Listing Through Life

sterna (tern) forsteri (given in 1834 by Thomas Nuttall in honor of Johann R. Forster, German naturalist)

Thursday, July 21, 1980 — 12:30 pm

Waukegan, Illinois — Waukegan Harbor — Lake Michigan

My friends and I were standing near the tip of one of the cement breakwaters that extend out into the lake to form the harbor mouth. A large flock of gulls and terns was lined up on the parallel breakwater, about 80 feet away. This lone Forster’s Tern was standing with the Common Terns. We could clearly see the dark patches extending back from the eyes but not continuing around the back of the head.

sterna (tern) hirundo (swallow)

Thursday, July 21, 1980 — 12:30 pm

Waukegan, Illinois — Waukegan Harbor — Lake Michigan

Waukegan Harbor is not a very picturesque place. Factories and warehouses crowd the lakefront area, interspersed with parking lots and railroad tracks. The harbor mouth consists of two parallel cement breakwaters extending close to a half mile out into the lake.

After searching for and finding a couple Whimbrels, my friends and I stopped at the harbor a mile to the south. We hiked out on one of the breakwaters. On the other breakwater, across the harbor channel, a large flock of gulls and terns were lined up near the far end. The Common Terns were standing amidst the other birds. Occasionally, one would fly off over the lake and flap around, usually about 15 feet above the surface. I saw one dive into the harbor channel. It went straight down and disappeared completely under the surface for about three seconds. On the breakwater, two were mating, one standing upright on the other’s back before crouching.

accipiter (a hawk) gentilis (belonging to the same noble clan)

Sunday, July 6, 1980 — 7:15 am

McNaughton, Wisconsin — Spider Lake

This one was fun. I was wandering around outside looking for birds. Off through the woods behind, I heard six or seven crows making a racket. I could tell they were mobbing something. I walked down through the black spruce bog in the direction of the noise, not knowing what to expect.

As I approached the lake, I saw a large bird fly up from the ground and land in a spruce about 25 feet away. I got a fairly good look at it through the branches for a few seconds before it flew away. The crows took off after it, cawing loudly.

Still being pretty new at birding (I’d been doing it for just over a year), I wasn’t sure what it was I saw. I pulled out the field guides and thought it was probably a Goshawk, but I wasn’t sure enough to count it.

At 7:45, just half an hour later, I was outside wandering around again. I was suddenly handed the sort of opportunity that birders never get. It was deja vu all over again. The crows were calling down by the lake. I walked down to the shore. Again, from the same general area, I saw the bird fly up and land in a spruce, this time about 50 feet away. I managed to get a clear view, and now I knew what I was looking for. The Goshawk sat in the same spot for about four minutes and then flew to a branch in the top of the very spruce I was standing under. It perched there for about 15 seconds, ducked a dive-bombing crow, and took off followed closely by the flock of crows.

coccyzus (to call “cuckoo”) americanus (of America)

Saturday, July 5, 1980 — 7:30 pm

McNaughton, Wisconsin

I thought I’d seen one of these in the woods behind Mom and Dad’s house the day before, shortly after I saw the Black-billed Cuckoo. I didn’t get a very good look at it, and because I knew the other bird was in the area, I didn’t trust my senses.

This one I saw well. My wife and I were taking a walk along the road. We saw this bird perched in an evergreen right over our heads. We also heard it calling.

haliaeetus (sea eagle) leucocephalus (from leukos, white, and kephale, head)

Friday, July 4, 1980 — 6:30 pm

McNaughton, Wisconsin — Spider Lake

I assure you that I did no manipulating of any sort in order to see my lifer Bald Eagle on the Fourth of July. It really happened that way.

It was a beautiful evening, and my wife and I decided to go for a row around the lake. We were lazing about in the big bay, when we spotted the Bald Eagle soaring over the woods behind a point. It dove out of sight behind the tree line for a short time, then reappeared, flapping slowly out of sight over the woods.