Hello everyone,
The forsythia bushes in the Japanese Garden are budding and our birds are returning. We were happy to find our first Wood Ducks of the season, looking as gorgeous as usual. Four Northern Shovelers were a pleasant find in the east lagoon as were two cute Pied-billed Grebes. A Horned Grebe was diving in the 59th Street marina. And Randy told us about a female Ruddy Duck in the east lagoon, so we hurried over and found it. Another cutie! We still have a lot of Red-breasted Mergansers and it’s fun to watch the males show off for the females. A Brown Creeper was working a tree by the south bridge and two Fox Sparrows were in residence too.
The highlight of the day came at the very end of the walk where an adult Bald Eagle was seen perched at the top of a tree by the Darrow Bridge. It looked quite magnificent in the sun. We have been very fortunate to have had many Bald Eagles sightings this year so we are all keeping our fingers crossed that a pair will decide to make Jackson Park their home. It’s probably too late to build a nest and lay eggs this year but there’s always next year.
BIRDERS: Luther, Eric, Marian, Jennie, Mike, Cheryl, Mark W., Kristin, Leslie, Margalit, Parag, Marisa, Daniela, Larry, Pam, Jeff, Paul.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:30am
WEATHER: 36 degrees, cloudy, light snow, giving way to blue sky and sunshine
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographer: Paul, Eric, Marisa, Mike, Leslie
Canada Goose Number observed: 43
Wood Duck Number observed: 10
Northern Shoveler Number observed: 4
Mallard Number observed: 8
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 28
Ruddy Duck Number observed: 1
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Killdeer Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 8
American Herring Gull Number observed: 3
Pied-billed Grebe Number observed: 2
Horned Grebe Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 4
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Bald Eagle Number observed: 1
Red-shouldered Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
Northern Flicker Number observed: 2
American Crow Number observed: 10
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 4
Brown Creeper Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 48
American Robin Number observed: 24
House Sparrow Number observed: 3
American Goldfinch Number observed: 1
American Tree Sparrow Number observed: 1
Fox Sparrow Number observed: 2
Song Sparrow Number observed: 3
Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 1
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 21
Common Grackle Number observed: 8
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 4
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
Photo: White-crowned-Sparrow by Geri Kodey