Listing Through Life

I left the house at 6:30 and headed west to Winnebago County. By the time I got out of the car at Sugar River Forest Preserve, I had 17 birds on my list:

American Robin; Red-winged Blackbird; Common Grackle; Canada Goose; Mourning Dove; Great Blue Heron; European Starling; American Crow; Barn Swallow; Ring-necked Pheasant; Rock Dove; Blue Jay; Cooper’s Hawk; Northern Cardinal; Killdeer; Savannah Sparrow; Eastern Bluebird.

I love Sugar River. There are great birds there, including several species that are almost impossible to see anywhere else in Northern Illinois — and best of all, there’s very rarely anybody else around. That was true today too, up until the end when a school field trip showed up as I was leaving. I covered myself with bug spray to discourage the mosquitoes that attacked as soon as I left the car. During the next four hours I saw:

Swainson’s Thrush; Chipping Sparrow; Tennessee Warbler; Gray Catbird; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Chestnut-sided Warbler; Magnolia Warbler; Wood Duck; Yellow-rumped Warbler; White-breasted Nuthatch; Bay-breasted Warbler; Mallard; House Wren; Prothonotary Warbler; Sandhill Crane; American Goldfinch; Eastern Phoebe; Nashville Warbler; Gray-cheeked Thrush; Indigo Bunting; Black-capped Chickadee; Tufted Titmouse; Song Sparrow; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Eastern Wood-Pewee (and I hadn’t even left the picnic area where I parked my car yet) Eastern Towhee; Yellow-throated Warbler; White-throated Sparrow; Northern Rough-winged Swallow; Common Yellowthroat; Cape May Warbler; Black-throated Green Warbler.

I’ll pause to explain my next sighting. Wild Turkeys are all over Winnebago County, and one of the most reliable places to see them is in a farm field next to one of the trails at Sugar River. I was walking slowly along this trail, looking carefully along the edges of the field when there was an explosion right behind me. A tom Turkey had been drinking in a creek about 15 feet from where I stood (right). I surprised it — I didn’t see it and it didn’t see me. It flushed, calling loudly and making a racket with it’s wings. In addition, as it flew through the dense woods, it broke off dozens of branches with its wings. It was a massive amount of noise to be made by a bird, and having it happen right behind me when I wasn’t expecting it … It was startling. Back to the list:

Great-crested Flycatcher; Northern Waterthrush; Lincoln’s Sparrow; Swamp Sparrow; Scarlet Tanager; Hairy Woodpecker; Brown-headed Cowbird; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; Pileated Woodpecker; American Redstart; Downy Woodpecker; Blue-headed Vireo; Red-eyed Vireo; Ovenbird; Hooded Warbler; Turkey Vulture; Cerulean Warbler.

I drove from Sugar River to Rock Cut State Park, near Rockford. On the way I saw Eastern Kingbird and Red-tailed Hawk. At Rock Cut, I added:

Warbling Vireo; Baltimore Oriole; Yellow Warbler; Palm Warbler; Canada Warbler; Blackpoll Warbler; Blue-winged Warbler; Wilson’s Warbler; Wood Thrush; Yellow-throated Vireo; Field Sparrow; Brown Thrasher.

That was a discouragingly-low total — I’d hoped for a lot more from Rock Cut, but it was the heat of the day and nothing was moving. Still, I was at 80 birds and thought I had a chance at 100. I called my wife and told her I wouldn’t be home until dark, then headed for Moraine Hills State Park near home, stopping at Garden Prairie on the way. The fields south of town often flood and are sometimes good for shorebirds. The sun was in the wrong place to see much, but I did find one puddle that included Pectoral Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers. Also on the way to Moraine Hills, I saw a Chimney Swift.

Moraine Hills was a mistake. There were very few birds around, and it was crawling with people. I added: Great Egret; Tree Swallow; Common Moorhen; Mute Swan; Hooded Merganser and White-crowned Sparrow.

It was now 6:30. I was tired (I’d walked 9.4 miles so far) and thirsty. I stopped and bought a pint of pink grapefruit juice and guzzled it. I knew I could drive down to Younghusband Prairie and Paul Douglas Forest Preserve and see some of the stuff I saw yesterday, but that would mean another hour of driving and while I had a fair chance of hitting 100, it was very unlikely I’d break my all-time record of 106. I gave up and went home with 90 — not a good total for the way the day began. I think my problem was the weather — it was too nice. The birds stopped in the morning to eat and rest, then took off again. The best spring migration days are the cold, wet ones when the birds hang around and forage low in the woods. Still, it was a thoroughly-enjoyable day, as is any day that includes a Pileated Woodpecker and 22 warblers.

I stayed local today, starting at Baker’s Lake in Barrington at 7:15. Baker’s Lake isn’t a great place to bird, but it has the advantage of being open at dawn while Cook County forest preserves don’t open until 8:00 am. It’s main feature is the huge rookery in the center of the lake. When I started birding here 28 years ago, there were a few herons nesting in the trees on the island. Since then, the trees have died and the island has shrunk. The forest preserve built a scaffolding out of two-by-fours, and it now contains a mass of nests of Cormorants, Egrets and Herons (below, right). Things were fairly lively this morning. (The birds marked in red were new for the year.) I saw:

Double-crested Cormorant; Blue Jay; Canada Goose; Baltimore Oriole; European Starling; Indigo Bunting; Nashville Warbler; Brown-headed Cowbird; American Goldfinch; Lincoln’s Sparrow; Palm Warbler; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Great Egret; Hairy Woodpecker; Red-winged Blackbird; American Redstart; American Robin; Blue-headed Vireo; Tennessee Warbler; Eastern Bluebird; Common Grackle; Gray Catbird; Yellow Warbler; Great-crested Flycatcher; Great Blue Heron; Black-crowned Night Heron; Mallard; Northern Cardinal; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; Red-eyed Vireo.

From Baker’s Lake, I drove to Deer Grove Forest Preserve. This is a reliable place for woodland birds, especially in migration, so I go here every year, but I don’t like the place. It isn’t well maintained (it’s a Cook County forest preserve, after all) and I meet unsavory characters once in a while. I added:

Swainson’s Thrush; Wood Thrush; Golden-winged Warbler; Blackburnian Warbler; Black-throated Green Warbler; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Cape May Warbler; Black-and-white Warbler; Ovenbird; Song Sparrow; Common Yellowthroat; Bay-breasted Warbler; Blackpoll Warbler; Eastern Phoebe; Chipping Sparrow; Wood Duck; Yellow-throated Vireo; Northern Waterthrush; American Crow; House Wren; Magnolia Warbler.

I left Deer Grove and headed for Crabtree Nature Center. On the way I passed a forest preserve I’ve never seen before — Younghusband Prairie. It’s located on an old farm on the back side of Baker’s Lake. I walked around the lake once years ago, trespassing in people’s yards and walking through woods without trails. Now it been turned into a park. A nice mowed trail headed off across the field, and I headed off along the trail. After about half a mile, the trail entered a brushy area, then came to a steel bridge across a marsh. On the other side of the bridge, without warning, the trail turned into a narrow track through the woods. I followed it for a while as it got narrower and narrower. I finally became little more than a deer path through a thicket. I pushed my way through and found myself on the cement foundation of a round barn that burned down a few years back. In the middle of the circle was a guy about my age, a bit stoned-looking, sitting next to his bike and drinking a beer. He said hi. I asked him what happened to the trail. He said, “This is it. This is the center of everything.” I kept my distance and asked him if there was another way out. He pointed across the circle and said, “I’ve been down that way. Just head for that pine. I pushed my way through some bushes and found a deer trail, but it soon disappeared. I found myself in a thicket, but kept walking in hopes of finding the trail I came in on. As I went further and further, I got twisted around and soon had no idea where I was. After a quarter mile of this, I came upon an uncrossable marsh. I started to follow it, but the mud soon make me enter the thicket again. I walked for the better part of an hour through a maze of brush and thorns, bent over double most of the time to get under the branches. When I finally came out of it, sweaty and thirsty and covered with thorns, I was right back by the cement circle. The guy was gone. I headed back toward my car. I did see some cool birds along the official trail part of the experience. I added:

Orchard Oriole; Sedge Wren; White-crowned Sparrow; Red-tailed Hawk; Eastern Kingbird; Northern Flicker; Barn Swallow; Savannah Sparrow; Black-capped Chickadee; Brown Thrasher; Swamp Sparrow; Tree Swallow; Henslow’s Sparrow; Cooper’s Hawk.

I was glad to get out of there. My next stop was Paul Douglas Forest Preserve, along I-90. I don’t know what it is about this place, but there are more ticks there than in the rest of the world put together. I walked for 15 minutes on a narrow trail through four-inch-tall grass and picked 23 of them off my pants. I didn’t wander around much, just looked to see what was in the marsh. I added:

Blue-winged Teal; Solitary Sandpiper; Spotted Sandpiper; American Coot; Yellow-headed Blackbird; Gadwall; Pied-billed Grebe; Killdeer.

My last stop was Crabtree Nature Center. I had the place almost entirely to myself. I added:

Downy Woodpecker; Mute Swan; Hooded Merganser; Turkey Vulture; Common Moorhen; White-throated Sparrow; Sora; Green Heron; Blue-winged Warbler; Chestnut-sided Warbler; Eastern Towhee; Field Sparrow.

During the course of the day, I also saw Mourning Dove, Rock Dove and House Sparrow.

I ended up with 90 birds. I should have seen more — with better planning and by avoiding getting lost in thickets, I could have seen over 100, something I’ve only done three times in my life. I walked nine miles.

I started the day at Wadsworth Wetlands in northern Lake County, a narrow strip of forest preserve along the Des Plaines River. It is often a good place for shorebirds and a variety of other stuff. Today it was just good for other stuff. I should have stuck around longer, but I was anxious to get to the lake. (The birds marked in red were new for the year.)

I saw: Red-winged Blackbird; American Robin; Canada Goose; American Goldfinch; White-crowned Sparrow; Common Yellowthroat; Song Sparrow; Tree Swallow; Common Grackle; American Coot; Mallard; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Palm Warbler; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; Great Blue Heron; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Blue Jay; Mourning Dove; Yellow Warbler; Blue-winged Teal; Rock Dove; Barn Swallow; Savannah Sparrow; Warbling Vireo; Black-throated Green Warbler; Northern Rough-winged Swallow; Swamp Sparrow; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Magnolia Warbler; Black-and-white Warbler; Downy Woodpecker; Blackburnian Warbler; Brown-headed Cowbird; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Northern Cardinal; Yellow-throated Vireo; Downy Woodpecker; Wood Duck; Nashville Warbler; Blue-headed Vireo; European Starling; White-breasted Nuthatch; Chimney Swift.

From there I drove east to Illinois Beach State Park where I walked the Dead River Trail to Lake Michigan. It was immediately apparent that things weren’t as lively, due probably to strong wings off the lake.

I added: Eastern Bluebird; Black-capped Chickadee; Eastern Towhee; Brown Thrasher; Northern Harrier; Baltimore Oriole; American Kestrel; Chipping Sparrow; Caspian Tern; Common Tern; Ring-billed Gull; Red-breasted Merganser; American Crow; Field Sparrow; Hairy Woodpecker; Gray Catbird.

I drove a few miles south to Waukegan Municipal Beach. Years ago, this was a fantastic place for migrants, but the area has been built up a lot and now it’s reliable only for gulls and terns.

I added: Cooper’s Hawk; Bonaparte’s Gull; Herring Gull.

It was evident that the lake shore wasn’t productive, so I headed back west and spent a couple hours at Chain-o’-Lakes State Park. It was warm (although the humidity was a remarkably -low 21%) and sunny, and I had the trail almost to myself — no other people and very few birds.

I added: Red-tailed Hawk; Orange-crowned Warbler; House Wren; Northern Flicker; Mute Swan; Sharp-shinned Hawk.

I was home by 3:30. I saw 68 birds (10 warblers) — not awful, but not great either. None of them were unexpected, but a day that includes a Blackburnian Warbler and a Northern Harrier can’t be a bad day. I walked seven miles and had a great time.