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Wooded Island Birding Outing

  • Jackson Park Chicago, Illinois (map)

Hello everyone,

It was an excellent spring migration day with lots of warblers, flycatchers, and other spring visitors. We were fortunate to find a very cooperative male Black-throated Blue Warbler bopping around on the fence in the Japanese Garden and giving us great looks. We also had a Mourning Warbler and a Canada Warbler in the garden. Chestnut-sided Warblers were around, and several other warbler species too, all looking gorgeous in their breeding plumage.

We found a Hummingbird in its usual spot on the center path of the island. The grove next to the old tennis courts had many empids as well as a Great Crested Flycatcher and a beautiful Scarlet Tanager. The Purple Martins were setting up their homes in the Martin houses, chattering away about decorating ideas. A mama Mallard led a flock of tiny ducklings on a swim by the Darrow Bridge and we spotted several Spotted Sandpipers on the islands in the lagoons. Eric saw an Osprey fly over, and he heard a Golden-crowned Kinglet, but unfortunately the rest of us missed both of those. It was Eric’s lucky day!

BIRDERS: Marian, Jennie, Cheryl, Jeff, Katie, Traci, Jo, Tyler, Howard, Roger, Monica, Elaine, Jaesoo, Val, Marisa, Jan, Paul, Leslie, Mark C., Eric, Mark W., Gary, Robert, Simone, Sarah, and welcome to Jennifer, visiting from Kansas, Clare, Jack, Lee, visiting from California, Andy, Chris, and welcome back to Raman who was in Chicago for a visit.

TIME: 8:00am to 1:00pm

WEATHER: 55 degrees, cloudy, windy

Compiler: Cheryl

  1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 22

  2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 2

  3. Mallard   Number observed: 5

  4. Mourning Dove   Number observed: 2

  5. Chimney Swift   Number observed: 12

  6. Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 3

  7. Killdeer   Number observed: 2

  8. Spotted Sandpiper   Number observed: 4

  9. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 13

  10. American Herring Gull   Number observed: 2

  11. Caspian Tern   Number observed: 1

  12. Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 14

  13. Black-crowned Night Heron   Number observed: 3

  14. Green Heron   Number observed: 3

  15. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

  16. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 3

  17. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 1

  18. Eastern Wood-Pewee   Number observed: 2

  19. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

  20. Willow Flycatcher   Number observed: 2

  21. Least Flycatcher   Number observed: 2

  22. Empidonax sp.   Number observed: 2

  23. Great Crested Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

  24. Eastern Kingbird   Number observed: 6

  25. Warbling Vireo   Number observed: 7

  26. Blue Jay   Number observed: 1

  27. American Crow   Number observed: 4

  28. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 1

  29. Tree Swallow   Number observed: 5

  30. Purple Martin   Number observed: 21

  31. Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Number observed: 7

  32. Barn Swallow   Number observed: 10

  33. Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 1

  34. White-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 1

  35. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Number observed: 13

  36. Northern House Wren   Number observed: 4

  37. European Starling   Number observed: 16

  38. Gray Catbird   Number observed: 5

  39. Swainson's Thrush   Number observed: 7

  40. American Robin   Number observed: 26

  41. House Sparrow   Number observed: 3

  42. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 5

  43. White-crowned Sparrow   Number observed: 2

  44. White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 1

  45. Song Sparrow   Number observed: 6

  46. Orchard Oriole   Number observed: 2

  47. Baltimore Oriole   Number observed: 10

  48. Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 21

  49. Brown-headed Cowbird   Number observed: 15

  50. Common Grackle   Number observed: 2

  51. Ovenbird   Number observed: 1

  52. Northern Waterthrush   Number observed: 2

  53. Black-and-white Warbler   Number observed: 4

  54. Nashville Warbler   Number observed: 2

  55. Connecticut Warbler   Number observed: 1

  56. Mourning Warbler   Number observed: 3

  57. Common Yellowthroat   Number observed: 5

  58. American Redstart   Number observed: 25

  59. Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 5

  60. Yellow Warbler   Number observed: 18

  61. Chestnut-sided Warbler   Number observed: 5

  62. Black-throated Blue Warbler   Number observed: 2

  63. Palm Warbler   Number observed: 9

  64. Yellow-rumped Warbler   Number observed: 4

  65. Black-throated Green Warbler   Number observed: 2

  66. Canada Warbler   Number observed: 3

  67. Wilson's Warbler   Number observed: 2

  68. Scarlet Tanager   Number observed: 1

  69. 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: Orange-crowned warbler by Devin Grady