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Wooded Island Bird Walk

  • Wooded Island, Jackson Park Meet at the west side of the Columbia Basin Chicago, IL, 60637 United States (map)

Photo: Red-breasted nuthatch by Tim Bowman

Hello everyone,

It was a lovely fall morning. There was a huge flock of Chimney Swifts flying about over the east lagoon, apparently getting ready to take off for their journey south. The warblers are still here and we were pleased to spot a gorgeous male American Restart with colors as bright as in the spring.

It was also a day with many herons and egrets, including 3-4 juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons.

A Merlin was perched in a tree by the north bridge and we got some great looks. It was soon displaced by a Red-tailed Hawk. The hawk was quickly spotted by some annoying crows who harassed it continuously. We had a soaring Cooper’s Hawk that we first thought was a Northern Harrier because of the white rump patch. It turns out that Cooper’s Hawks can fluff up their white undertail coverts to the point where it looks like they have a white rump patch. Why do they do this? Who knows, but it’s certainly an interesting bird fact.

BIRDERS: Mark C., Kristin, Nathan, Roger, Leslie, Cheryl, Marian, Mike M., Catherine, Jeff, Paul, Meghan, Sandy, Tyler, Renate, Dennis, Pam, Jennie and welcome to Maggie, Miquel, Elise, Brian M., Mike W., Karen, Brian L., Akshay and Michelle.

TIME:   8:00am to 12:00pm   

WEATHER: Sunny, low 60s but warming quickly

Compiler: Cheryl        

  1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 125

  2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 10

  3. Mallard   Number observed: 11

  4. Chimney Swift   Number observed: 71

  5. Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 1

  6. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 9

  7. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 6

  8. Great Egret   Number observed: 3

  9. Green Heron   Number observed: 3

  10. Black-crowned Night-Heron   Number observed: 6

  11. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

  12. Red-tailed Hawk   Number observed: 1

  13. Belted Kingfisher   Number observed: 1

  14. Red-headed Woodpecker   Number observed: 2

  15. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 2

  16. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 5

  17. Merlin   Number observed: 1

  18. Eastern Wood-Pewee   Number observed: 1

  19. American Crow   Number observed: 3

  20. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 3

  21. Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 1

  22. European Starling   Number observed: 9

  23. Gray Catbird   Number observed: 4

  24. Gray-cheeked Thrush   Number observed: 1

  25. Swainson's Thrush   Number observed: 2

  26. Hermit Thrush   Number observed: 1

  27. American Robin   Number observed: 1

  28. House Finch   Number observed: 1

  29. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 7

  30. White-throated Sparrow  Number observed: 6

  31. Black-and-white Warbler   Number observed: 2

  32. Tennessee Warbler   Number observed: 1

  33. Orange-crowned Warbler   Number observed: 1

  34. American Redstart   Number observed: 2

  35. Cape May Warbler   Number observed: 5

  36. Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 3

  37. Blackpoll Warbler   Number observed: 2

  38. Yellow-rumped Warbler   Number observed: 1

  39. Black-throated Green Warbler   Number observed: 2

  40. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 3

  41. Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Number observed: 2

 

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

This outing qualifies as a prerequisite for participating in Chicago Audubon's Birding Gear Exchange Program. Please check in with the trip leader the day of the event.