Hello everyone,

It was a beautiful summer morning, perfect for Picture Day. We started out by taking a photo of everyone in the group who was wearing their Wooded Island Bird Walk t-shirt. You too can get one of these great t-shirts by visiting the Chicago Bird Alliance website and navigating to the CBA store. We then took a picture with the whole group. I sent both photos to Judy Pollock, the president of CBA, and she posted the photo of the whole group on Facebook and Instagram. We’re social media famous now!

Although it still feels like summer, apparently the birds know that it’s just about time to migrate. We had very few Red-winged Blackbirds and Orioles, probably because they have already begun their journey south. We had a lot of Purple Martins and many Chimney Swifts. Both were most likely flocking in preparation for their journey. It will be interesting to see if any are around next Saturday.

Osaka was standing sentinel in the Japanese Garden and there were also several juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons in residence. We hit our goal of the heron trifecta plus egret today too.

A pair of Belted Kingfishers was swooping around putting on a good show for us and a cute little Spotted Sandpiper perched on a rock to greet us. Two Hairy Woodpeckers was another nice sighting of the morning and a rarely seen Monk Parakeet flew by. Perhaps they’re returning to the neighborhood.

BIRDERS: Paul, Lucy, Marian, Mike, Jennie, Caterina, Luther, Peter, Leslie, Cheryl, Mark C., Gary, Marisa, Elise, Robert, Simone, Miyoko, Pam, Renate, Jan and welcome to Clyde, Dan, Azza, Griffin, Malcolm, Franklin and Freddie.

TIME:   8:00am to 11:35am   

WEATHER: 70 degrees, sunny

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Marisa, Gary, Eric, Paul

1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 93

2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 10

3. Mallard   Number observed: 6

4. Chimney Swift   Number observed: 21

5. Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 1

6. Spotted Sandpiper   Number observed: 1

7. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 15

8. Herring Gull   Number observed: 1

9. Caspian Tern   Number observed: 2

10. Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 4

11. Black-crowned Night Heron   Number observed: 5

12. Green Heron   Number observed: 5

13. Great Egret   Number observed: 4

14. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 6

15. Belted Kingfisher   Number observed: 2

16. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

17. Hairy Woodpecker   Number observed: 2

18. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 3

19. Monk Parakeet   Number observed: 1

20. Willow Flycatcher   Number observed: 4

21. Eastern Kingbird   Number observed: 6

22. Warbling Vireo   Number observed: 6

23. Blue Jay   Number observed: 1

24. American Crow   Number observed: 1

25. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 5

26. Purple Martin   Number observed: 95

27. Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Number observed: 2

28. Barn Swallow   Number observed: 10

29. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Number observed: 1

30. House Wren   Number observed: 5

31. European Starling   Number observed: 5

32. Gray Catbird   Number observed: 3

33. American Robin   Number observed: 18

34. Cedar Waxwing   Number observed: 3

35. House Sparrow   Number observed: 2

36. House Finch   Number observed: 6

37. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 7

38. Chipping Sparrow   Number observed: 1

39. Song Sparrow   Number observed: 2

40. Baltimore Oriole   Number observed: 1

41. Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 6

42. Yellow Warbler   Number observed: 6

43. Northern Cardinal   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

Photo: Solitary sandpiper by Joshua Galicki