5/1- Took my 2nd hr. free period walk out to Butler Lake at 8:30am and on my way back around 9am I had a beautiful PROTHONOTARY WARBLER fly right in front of me and land for a couple of seconds before continuing on his way. My first ever at the high school.
5/2 At 5:45am took my 1.5 mile walk around the lake and on the way back up to school on the circle drive I had some sparrows feeding on the ground next to the road. Most were WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS but 1 was a beautiful CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. Jim Solum and I also had one at IBSP on the Spring Count.
5/3- Started my day today with a quick trip to check the Waukegan lakefront. As soon as I got out of my car, I noticed a dark bird standing upright on the pilings of the swimming beach, I immediately thought cormorant, but it had no tail and was clearly a heron, but not tall enough or light enough in the face for a GB heron. I walked up to the walkway and got the bird in the scope only to see the maroon head and dark blue body of a LITTLE BLUE HERON! Awesome bird. Definitely a great start to the day. Got some pics but they weren't great.
Also the same day I had my only good looks at a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER which I heard in a couple of other spots but had nice looks only here. Later on, after reading about Rena Cohen finding a Harris' Sparrow at Ft. Sheridan, I hightailed it after school over to the preserve where I met Jeff Sundberg and his sister, Chris, also looking for the bird. We split up to cover more area. After about 5 minutes I heard Jeff give the most tremendous yell which I heard clearly from about 1/4 mile away. I sprinted over and had great looks at the adult HARRIS' SPARROW. A county lifer!
5/5- Today was the spring bird count with Jim Solum and, though the day wasn't fantastic weather-wise, we still had some good birds.
We started the morning at 3:30am at Hosah Park where we were greeted right out of the car by a calling WHIP-POOR-WILL. We ended up with 5 before we got back to the car. We also had 2 grunting VIRGINIA RAILS right in front of us as we accessed the North Unit trail at old 173. We then headed to IBSP to the campground where it promptly started raining. We waited out the rain and immediately birds began to sing. The first two birds we had near the playground were another CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and a very cooperative WHITE-EYED VIREO. We also had a number of warblers with the best being a gorgeous male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER beer-beer-beer-beer-BEE-ING right under a spruce in the RV area. We quickly sprinted over and had great looks at the singing bird, my all-time favorite bird. Also had a calling SEDGE WREN near Dead River, BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS, and 3 BLACK-NECKED STILTS on the Dead River.
5/6- Went to COLSP to look for warblers. As I was driving the entrance road, I stopped to listen near the conifers at the top of the hill. As I rolled the window down, I heard no warblers, but I did hear the loud COW-CAT! of a RING-NECKED PHEASANT! A tough bird to get. Here is about the only place to find one. Also had a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER and a BLUE-HEADED VIREO on the Deerpath Trail.
5/7- Jim and I headed over to the North Unit Trail behind NPM to see if we could find Al Stokie's Prairie Warbler from the last 2 days. We unfortunately whiffed on that bird, but we had nice looks at a CAPE MAY WARBLER and heard a calling YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT which Jim eventually found, but I had to leave for school so I didn't see it. Easy to ID by call, however. I saw one later at IBSP with Jim also.
5/9- On the way to Waukegan Beach before school again. This time Jim and I stopped to check out the construction impoundment which Jim told me had some birds in it earlier. Good thing. 12 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS were feeding in a puddle. They called and flew, so easy to ID.
5/10- Another Early morning trip around Butler Lake produced a preening PHILADELPHIA VIREO sitting out in the open perfectly lit up by sun. Great views. Had another on 5/27 at Sand Pond of the North Unit at IBSP.
5/11- Went looking for warblers at Daniel Wright before school this morning. Didn't hear much until I walked down the middle trail toward the river. I immediately heard the WEEDA-WEEDA-WEEDIO of a HOODED WARBLER. I was eventually able to pish him out and had nice looks at the gorgeous male. I've actually SEEN this bird 4 times at 3 different locations this year which is awesome considering it was a county lifer for me last year.
After school I headed over to Rollins to find a bird photographed by Amy Evenstad and posted on her Facebook page. I met Jim at the Washington St. lot and we walked the short distance west down the trail to a little marsh with mostly dead cattails. As we scanned the marsh we saw a slowly moving form and were able to get great scope looks at a hunting AMERICAN BITTERN right next to the trail. Amazing and especially rewarding since I missed this bird last year during my Illinois Big Year.
5/12- Saturday morning is a big birding day for me so I started at Waukegan as usual. I stopped at the McDonald's on Sheridan Rd. for a pit stop before I got to the lakefront. As I got out of the car I heard a distinct peenting call. I looked up and had nice looks at a hawking COMMON NIGHTHAWK right over the parking lot. Can't beat that for a good start to the day! I then headed to the beach. I was walking down the north beach along the water's edge, I stopped to check the front of the pier for birds. At that time a group of smaller birds flew across the water from the front of the pier. I was able to get my scope on the birds and see the black face and throat/speckled silvery backs of 16 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS as they flew by.
Later that day there was a post about a King Rail at Middlefork Savanna so I headed over there later in the afternoon and heard the distinctive CHICK-BURRRRR of a KING RAIL. I didn't want to bother the bird to see it, but Jim went later and was able to get nice looks at the bird.
5/13- On the hunt for Black-billed Cuckoo, I went to Shaw Woods with Jim. As we were walking the trail near the river, we heard a clear QUICK-THREE-BEERS! We rounded the corner and spotted the bird up on a snag. It was facing away from us, though, so no vest, but we clearly saw the large head and bill/long wing projection of an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. I also had nice views of 1 at the NPM Trail and got a couple of decent photos.
5/15- Hit the impoundment on Seahorse Dr, for shorebirds again. Saw quite a few including a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER very close. I've had this bird at 4 different locations this spring which is nice.
5/16- Now the quest for the later warblers: mourning, canada. connecticut. These are traditionally tough to get for me. I've been very lucky this spring and had MOURNING WARBLERS singing at 6 different locations. Today I had 1 at Daniel Wright Woods. on 5/19 I got nice looks at 1 singing behind the visitor center at Ryerson. Also today at Daniel Wright as I was crossing the bridge back from Half Day FP, I walked north on the DPRT. About 50 yds. down the trail I heard the clear, quick buzzy cadence of a CERULEAN WARBLER. Unfortunately it was on the other side of the river, so I never got a look at it. I know Jeff Sundberg came over later and had nice looks, but it was a classic Cerulean song so easy to tell.
5/19- Started the morning at NPM to look for Connecticut and Canada warblers. Right out of the car in the NPM parking lot at 5:30am I heard the lucid TIPaTUPaTIPaTUPaTEBOW of a CONNECTICUT WARBLER which then hopped up on a branch for a beautiful view. God's blessings evident yet again in showing the beauty of his creation! Awesome. I then headed south along the trails. Whiffed on Canada but as I was walking through the woods of the North Unit trail I heard the clear "peet-ZAH" of an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. I eventually found the bird for nice looks. I met Jim at IBSP where we had another Acadian.
5/20- I came back to NPM to find a Canada. As I entered the lot, I saw Leo Miller who just emailed me yesterday. So the two of us walked around the bend toward the ranger house. This has been a traditionally great place for Canadas so I was listening and watching carefully. I finally heard the "chip-chippidydippitydip" of a singing CANADA WARBLER which I then saw bouncing around in the shrubbery right next to the driveway of the ranger house. I've also been lucky enough to hear/see Canadas at 4 different locations this spring.
5/22- Back to Daniel Wright to look for my nemesis cuckoos. I walked around the pond and back to the river. Nothing. I then headed north on the DPRT to almost the exact spot where I heard the Cerulean a week ago. I thought I would play the yellow-billed cuckoo call to see if I would get a response. Sure enough as soon as I played the call I heard the cacacacaca- COW-COW-COW of a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO right above me. Unfortunately it wouldn't come out of the canopy. I saw it fly twice and saw glints of rufous on the wing in the sunlight, but not great looks. Definitely a yellow-billed, though. I had another one calling on the North Unit trail on 5/27.
5/24- So I'm at school getting ready to go to Cook Memorial Library in Libertyville for an exam review session for my students from 6-8pm. It's 5:20 when I read a post from Jeff Sundberg/Joe Lill that they spotted a couple of great birds at the Peterson Rd. fluddle. I quickly, and legally, make the 10 minute drive over there from the high school, find the WILSON'S PHALAROPE male and an AMERICAN PIPIT probing the mud, and head back to the library and make it BEFORE the 6pm start. Nice!
5/26- It's nearing the end of shorebird migration and I probably should have gone earlier, but I just thought about it Thursday. Duh!
The geotube in the middle of Grass Lake is located in fairly shallow water, so boats don't go that near it. It is accessible by canoe, however. The tube is a man-made island constructed from dredged mud- the ideal shorebird habitat, and they flock here in numbers when there's a dry spell and the mud is exposed. There's also a nesting pair of FORSTER'S TERNS so caution must be exercised when in the area so as not stress the birds.
The night before it rained, so a fallout was a definite possibility. This means migrating birds could be forced down in numbers by the rain. So Jim and I headed out early Saturday morning and canoed the 1.5 miles there and back to see some good birds. Unfortunately we had to hurry back due to an advancing thunderstorm, so we missed quite a few birds, but we were able to spot a loafing first summer LAUGHING GULL on the mud with the shorebirds. Also great close-up looks at another WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER.
5/28- Another trip out to the tube produced fewer birds but still nice looks at a MARBLED GODWIT up close and a beautiful BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, as well as 3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS.
So that's my May. I'm at #231 for my Big Year. It's been very eventful and hectic. Our baseball team also went 27-5 and won the conference championship, which was very cool, as well. As school comes to a close, I still have some tough breeding birds to find, so stay tuned to see how it goes. God bless!
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