Hello everyone,
I have two public service announcements for you today:
First, Marisa and Eric highly recommend the play “Birds of North America”, playing at A Red Orchid Theater through March 15. It’s about a father and daughter who bond over birding and Marisa reports that the story and acting are wonderful. Check it out here: https://aredorchidtheatre.org/shows/birds-of-north-america/
Second, save the date! Chicago Bird Alliance is sponsoring a screening of the documentary “Hawk Watch”, about the Hawk Watch in Borrego Springs California founded by Hal Cohen, who many of you know. The film will be presented on Sunday March 15 at 2:00pm at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and admission is free, although you will have to register in advance. The producers/directors will be joining in via Zoom to introduce the film and to answer questions afterwards, and we hope to have a guest appearance (via Zoom) by Hal, too. CBA will be making an official announcement soon and I will send along the registration information as soon as it’s available. I saw the film last summer and it’s terrific. For more information about the film, including trailers, visit: https://www.borregospringshawkwatch.com/
The Report:
Spring must be on its way because the birders are returning. The Red-winged Blackbirds are back and calling to claim their territory. The water in the lagoons is liquid again and waterfowl were well represented. We had a merganser trifecta, with Common, Red-breasted and several gorgeous Hooded Mergansers. Mallards and Common Goldeneyes were present too. Our group found one Kildeer on the soccer field, although Randy told us that he had 7 just a short time earlier. There was a large flock of American Tree Sparrows on the driving range, perhaps discussing their upcoming journey northwards.
BIRDERS: Mark W., Mike, Jennie, Luther, Marian, Jeff, Leslie, Lucy, Caterina, Katie, Eric, Daniela, Kristin, Madhu, Mark N., Sandra, Traci, Marisa, Tobias and welcome to Brinkley, June, Jeffrey, Tim and Owen.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:15am
WEATHER: 26 degrees and mostly sunny, but becoming cloudy later.
Compiler: Mike
1. Canada Goose Number observed: 50
2. Mallard Number observed: 5
3. Common Goldeneye Number observed: 3
4. Hooded Merganser Number observed: 5
5. Common Merganser Number observed: 1
6. Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 23
7. Killdeer Number observed: 1
8. Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 5
9. American Herring Gull Number observed: 1
10. Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
11. Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
12. Northern Flicker Number observed: 3
13. American Crow Number observed: 8
14. Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 5
15. White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
16. Brown Creeper Number observed: 2
17. European Starling Number observed: 3
18. American Robin Number observed: 5
19. House Sparrow Number observed: 5
20. American Tree Sparrow Number observed: 17
21. Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 26
22. Song Sparrow Number observed: 3
23. Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 7
24. Northern Cardinal Number observed: 7
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: American goldfinch by Will Stuart