chaetura (from chaite, stiff hair and oura, tail) pelagica (of the sea)
Friday, June 8, 1979 – 2:30 p.m.
Glencoe, Illinois – residential area
During the summer, I worked for a roofer in Glencoe, Illinois. Shortly after I began the job, we were in a heavily-wooded residential area putting a roof on a house that was surrounded by high trees and gardens bulging with forget-me-nots. A small flock of Chimney Swifts were circling and twittering high overhead for most of the afternoon
gavia (sea smew) immer (ember)
Wednesday, May 30, 1979 – 7:15 pm
Manotowish Waters, Wisconsin – Powell Marsh Wildlife Area
The two loons were swimming in an open part of the marsh along an elevated dike. They swam very low in the water with just their heads showing much of the time. They frequently submerged, sinking below the surface without diving or making a ripple, then reappearing a short distance away.
charadrius (a plover and the watery places inhabited by them) vociferus (vocal)
Wednesday, May 30, 1979 – 7:15 pm
Manotowish Waters, Wisconsin – Powell Marsh Wildlife Area
Earlier in the day, when my girlfriend and I were driving up to Black River Harbor, I noticed a sign to Powell Marsh. We stopped off on the way home to see what there was to see. The marsh was an immense clearing with some prairie and cultivated fields and a few areas of open water. We walked out onto an elevated dike that ran alongside one of the areas of open water.
The Killdeer ran ahead of us. Its nest must have been close, although we didn’t see it. The bird was limping along dragging a wing and calling loudly. When we got close to it, it flew out into the marsh and landed on a mudflat, calling the entire time.
fulica (coot) americana (of America)
Wednesday, May 30, 1979 – 4:30 pm
Ottawa National Forest, Michigan – Black River Harbor
As my girlfriend and I were looking at the grackle, I noticed a black bird swimming along the weedy shore of the river downstream from the bridge and about 200 yards from Lake Superior.
As it swam, its head bobbed back and forth. I had no idea what it was and had to search through my field guide to find it. This was one of the very few times in my birding life that I didn’t have some idea of what I was looking at.
quiscalus (quail) quiscula (ditto)
Wednesday, May 30, 1979 – 4:30 pm
Ottawa National Forest, Michigan – Black River Harbor
My girlfriend and I crossed the bridge over the river and walked along the path to the beach on the east side of the harbor. We spotted the grackle sitting, hunched up against the rain, in a bush in a field next to the water about 200 yards from Lake Superior.
