Stony Hills

by Amy Posted on 7 May 2010

Our Sunday morning excursion during the final day of the Illinois Audubon Spring Gathering was at Stony Hills Nature Preserve.

They had signs and they weren’t afraid to use them (below picture is a composite).

Signs

This was our birdiest field trip of the weekend, but most birds were heard rather than seen. We did start off with a nice Summer Tanager on a wire for all to see. Field Sparrows were singing, we heard a Wild Turkey gobbling off the trail, a distant Tufted Titmouse sang unseen in the forest, and everyone got really nice looks at a Great Crested Flycatcher.

This was our last excursion before the wrap-up lunch at Nauvoo State Park. We had some time to kill before heading to lunch so we stopped briefly at Nauvoo Flat Wildlife Sanctuary. From there we had a nice view of the river and saw two adult Bald Eagles, several American White Pelicans, a flyover (erratic!) Eastern Kingbird, and a very nice Palm Warbler.

It was a fun weekend and I’m looking forward to the next Illinois Audubon gathering!

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Into the ravine

by Amy Posted on 6 May 2010

Following our morning Mississippi River boat trip, our second excursion during the Illinois Audubon Spring Gathering was at Cedar Glen Natural Area. Participants met at the Kibbe Life Science Research Station and had a choice of two walks: a level hike around prairie meadow and forest, or a steep journey down into a ravine. We decided to hike down into the ravine.

We headed into the forest on the Bluff trail, and were soon looking down into the ravine.

The last part of the downward hike required us to scramble down a very steep slope, using a rope to steady ourselves. The recent rains made the trail very wet, muddy and slippery, so the rope was a must. It was a lot of fun.

Again, unfortunately, the walk was not too birdy, but the views were outstanding. It may have been raining, but we hardly noticed, walking under the leafed-out trees.

We meandered along the creek bed, crossing the water and walking along the rocks. We were accompanied by a caretaker’s dog, who provided comic relief a few times. He was also mistaken for a deer countless times as he walked far ahead of the group. “There’s a deer! Oh… wait, no. It’s the dog. Again.”

We looked for fossils among the creek bed rocks. There weren’t a lot of birds, but there was plenty to look at, plenty of life to see.

In the end, after we climbed back up the slope and were heading back to our cars, we picked up a few great birds, including a cooperative Common Yellowthroat and a loudly calling Eastern Towhee.

Next: Sunday morning at Stony Hills.

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Migration Awareness 5

by Amy Posted on 6 May 2010

This morning Arthur and I are walking our Rescue & Recovery route to look for fallen injured or dead birds that have struck buildings in Chicago during the night and early morning. This is our eighth week volunteering for R&R this spring. During these weeks, I’d like to highlight some of the perils birds face on their migration by sharing a website or information about migratory birds.

I had big plans to write up something on International Migratory Bird Day, which is celebrated each year on the second Saturday in May, but I’m so bummed about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster — which also happens to be the big story in migration right now. So here are a few things about the situation that pertain to migratory birds.

First, if you haven’t read Nathan’s commentary Complete and Utter Disaster from last week, go read it now.

There’s an excellent roundup of pertinent links in this Round Robin post from Cornell: Bad Place, Bad Timing for an Oil Spill

The first oil-coated bird to be treated was a Northern Gannet picked up late last week. The second bird, a Brown Pelican, was picked up on Tuesday. Pelicans dive into the water for their food so are expected to be hit hard by the disaster. These two birds are just the first ones; many more won’t ever even be found by rescuers.

To keep up with bird-related oil spill news, the Audubon Magazine Blog is an excellent resource. Don’t miss these recent posts: Oil Spill Answers from Bird Conservation Expert on the Ground in Louisiana; FAQ: How Oil-Covered Birds Are Cleaned; and from late yesterday, Oil Reaches First Important Bird Area.

IMG_8902.JPG
We saw these Northern Gannets in a recovery enclosure at Ecomare in 2008.

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Mississippi River boat excursion

by Amy Posted on 5 May 2010

Illinois Audubon Society has two statewide gatherings each year. We attended our first, hosted by our own Lake-Cook Chapter, back in September. This spring, the gathering was hosted by the Western Prairie Chapter, and held in Nauvoo, Illinois, April 30-May 2. We were amused to note that many of the cars in town had Utah plates.

Our first excursion Saturday morning was a boat trip on the Mississippi River, which began on the Iowa side of the river, in Keokuk. We had some difficulty finding the boat launch, mainly because we were looking for a boat. It arrived after we did.

Although the forecast was for sunshine, our trip was taken under cloudy skies which poured rain down on us for the last part of the journey.

There were White Pelicans by the dam, and Turkey Vultures everywhere, perched along the river banks and on railings.

Some homes along the Illinois side were raised on stilts.

For part of the trip we floated beside an island, where we spotted Wood Ducks, a foraging Spotted Sandpiper, a flyover juvenile Bald Eagle, my FOY Baltimore Oriole, and a Pileated Woodpecker, which was an Illinois first for me and several others on the boat.

During the trip we noted Asian carp jumping high out of the water several times. To see the damage these guys can and will do, check out this CNN clip on Asian carp in Havana Illinois. On the way back to the boat launch we had some excitement when one of the huge fish jumped up and landed inside the boat. There was a bit of shrieking before the boat captain managed to control the fish and toss it back overboard. There was blood over the floor of the boat and one passenger’s hand swelled up from impact with the fish.

Next: Saturday afternoon at Cedar Glen Natural Area.

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Robin nest!

by Amy Posted on 4 May 2010

I was so excited to see an American Robin busy building her nest in our front shrub last month. When I was growing up, my parents always had birdhouses on our property — but I’ve never had the chance to see inside an active nest before!

I could see her flying in and out of the tree several times during the day, and I wondered about her placement choice. There’s not a lot of traffic at our front door (we often go via the garage), true. But I wondered about the bright porch light we leave on all night, which shines right into the shrub, pretty much at nest level. Early last week I taped a covering over one side of the fixture, so we still have the security of the light — but it shines much less brightly towards the nest.

I first saw her sitting more or less constantly on the nest sometime in the middle of last week. Since then we have noticed that she doesn’t fly off if we use the front door. We can see her from inside the living room, if we crouch down to peek through the foliage.

American Robin on nest
See her? She’s right in the middle. (Click to embiggen)

With my camera’s zoom I can get a little better view.

American Robin on nest
oh hai! (Click to embiggen)

Last week I registered the nest site with Cornell’s NestWatch, a citizen-driven nest-monitoring project. The site has instructions and tips for observing active nests, and participants are required to become certified (by completing an online quiz) before joining the project. There are also datasheets for the focal species, which includes the American Robin.

Yesterday afternoon I briefly checked the nest. The robin was still incubating when I came outside, and I could see her (once I crouched down).

American Robin on nest
The underside of Ms. Robin’s tail. (Click to embiggen)

Soon after I started talking and fussing with my ladder, she flushed off. Four eggs are usual, but American Robins will lay 3-5. I reached over with my camera to take this photo inside the nest.

Eggs
Eggs! (Click to embiggen)

The robin was back incubating within about 15 minutes. American Robins incubate for 12-14 days; I estimate the eggs were laid April 27-28 so there should be nestlings some time between May 9 and May 12.

I continued to follow the nest during the following weeks. For further reading: Teeny tiny baby American Robins!!! | Quick robin nest update | These birds have flown

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Birds, art at Ryerson Woods

by Amy Posted on 4 May 2010

Last Wednesday I joined the Lake-Cook Audubon walk at Ryerson Woods. Ryerson is a hot local birding spot, named recently in Birder’s World magazine as a top location for watching warblers. Leading the walk was Nan Buckhardt, The Lake County Forest Preserves’ Environmental Education Manager. As we began the walk, she mentioned that the trees and other area vegetation are one to two weeks ahead of their normal schedule, due to warm weather we had in early April. Over several nights it did not dip lower than 50°F, which triggered the plants to start doing their spring thing. That means warbler-watching will be extra tough in the coming weeks.


A trail at Ryerson, a bit too green for the time of year

Unfortunately the morning’s walk was rather quiet, having come just days before a huge south wind brought up migrants by the truckload. We did have nice looks at a Swamp Sparrow and Wood Ducks in a tree; a male Eastern Bluebird shone brightly in the sunshine for everyone. A few lucky birders also got to see a lone Black-throated Green Warbler, but I missed it.

Illinois listserv reports from Ryerson in the following days named many more migrants than we. For the morning I saw 25 species, including a few I picked up on another go round the trails after the group walk. My morning’s highlight was a close encounter with a deer, who crossed the trail towards the river right in front of me.

Later, when the Brushwood building at Ryerson opened up, I finally got to see an art exhibit I’d been wanting to see for several months. AVIARY, Artists’ Passion for Birds ran at Brushwood from March 7 through April 28 (I was JUST in time). There was a nice mix of bird art, from photos to paintings to sculptures, tastefully arranged in the small multi-room space.

The art joined permanent fixtures at Brushwood, which includes several Audubon prints and a great collection of 20 small bird dioramas. The dioramas are part of a larger collection of 900 bird displays, most of which are housed at the Field Museum.

I was surprised to learn that members of the public as well as educators could borrow the dioramas as part of the Harris Educational Loan Program. I wonder how often they are loaned out, and I wonder how often it is done by a non-educator.

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Migration Awareness 4

by Amy Posted on 29 April 2010

This morning Arthur and I are walking our Rescue & Recovery route to look for fallen injured or dead birds that have struck buildings in Chicago during the night and early morning. This is our seventh week volunteering for R&R this spring. During these weeks, I’d like to highlight migration topics by sharing a website or information about migratory birds.

Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley recently introduced HR 4797, a bill that calls for new government construction to incorporate bird-safe building practices. According to the American Bird Conservancy, the Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2010 “will absolutely save the lives of millions of birds that mistake objects reflected in window glass, such as habitat and sky, as real.”

As of today the bill is in the first legislative steps. As of March 9th it has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. You can easily write to your U.S. Representative in Congress via this action link to let him or her know you support the bill.

Hermit Thrush, 4-2010, PA
Hermit Thrush, 4-2010, PA by Kelly Colgan Azar, on Flickr

In October 2009, Toronto became the first city to mandate bird-friendly building construction. The Toronto Green Standard legislation includes Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines (BFDG), “designed to eliminate migratory bird collisions with buildings both at night and in the daytime.” I would be thrilled if the U.S. government did the same and passed HR 4797.

If you’d like to learn more about bird-safe building practices, the New York Audubon Society has a comprehensive publication entitled Bird-Safe Building Guidelines. Several case studies are included to show practical examples of the guidelines at work in the real world.

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So much for goals

by Amy Posted on 25 April 2010

This weekend the Waukegan Public Library had a book give-away. Free books. Oh, dear.

My bird bookshelf, which includes mostly memoirs, got a little less manageable. It looked like this at the beginning of the year. And now:

A scant few books have since moved on, but many more took their place.

I also picked up a few bird guides and other instructional, natural history non-fiction. And I succumbed to my old nemesis, travel guides.

I’ll post a couple of book reviews in the coming weeks, but at this rate I’ll never catch up. Gah!

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Birding’s star turn

by Amy Posted on 24 April 2010

The film version of The Big Year is progressing, with filming to begin next month. Local birders even have a chance to be in the movie — there is a May 1st casting call for extras in Tofino, BC. I was an extra in a movie many years ago, and it was a lot of fun. I would LOVE to be able to be an extra in The Big Year! Producers are looking for “local men and women of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities who are interested in working as paid Extras on the movie.” I wonder how many birders will show up for the casting call?

In other entertainment news, Los Angeles Audubon will be celebrating their 100th anniversary in May and as part of the festivities, birders can join several Star Trek cast members on a birding field trip. The Bald(ing) Eagles of Star Trek is one of several teams competing in a Birdathon over the first week of May. It’s a fun chance to go out birding with Armin Shimerman, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips and John Billingsley, and contribute to Los Angeles Audubon’s activities, too.

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