henslow's song.
This morning after the rains I took a walk around Butler Lake and found my FOY PALM WARBLER.
Friday, April 20, 2012
2 more for the year
Things have been a little slow bird wise lately. I've been immersed in baseball and we've been having a lot of rain and north winds this week. We did have south winds yesterday and the day before so I went to Waukegan Beach and Redwing Slough before school the last couple of days. Unfortunately, I didn't see much other than a Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs on the beach. At Redwing, I went to look for a Yellow-throated Warbler but failed. I did hear a Pine Warbler. On the way back to the car at Ravens Glen West, I heard a t'slick-ing HENSLOW'S SPARROW right next to the parking lot. Listen here:
henslow's song.
This morning after the rains I took a walk around Butler Lake and found my FOY PALM WARBLER.
Tomorrow I can hopefully find a Louisiana Waterthrush. TTFN.
henslow's song.
This morning after the rains I took a walk around Butler Lake and found my FOY PALM WARBLER.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Storms
Jim and I then parted ways, with him going to North Point Marina and me going to Ft. Sheridan to look for Leconte's Sparrow.
Neither one of us found much so we headed to Middlefork Savanna. Jim got there before me so he was pretty much done when I arrived, but I wanted to check out the north end fluddles before I left, so I walked off-trail. I ran into a group of 5 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Pectoral sandpipers, and my FOY SOLITARY SANDPIPER.
My last stop of the afternoon was Independence Grove. Jim had 2 Forster's Terns yesterday, which I missed, and others have had Bonaparte's Gull, which I've missed about 5x now, so when Jim texted me that both were on the beach, I made haste and got there as quickly as legally possible. Got nice looks at 1 winter plumage BONAPARTE'S GULL and 2 breeding plumage FORSTER'S TERN.
Forster's Tern
So I ended the day with 4 new birds, though it could easily have been 6. I had a falcon fly over me that I thought was a Merlin, but then concluded it was a female kestrel with backlighting. The mask on the face was too dark for a Merlin. So the weekend ends with no real good birds like a Bittern or a Leconte's or a Lark Sparrow, all of which were found at Montrose this weekend. Location, location, location. The morning ends at 134.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
A Tale of Two Outings
Last night we had SSE winds and all week various birding prognosticators were saying that we should have our first big push of migrants this weekend. So, needless to say, expectations were high. This is the kiss-of-death in birding. Expectations are rarely met in my birding world and today was no different.
I started the morning at Waukegan Beach hoping to find some gulls or shorebirds. Well, there were no shorebirds and the only gulls were Herring and Ring-billed, as usual. A walk through the grass yielded no Leconte's Sparrows, though one was found at Montrose today. In other words, Waukegan was dead as a doornail. Unreal. So I headed to my next destination which was Ryerson Woods to look for Louisiana Waterthrush, which has been fairly regular there the past few years. I spent the next 2 hours walking around at Ryerson. Not only did I miss the waterthrush, but I found no new birds at all. Lots of robins, cardinals, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. The time came for me to go to my baseball game, so I left for Evanston with 0 new birds for the year. Very disappointing.
As the games progressed, I kept getting texts about the new birds Jim Solum was finding in various locations. It was a little frustrating knowing that I made bad choices this morning. I should have gone to Middlefork Savanna instead of Ryerson.
Bring on outing #2. On my way home from the games, I had just enough time to stop at Middlefork and Independence Grove on my way to church.
Middlefork is the only spot I know of in Lake County to have produced any shorebirds yet this year, so I stopped there and, thanks to Jim and Michal Furmanek, was able to locate 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS and 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS.
Greater Yellowlegs
Pectoral Sandpiper
While looking at the sandpipers, I heard the rough buzzing sound of a swallow and was able to see 2 NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS.
Also heard a calling SORA RAIL right next to the trail.
Listen here: sora.
My last stop of the day was Independence Grove. Jim had 2 Forster's Terns there earlier. I didn't see any Forster's, but I did see a full PURPLE MARTIN house.
So the day went from 0 new birds to 5. Turned out to be a pretty nice day after all. We'll see what happens tomorrow with storms coming tonight.
I started the morning at Waukegan Beach hoping to find some gulls or shorebirds. Well, there were no shorebirds and the only gulls were Herring and Ring-billed, as usual. A walk through the grass yielded no Leconte's Sparrows, though one was found at Montrose today. In other words, Waukegan was dead as a doornail. Unreal. So I headed to my next destination which was Ryerson Woods to look for Louisiana Waterthrush, which has been fairly regular there the past few years. I spent the next 2 hours walking around at Ryerson. Not only did I miss the waterthrush, but I found no new birds at all. Lots of robins, cardinals, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. The time came for me to go to my baseball game, so I left for Evanston with 0 new birds for the year. Very disappointing.
As the games progressed, I kept getting texts about the new birds Jim Solum was finding in various locations. It was a little frustrating knowing that I made bad choices this morning. I should have gone to Middlefork Savanna instead of Ryerson.
Bring on outing #2. On my way home from the games, I had just enough time to stop at Middlefork and Independence Grove on my way to church.
Middlefork is the only spot I know of in Lake County to have produced any shorebirds yet this year, so I stopped there and, thanks to Jim and Michal Furmanek, was able to locate 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS and 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS.
While looking at the sandpipers, I heard the rough buzzing sound of a swallow and was able to see 2 NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS.
Listen here: sora.
My last stop of the day was Independence Grove. Jim had 2 Forster's Terns there earlier. I didn't see any Forster's, but I did see a full PURPLE MARTIN house.
Friday, April 13, 2012
The soft warbling trill
Started off my day today determined to find a Pine Warbler. I'm sure that I heard 2 of them singing yesterday at St. Mary's Seminary in Mundelein. I couldn't get a look however. Listen here: pine warbler.
Anyway, I went back this morning to try and get a look. In one of the spots I heard them yesterday, I heard an unfamiliar chip note, so I stopped to check it out and was rewarded with a couple of nice looks at a female PINE WARBLER.
I wanted to see the male, though, so I continued to another spot where one was singing yesterday up in a pine tree (go figure :). He was still singing this morning and I was able to get some nice looks at him as well. My first non-YR Warbler of the year!
#125
Anyway, I went back this morning to try and get a look. In one of the spots I heard them yesterday, I heard an unfamiliar chip note, so I stopped to check it out and was rewarded with a couple of nice looks at a female PINE WARBLER.
I wanted to see the male, though, so I continued to another spot where one was singing yesterday up in a pine tree (go figure :). He was still singing this morning and I was able to get some nice looks at him as well. My first non-YR Warbler of the year!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Adding a couple more...
So the winds were out of the North today and it was COLD!! Only in the 30's this morning. It was sunny out, though, so I thought I would check out the action around Butler Lake. Not a lot going on. There were 4 Pied-billed Grebes on the lake and a bunch of Tree Swallows flying around. I watched the Tree Swallows for a few minutes and thought I saw one with some orange on its belly. Sure enough I saw it again along with the streaming tail feathers. Positive ID for FOY BARN SWALLOW.
Later after practice I stopped at Almond Marsh on the way home and had nice looks at 2 adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS #123.
Not a bad day after all.
Later after practice I stopped at Almond Marsh on the way home and had nice looks at 2 adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS #123.
Not a bad day after all.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Chipping Sparrow #122
A pretty slow day with birds being pretty much the same on the lakefront as last week. The only new bird was a CHIPPING SPARROW. I heard one singing on Edwards Rd. and another in the parking lot at Lyons Woods where I had a nice look at the bird.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Vespers galore!
Today is Good Friday. The day that Jesus died for our sins. He's been my friend and savior for many years, now, and I thank him again for his ultimate sacrifice. As I venture out to look for birds I am constantly reminded of the blessings he has bestowed on me and the wonders of God's creation.
My goal this morning was to find Vesper Sparrows and Pine Warbler. I was 1 for 2. The warbler I knew would be a stretch. It's still about a week early and with north winds blowing, new migrants were not likely. Vespers, on the other hand, have been seen in a number of spots already, including my destination, Ft. Sheridan preserve. Ft. Sheridan is a vast expanse of grassland with wooded ravines running along the north and south edge. I honestly don't bird here much, but it's a great place for sparrows, and I think I may spend more time here in the coming few weeks as I take my best shot at finding LeConte's Sparrow and a Smith's Longspur, both of which have been found at Ft. Sheridan in the past.
Anyway, Vesper Sparrows have always been a tough bird for me to find in Lake County, and when I do find one, it's an isolated bird singing in some old cornfield usually. I've actually only seen one once that wasn't in corn stubble. Something that Jim taught me about Vespers is that they love burned areas. Last year he found a Vesper in a newly-burned area at Almond Marsh. It was just my luck today that Ft. Sheridan had just recently been burned, and it proved too much for the Vesper Sparrows to resist. I have never seen so many VESPER SPARROWS in one place before in my life. There were at least 6 and I think 9 or 10 is probably more likely given the number of birds flying around the edge of the burned area.
When I got out of the car, I decided I would walk through the grassland on the north edge and head west. Then I would double back and head east through the center. The burned area was adjacent to the parking lot and I had to walk through it to get to the north edge of the preserve. In so doing I flushed a couple of birds but they flew far and I didn't get a look at them. As I neared the ravine on the edge of the burn, I heard a Vesper Sparrow singing. I got decent looks at it, but then another flew in with it. Then I heard one singing behind me in the burned area and another singing further west along the ravine. There were at least 6 birds in that immediate area and probably more. It was awesome.
These are my pictures I took this morning. They're not the best, but you can see some of the diagnostic features of the Vesper Sparrow. The bold white eye ring and the white stripe extending downward from the side of the bird's bill (malar stripe) stand out and ID the bird as a Vesper. The lack of an obvious crown stripe also further separates it from any similar species like a Savannah Sparrow, for example, which were also very plentiful.
My next stop was McDonald Woods in Lindenhurst to check for Pine Warblers. It was pretty birdy but nothing out of the ordinary save for at least 4 singing Field Sparrows. The Pine Warblers were a no show, but I did have nice looks at a Red-breasted Nuthatch right above my head. There was also a 2nd bird calling in the background.
My goal this morning was to find Vesper Sparrows and Pine Warbler. I was 1 for 2. The warbler I knew would be a stretch. It's still about a week early and with north winds blowing, new migrants were not likely. Vespers, on the other hand, have been seen in a number of spots already, including my destination, Ft. Sheridan preserve. Ft. Sheridan is a vast expanse of grassland with wooded ravines running along the north and south edge. I honestly don't bird here much, but it's a great place for sparrows, and I think I may spend more time here in the coming few weeks as I take my best shot at finding LeConte's Sparrow and a Smith's Longspur, both of which have been found at Ft. Sheridan in the past.
Anyway, Vesper Sparrows have always been a tough bird for me to find in Lake County, and when I do find one, it's an isolated bird singing in some old cornfield usually. I've actually only seen one once that wasn't in corn stubble. Something that Jim taught me about Vespers is that they love burned areas. Last year he found a Vesper in a newly-burned area at Almond Marsh. It was just my luck today that Ft. Sheridan had just recently been burned, and it proved too much for the Vesper Sparrows to resist. I have never seen so many VESPER SPARROWS in one place before in my life. There were at least 6 and I think 9 or 10 is probably more likely given the number of birds flying around the edge of the burned area.
When I got out of the car, I decided I would walk through the grassland on the north edge and head west. Then I would double back and head east through the center. The burned area was adjacent to the parking lot and I had to walk through it to get to the north edge of the preserve. In so doing I flushed a couple of birds but they flew far and I didn't get a look at them. As I neared the ravine on the edge of the burn, I heard a Vesper Sparrow singing. I got decent looks at it, but then another flew in with it. Then I heard one singing behind me in the burned area and another singing further west along the ravine. There were at least 6 birds in that immediate area and probably more. It was awesome.
These are my pictures I took this morning. They're not the best, but you can see some of the diagnostic features of the Vesper Sparrow. The bold white eye ring and the white stripe extending downward from the side of the bird's bill (malar stripe) stand out and ID the bird as a Vesper. The lack of an obvious crown stripe also further separates it from any similar species like a Savannah Sparrow, for example, which were also very plentiful.
My next stop was McDonald Woods in Lindenhurst to check for Pine Warblers. It was pretty birdy but nothing out of the ordinary save for at least 4 singing Field Sparrows. The Pine Warblers were a no show, but I did have nice looks at a Red-breasted Nuthatch right above my head. There was also a 2nd bird calling in the background.
Tomorrow south winds. Hooray. Hopefully a Louisiana Waterthrush will show up :)
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