Sugar River Forest Preserve, up near the Wisconsin border west of Rockford, is one of my favorite places to bird in Illinois. There are always a lot of birds around, including some specialties that are hard to find elsewhere in the state (although I didn’t see any of them on this trip). I also usually have the place to myself, which is a decided plus.
I arrived around 8:00. It was overcast and cool to begin with but got sunnier later in the day. Warblers were moving, and I was having a great day. But then I wandered onto a horse trail that took me off into a field and when I finally figured out where I was, the quickest way back to where I wanted to be was a mile-and-a-half walk on country roads.
Fortunately, I like walking country roads and I saw some good birds by the time I finally got back to the park. Unfortunately, the warblers had disappeared and things were a lot less lively. I didn’t stick around very much longer because the maintenance men were out with their tractors mowing the picnic areas and roadsides.
- Canada Goose
- American Robin
- Blue Jay
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Baltimore Oriole
- Northern Waterthrush
- House Wren
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Tree Swallow
- Gray Catbird
- American Goldfinch
- Yellow-throated Vireo
- Canada Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- American Redstart
- Magnolia Warbler
- Tufted Titmouse
- Red-eyed Vireo
- Eastern Bluebird
- Black-throated Green Warbler (heard only)
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Golden-winged Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Northern Flicker
- White-throated Sparrow
- Common Yellowthroat
- Wild Turkey (flock of eight)
- Wood Duck
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Chipping Sparrow
- Field Sparrow
- Northern Cardinal
- American Crow
- Barn Swallow
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Palm Warbler
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Wood Thrush (heard only)
- Bobolink
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Nashville Warbler
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Eastern Phoebe
- Eastern Towhee (heard only)
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Turkey Vulture
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Indigo Bunting
- Swamp Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Gray-cheeked Thrush
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Barred Owl (heard only)
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Swainson’s Thrush
- Ovenbird
- Brown Thrasher
My next stop was Rock Cut State Park, just east of Rockford. I’ve had some very good days here and some very dull days. It was early afternoon when I arrived today, and things were slow. I only listed birds I hadn’t seen earlier n the day.
- Great Blue Heron
- Warbling Vireo
- Mallard
- Rough-winged Swallow
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Tennessee Warbler
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Green Heron
- Red-tailed Hawk
I stopped for an hour and a half at Moraine Hills State Park before heading home.
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Prothonotary Warbler
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Belted Kingfisher (heard only)
- Veery
- Common Grackle
- Mute Swan
- Sandhill Crane
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Pied-billed Grebe (heard only)
- Great-horned Owl (Down in tall grass looking around. It then flew toward me and landed in a tree about 30 yards away. Very good look.)
- Chimney Swift
- Killdeer
- Great Egret
With the House Sparrows, Starlings and House Finches I saw along the way, my total for the day was 91 birds, much higher than I expected.
I had so much fun that I debated going out again the next day — but I didn’t have a car. And then I woke up to discover three Pine Siskins on my feeders. That settled it. I walked over to Hickory Grove and Lyon’s Prairie for a couple hours. Things were moving early and then died quickly at 10:00. I’ve highlighted the ones I didn’t see on Thursday.
- House Finch
- Northern Cardinal
- Baltimore Oriole
- Blue Jay
- American Robin
- Pine Siskin
- Song Sparrow
- House Wren
- Mourning Dove
- Common Grackle
- Chimney Swift
- Belted Kingfisher
- American Goldfinch
- Downy Woodpecker
- American Crow (heard only)
- Chipping Sparrow
- Black-throated Green Warbler
- Barn Swallow
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Common Yellowthroat
- Savannah Sparrow
- Tree Swallow
- Eastern Bluebird
- Turkey Vulture
- Henslow’s Sparrow (heard only)
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Scarlet Tanager
- Palm Warbler
- Tennessee Warbler
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Orchard Oriole
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Golden-winged Warbler
- Gray-cheeked Thrush
- Warbling Vireo (heard only)
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Indigo Bunting
- Field Sparrow (heard only)
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- Eastern Kingbird
- Great Blue Heron
- Ovenbird (heard only)
- Wood Thrush (heard only)
- Gray Catbird
- Red-eyed Vireo (heard only)
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Magnolia Warbler
- American Redstart
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Sandhill Crane
- Sora (heard only)
- Canada Goose
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Blackburnian Warbler
- Nashville Warbler
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- White-throated Sparrow
- Mallard
- Yellow Warbler (heard only)
- Northern Waterthrush
- Killdeer
- Red-tailed Hawk
That’s 66 birds in just a couple hours and a total of 101 over the two days.