Photo: Great-crested flycatcher by Gary Rasmussen
Hello everyone,
Important Public Service Announcement: Next Saturday, June 20, will be the first weekend that the Obama Presidential Center will be open to the public. Although the museum doesn’t open until 10:00am, the grounds open at 6:00am. I hope that parking will not be a problem at 8:00am but be prepared just in case the crowds arrive early. Remember that parking is free all along Midway Plaisance, both directions, from Stony Island to Cottage Grove. It’s also free on most, but not all, of the blocks of 59th street between Stony and Cottage but watch for signs.
What an amazing day we had. We had the heron trifecta plus Great Egret, and good numbers of our summer residents. Two Yellow-billed Cuckoos were in the area, and they were even spotted mating, so hopefully we’ll see young cuckoos soon. It was family day in the park with sightings of a fledgling Cedar Waxwing, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Brown-headed Cowbird and four Green Herons. Two Eastern Phoebe fledglings were cuddled together on a branch and were adorable. A mom and dad Baltimore Oriole were taking turns feeding a nestling in a beautifully crafted nest in the shape of a perfect sphere. How do they do that with only their feet and beaks for tools? Remarkable.
The real excitement began when we were at the south end of the soccer field. Sarah and Amir spotted a bird that at first looked like a Great Crested Flycatcher, but upon further observation, that ID was ruled out. The first thought was Western Kingbird, as Sarah and Amir used to live in Texas and so are very familiar with them. But, something didn’t look quite right. Madhu took a photo and posted it on the Discord bird ID channel to double check. The experts weighed in and it was decided that the bird was a Tropical Kingbird (almost identical to a Western Kingbird) a super-rare visitor to our area, and only the third Illinois record. Wow!
Word spread quickly via Discord and birders flocked to our park. The bird relocated itself to the area just south of the driving range, and once our group completed our route we jumped in cars and drove around to the parking lot off of Hayes Drive. The gorgeous and special Kingbird was perched in bare branches at the top of a tree, surveying its vacation spot and allowing all of us to watch it. It flew back and forth to other trees but spent most of its time out in the open so it didn’t make us work too hard to enjoy it.
Sarah and Amir were the celebrities of the day with many congratulations directed their way from our group and from throughout the birding community.
And, to cap off a great weekend of birds, a Western Kingbird was found today in the same area as the Tropical Kingbird! What a crazy coincidence that we’d have two rare kingbirds in the park this weekend.
BIRDERS: Roger, Jeffrey, Gary, Luther, Mark C., Suzanne, Mark W., Chelsea, Jan, Howard, Tim, Ezra, Courtney, Stefan, Pat, Leslie, Jennie, Cheryl, Val, Simone, Robert, Liz, Sarah, Amir, Madhu and welcome to Mallory, Andrew, Elsa, Donna, Booker, Geri, Reyna, Michelle, Atu (from Seattle), Tim (from Malawi, Africa), and Andrew (from London).
TIME: 8:00am to noon
WEATHER: 71 degrees, sunny
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 43
Mallard Number observed: 8
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Number observed: 2
Chimney Swift Number observed: 15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 1
Killdeer Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 6
Caspian Tern Number observed: 2
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 41
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 6
Great Egret Number observed: 2
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 2
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 5
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
small falcon sp. Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 4
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 4
Great Crested Flycatcher Number observed: 3
Tropical Kingbird Number observed: 1
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 4
Eastern Warbling Vireo Number observed: 6
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 3
American Crow Number observed: 1
Tree Swallow Number observed: 3
Purple Martin Number observed: 40
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 3
Barn Swallow Number observed: 16
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 4
Northern House Wren Number observed: 6
European Starling Number observed: 3
Gray Catbird Number observed: 7
American Robin Number observed: 15
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 2
House Sparrow Number observed: 1
House Finch Number observed: 2
American Goldfinch Number observed: 3
Song Sparrow Number observed: 6
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 3
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 8
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 16
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 4
Common Grackle Number observed: 4
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 2
American Redstart Number observed: 1
Northern Yellow Warbler Number observed: 16
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 5
Indigo Bunting Number observed: 6
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