black-and-white Warbler Number observed: 2
Connecticut Warbler Number observed: 1
Mourning Warbler Number observed: 2
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 6
American Redstart Number observed: 11
Northern Parula Number observed: 1
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 4
Bay-breasted Warbler Number observed: 3
Blackburnian Warbler Number observed: 2
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 14
Chestnut-sided Warbler Number observed: 2
Blackpoll Warbler Number observed: 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler Number observed: 2
Palm Warbler Number observed: 2
Black-throated Green Warbler Number observed: 3
Canada Warbler Number observed: 1
Wilson's Warbler Number observed: 3
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 5
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