Hello everyone,
It was a gorgeous winter morning with bright sunshine glinting off the white snow. The trees and bushes looked like they had been sprinkled with powdered sugar and were very picturesque. It was cold, but not too bad, and the sun made it feel warmer.
We didn’t have a large number of species but as always, we had some interesting sightings. A Mourning Dove was on the edge of the ice on the west lagoon, not a place we find them very often. It was one of the few spots of open water in the neighborhood so it must have been taking advantage of the opportunity to get a drink. A handsome Red-tailed Hawk made an appearance and posed for photos. We had a flyover Bald Eagle again today and we’re hoping that it’s the same one that we saw on a recent walk and that it’s making Hyde Park its home.
We were surprised to find a Hermit Thrush on the island across from Bobolink Woods, although eBird didn’t flag it as rare for Cook County. It’s pretty rare for the Wooded Island in winter though. Two White-breasted Nuthatches were working the oak trees near the Columbia Basin and we could see that they were successful in finding their breakfast.
BIRDERS: Marian, Kristin, Jennie, Luther, Val, Mike, Jen, Mark W., Paul, Eric, Rob, Tyler, Renate, Marisa, Mark C., and welcome to Noah, a friend of Tyler’s, Rachel and Donny, visiting from New York City, Amanda, Tamara, and Eva visiting from the north side, and a brief visit from Joe from homes.com who was taking some photos/videos of us for a neighborhood summary for their site.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:30am
WEATHER: 29 degrees, sunny and clear.
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Eric, Paul, Mike
Canada Goose Number observed: 207
Mallard Number observed: 8
Common Goldeneye Number observed: 1
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 1
American Herring Gull Number observed: 3
Bald Eagle Number observed: 1
Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 2
American Crow Number observed: 5
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 3
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2
European Starling Number observed: 11
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 1
House Sparrow Number observed: 2
American Goldfinch Number observed: 5
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 2
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 4
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: White-crowned-Sparrow by Geri Kodey