Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from The Illinois List > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Friday, November 6 at 11:22 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Zapata Wren,©Barry Kent Mackay

07 Nov IBET Illinois River and Heidecke Lake, JAEGER and Ducks 11/6/09 (fairly long) [] 6 Nov IBET Heron Pond, Johnson Co., So. Ill. [Charles Crawford ] 07 Nov IBET warbler ID (NO SIGHTING) ["walt.zuurdeeg" ] 6 Nov Re: IBET Havana area [Keith Mcmullen ] 06 Nov IBET Clinton Lake; De Witt County; 11/06/09 ["prairie oak" ] 6 Nov IBET Montrose - November 6 [David Antieau ] 6 Nov IBET Outdoor Illinois "Hawk Watch" article available online ["B.G. Sloan" ] 06 Nov IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? ["pjbruchman" ] 6 Nov RE: IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin [Sebastian Patti ] 6 Nov IBET Chautauqua On Thursday ["Thad Edmonds" ] 6 Nov Re: IBET Hawk Watch Article, Outdoor Illinois, no sighting [Jenny Vogt ] 06 Nov RE: IBET Digest Number 3527 [Donnie ] 06 Nov IBET IBSP Hawk Watch - Goshawk! [] 5 Nov IBET SNOW GOOSE -Butler lake [Beau Schaefer ] 5 Nov IBET Havana area [Kevin Richmond ] 5 Nov IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin [Jed Hertz ] 5 Nov IBET (NO SIGHTINGS)Field Trip Sunday 11/8 - Ducks on Lake Michigan [Ralph Eiseman ] 5 Nov Re: IBET Scissor-tailed Flycatcher ["B.G. Sloan" ] 5 Nov IBET Scissor-tailed Flycatcher [bob shelby ] 5 Nov Re: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? [] 05 Nov IBET Humboldt Park, 11-5-09 AM ["samburckhardt" ] 05 Nov IBET Sandhills at Jasper-Pulaski(not a sighting for Illinois) ["Steve" ] 05 Nov IBET Pelican Photos (no sightings) ["Robert" ] 4 Nov IBET FW: great studio photography of birds-NO BIRDS ["Wes Serafin" ] 4 Nov IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow [Jed Hertz ] 4 Nov IBET coots+ [Kevin Richmond ] 4 Nov IBET Yellow Rail [bob shelby ] 04 Nov IBET Re: IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) ["greg_neise" ] 4 Nov Re: IBET Re: IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) ["Daniel & Barbara Williams" ] 04 Nov Re: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) [Eric Secker ] 04 Nov IBET Re: IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) ["greg_neise" ] 4 Nov IBET Tufted titmouse - a first for Wheaton yard [L C ] 4 Nov Re: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) [Craig Taylor ] 04 Nov Re: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 2 of 3 (no birds) [] 04 Nov IBET IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) ["ericwalt40" ] 04 Nov IBET IL Hotlines - Part 2 of 3 (no birds) ["ericwalt40" ] 04 Nov IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) ["ericwalt40" ] 04 Nov IBET IBSP Pines Hike results (Sat, Oct 31st) ["ericwalt40" ] 4 Nov Re: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? ["B.G. Sloan" ] 04 Nov IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? [Donnie ] 04 Nov IBET Montrose Yellowlegs 11/4 ( also Sag Slough 11/1 birds) ["tanagers77" ] 04 Nov IBET Independence Grove RFI (nos ightings) [Robert Hughes ] 04 Nov IBET Fraker Farm Miscellany; Woodford Co; 11/02/09 ["prairie oak" ] 04 Nov IBET Canvasback Near Montrose Harbor ["Robert" ] 04 Nov IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) ["franmmmk" ] 04 Nov IBET Stateline Beach - AM. White Pelican Tuesday ["pjbruchman" ] 04 Nov IBET Hawk Watch Article, Outdoor Illinois, no sighting ["arlenekoziol" ] 03 Nov IBET IBSP restricted area, south unit [Donnie ] 3 Nov IBET Kankakee: Cape May Warbler + NRW Swallow [Jed Hertz ] 3 Nov IBET Montrose Harbor - Canvasback Among The Coots [Steve Spitzer ] 03 Nov Re: IBET Operation Migration (no sightings) ["kayakryan" ] 03 Nov Re: IBET Operation Migration (no sightings) ["kayakryan" ] 03 Nov IBET GHO above North Lombard House on 11/3 [Chris Kelly ] 3 Nov IBET COS/DBC Field trip to Miller Beach ["sigrid schmidt" ] 3 Nov IBET RB Grosbeak Update..... ["Kristin Ellis" ] 03 Nov IBET no sighting: Other hunting seasons that birders and hikers ought to be aware of ["woodthrusheola8" ] 3 Nov IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) ["B.G. Sloan" ] 03 Nov IBET Captive RB Grosbeak / No Sightings......... ["calcariusp" ] 3 Nov IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) ["Leslie" ] 3 Nov IBET Captive RB Grosbeak / No Sightings......... ["Kristin Ellis" ] 2 Nov IBET Lake Forest hawks ["Sundberg, Jeffrey" ] 2 Nov Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL [Bill Rudden ] 03 Nov IBET Re: North of Foster Avenue Beach - Long-tailed Duck ["Steve" ] 3 Nov Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL [Sulli Gibson ] 2 Nov IBET A Red-shouldered Hawk day at the Greene Valley hawkwatch on Monday [] 2 Nov Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL [Paul Clyne ] 03 Nov IBET Re: North of Foster Avenue Beach - Long-tailed Duck ["franmmmk" ] 03 Nov IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) ["franmmmk" ] 02 Nov IBET IBSP Hawk Watch - Terrific Flight! [] 2 Nov IBET Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) ["B.G. Sloan" ] 2 Nov IBET McLean Co. BCNH / Woodford Co. ROGO [Matthew Winks ] 02 Nov IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL [Beckie Dyer ] 02 Nov IBET Evanston Yard Bird - Tundra Swan ["mcvetas" ] 2 Nov IBET North of Foster Avenue Beach - Long-tailed Duck [Steve Spitzer ] 02 Nov IBET Re: Inca Doves in captivity (No sightings) ["calcariusp" ] 2 Nov IBET 64th St beach [Glyn Dawson ] Subject: IBET Illinois River and Heidecke Lake, JAEGER and Ducks 11/6/09 (fairly long) From: ethannatureboy AT aol.com Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:22:28 -0500 Before I even begin, I am sorry for any errors, besides assuming being a weak point of mine, spell checking is also something I am not good at, same thing with some location stuff. Today was a day day that could be called a fail and a win. The most exciting part of today was at an almost rectangular pond at Emiquon (I believe Fulton County), which is where County Road 9 turns north into Dickson Mound Road (or, when driving along Thompson Lake, follow the signs to the Dickson Mound Museum). If you decide to go, the pond will be on your right and there are spots to stop at on the west end in the form of a gravel road heading south west for a bit the straight south and also there is a pull off by a bridge at the east end. Now, time for the good part, the jaeger (which was an adult). Just to start, I sometimes have a terrible habit of making bad assumptions. When I assume, I normally assume one common is another common thing, but in this case, I assumed a rare thing was a common thing. From the west end where we were parked, my brother and I walked east along the south end (there are some small dead trees in a row and later in in two parallel rows which made photography and viewing of the bird difficult) to photograph some very easily scared ducks who we accidentally flushed because a Gadwall decided we were a bit too close. My brother saw a bird with a back that appeared uniformly brown, and it had a white stomach with a full and fairly "clean cut" band on the neck (for some reason I thought that was an Osprey field mark, when they have a very incomplete band at best). I barely took a second glance at this bird, until it got ever closer to the Ring-necked Duck flock I decided to photograph instead of it (and I really hate myself for that). I saw it get lower at a fairly fast rate, right towards some ducks, I held up my binoculars expecting a kill and all of the ducks flying (I found it odd none of them already had at the time, and later a Harrier hovering over a nearby prairie flushed a bunch of them). Then, the bird swooped back up, and that was also when I really looked at it for the first time. It had wings very slim and pointed for a raptor of any type, and it wasn't actually diving, just sort of swooping in on the birds harmlessly. I also saw that the upper wing had a white flash on it. A more detailed description of the wing that it was definitely long and pointed. As for the main color, they were brown, not a rich brown or a dark brown, more of a dull and not very dark brown. As I said before, the wing also had a flash on the top (I didn't get a very good look at the bottom) but the flash wasn't extremely bold, but it was evident. I only saw it for a little bit more after I realized what it was, and didn't see many other field marks on it, but Aaron said he saw some evident yellow on it. Also, the tail didn't have any obvious streamers or "spatula," and because this bird was an adult, probably due to molting or use not getting a good enough look. We could tell that the main tail was short, though. I would appreciate any comment on this bird. By the way, I also wondered if I was going insane when I saw this bird due to the pond not being that huge (although it is very close to Thompson Lake), so if you wonder that about me, you aren't the only one (but, I am sure I wasn't insane). After we saw that jaeger, and we called my dad to some down here, we drove around the area and also at all the pulloffs we could at Thompson Lake. We sadly had no luck at all finding it again, but right after we lost track of the bird originally, we saw gulls in a nearby flooded field flying up from it, and apparently going back down, which could have been due to our little friend (okay, so not really that little, maybe moderately sized) or due to gulls being random without harassment to help. We even drove back up to Chautauqua, where we had been earlier in the day, to try to find it, but not luck. Now, for the rest of the great duck day. We began at Heidecke Lake (Grundy County) and found about 50 Bonaparte's Gulls in the distance, two close Common Goldeneye, a Merganser of some sort (didn't take a good look at it), a bunch of coots, and a frequently flying Bufflehead. Then, we began the long drive to Lake Chautauqua (Mason County I think), where we saw about 20-30 Eurasian Tree Sparrows and a few eagles at the north end at the dam. Along with that, there were a good amount of Ruddy Ducks and Scaup (too far out to get a positive ID on the species) which were visible from the strip of land in between the North and South Pools (I forgot what it is actually called). Also from that point there was a Bufflehead, which was the first male I had seen this season. From both points, we saw White Pelicans, the ones at the dam (north end) being much for confiding, getting fairly close to us. Then, the rest of Emiquon, besides the jaeger. We started as always at Thompson Lake, which was amazing, there were many thousands of coots, along with Ruddy Ducks, a couple Ring-necked Ducks, some Gadwall, some Northern Shovelers, some Common Loons, and a few Green-winged Teal. When we were searching for the jaeger, we found a pretty long necked and pale grebe, but we are fairly sure it was just a Horned Grebe, as it was about the same size as a Ruddy Duck it was next to. At the pond I described before that had the jaeger. It had a good amount of coots, but at least half of the birds there were Ring-necked Ducks, with a good amount of Northern Shovelers and Gadwall mixed in. Also there were a couple Scaup of some sort, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes. Our total duck list was (including grebes and loons): Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, and some Scaup of some sort. Ethan (and Aaron and Eric) Gyllenhaal Oak Park, IL Cook County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Heron Pond, Johnson Co., So. Ill. From: Charles Crawford <cr4d AT insightbb.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 21:51:15 -0600 Location: Heron Pond--Little Black Slough Natural Area (Johnson Co.) Observation date: 11/6/09 Notes: Six miles on foot Heron Pond Parking lot to Little Black Slough via Tupelo Trail and back. Number of species: 23 Turkey Vulture 16 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 (one was really dark, pix of if interested.) Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 Downy Woodpecker 8 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 6 Pileated Woodpecker 4 Blue Jay 5 American Crow 11 Carolina Chickadee 3 Tufted Titmouse 5 White-breasted Nuthatch (Eastern) 3 Brown Creeper 5 Carolina Wren 3 Winter Wren 5 Eastern Bluebird 4 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 15 White-throated Sparrow 5 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1 Northern Cardinal 5 Common Grackle 2 American Goldfinch 15 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Charlie Crawford Henderson KY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET warbler ID (NO SIGHTING) From: "walt.zuurdeeg" <kaisersosa AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:43:10 -0000 Hello birders, My name is Walt Zuurdeeg. I live in Davenport, Iowa. I don't post on IBET very often but I do read other posts daily. Last week I saw a possible Tennessee Warbler at Lindsay Park on the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa. I know this is in another state but any thoughts/help with the identification would be appreciated. I posted a similar email on the Iowa listserv. The bird was in a weedy area on the edge of Mississippi River levee wall. The surrounding habitat was the river, a boat marina and a manicured city park with scattered trees and shrubs. The first field mark I noticed was the white crescent, which was bright white and relatively wide. Other field marks: the back and rump were bright green, the wings mostly gray, the crown gray, the belly and chest white with a light yellow wash on part of the chest, a dark eye stripe, white supercilium, dark eyes, dark legs, and a thin pointed bill. I got as close as 4-5 feet. I thought it was unusual that I was able to get that close. It appeared to fly normally. The bird I saw did not match exactly any of the plumages shown for Orange-crowned or Tennessee in Sibley's, National Geographic 5th edition, Peterson warbler guide or Warblers of the Americas by Curson et al. The white crescent appeared about twice as wide as any depicted in the field guides for Tennessee or Orange-crowned. Could it be another species? I looked at other similar warblers and vireos and didn't think it was anything else. Between Tennessee and Orange-Crowned, just based on time of year it would most likely be an Orange-crowned. It most closely resembled a breeding adult male Tennessee in all four field guides but obviously it can't be a breeding plumage. The small area of light yellow wash on the chest I saw most closely matched the Tennessee first fall (a) in the Peterson warbler guide, although it was smaller in area, and the Tennessee breeding female in the National Geographic guide. Could the bird I saw be in between plumages? Thanks in advance. Walt Zuurdeeg Davenport, Iowa [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET Havana area From: Keith Mcmullen <warbler7 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:42:14 -0800 (PST) Greetings Kevin & IBET friends:   I'm certain that I'm not the only "inquiring mind" that would like to know how you identified CLARK'S GREBE at such a great distance?  The recent possible CLARK'S GREBE at Carlyle was photographed by Dan Kassebaum at approximately 100 yards from a fishing boat, posted to his website and the identification of that bird is still in question. Sibley admits that most CLARK'S/WESTERN GREBES at this time of year are intermediates, possibly hybrids and extremely difficult to nail down an identification to specie. I'm just curious and I'm hopeful you'll document this incredible record.   Good birdings and send some of those species southward!   Thanks,   Keith McMullen O'Fallon, IL warbler7 AT sbcglobal.net --- On Thu, 11/5/09, Kevin Richmond wrote: From: Kevin Richmond Subject: IBET Havana area To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 8:35 PM   Had been having a pretty dull day until I started scanning from the check station parking lot at Thompson Lake (in Fulton Co.) at mid- morning. One of the first things I found was an EARED GREBE. I lost sight of it after it started diving and never saw it again the rest of the day. For a time, two (!) CLARK'S GREBES (!) were visible to the east/northeast. At one point, they were facing each other and both raised their breasts up out of the water and began waving their necks/ heads back and forth at each other - like a pair of Cobras engaged in battle. I am not sure what that was about, but it was pretty neat to get to see. Both birds seemed to be very similar in appearance as far as I could tell. About fifteen minutes later, I lost sight of them after they started diving and never saw them again the rest of the day. At one point looking north, an adult GOLDEN EAGLE was seen briefly as it was trying to flush waterfowl. I went and visited some other local areas and then returned to the check station parking lot again about three hours later. The visibility was good in the morning, but it was even better this afternoon. Bright sky and almost no wind at all. Both a COMMON LOON and a RED-THROATED LOON were visible to the east the entire time I was there then. Got to watch the Red-throated Loon enjoying a sunbath for twenty minutes with my Questar. It eventually started diving but remained in the same area. Briefly got to see a RED-NECKED GREBE in the middle of a flock of ten HORNED GREBES to the east/southeast. I lost sight of it after it started diving and never saw it again. Also got to see a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER flying down the lake. Do NOT want to give the impression that you will see all of these birds if you drive there and set up your scope. This is a very large body of water and the birds there are generally distant and hard to see. They are EXTREMELY hard to see if they are actively diving. REMEMBER - waterfowl hunting is in progress there on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. That is not a problem within the check station parking lot, but remember - if you get there too early - you will be looking right into the sun, as you are facing east. Most of nearby Emiquon is currently flooded and CLOSED for waterfowl season. When I got back to Morton (in Tazewell Co.) later this afternoon, some very distraught Blue Jays alerted me to the presence of a young NORTHERN GOSHAWK perched in a tree. Had great looks at it with just binoculars. Thank You, Blue Jays. FYI - I was recently informed by the staff at Chautauqua Refuge (in Mason Co.) that the location there that has recently been hosting a BOHEMIAN WAXWING is CLOSED to the public until late January. I was previously under the impression that the CLOSED section was the area west of the one-hundred foot tall observation tower, but have been informed that EVERYTHING west of the office is CLOSED. Kevin Richmond Morton, Illinois [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Clinton Lake; De Witt County; 11/06/09 From: "prairie oak" <frakerpovc AT aol.com> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:30:55 -0000 Greetings, everyone -- I spent about 6 hours at Clinton Lake today. Things had definitely cleared out since our survey last Sunday, both on land and on the water (notice 36 species today versus 72 on Sunday). The Lake was owned by Ring-billed Gulls (2000 plus), Bonaparte's Gulls (500 plus) , and Common Loons, of which I had 24. Despite the dearth of diversity, the day was beautiful. I had two interesting sightings today. Unfortunately, one involved Sternus vulgaris -- I had a Starling with a white tail just like an Eastern Meadowlark, complete with the split. At first, I just figured I had a meadowlark that was taking its Genus title just a little bit too seriously -- but then I realized it was actually a Starling with a leucistic (I think?) tail. I tried to photograph it, but whiffed. I'm thinking Cooper's souffle.... The other interesting observation I made today, and I just don't think I recall noting this previously (I would be interested on generating some discussion on this), was watching small flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls associatively feeding with Common Loons. On at least 6 different Loons, I watched Bonaparte's Gulls (usually 1 to 6 Gulls) stay with the Loon to find fish. Here's how it would work. When the Loon was up, the gull(s) would alight on the water by the Loon. When the Loon went under to feed, the Gulls would take flight and follow the Loon under water, going after fish the Loon was spooking. It was very interesting -- I could actually tell where the Loon was by the gulls following it. Here is an "iphoniscoped" film about 2 minutes long I made from 'The Lookout" of this interaction. Forgive the quality -- I was not shooting for an Emmy here. But if you manage to get through the whole thing without a migraine or nausea (or both), you will see how the group reacts to the Loon under water, and how they "find" for the viewer where the Loon is coming up.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffDGy7_9OJI&feature=youtube_gdata Totals are below. Matt Fraker De Witt Co 11/06/09 Location: Clinton lake Observation date: 11/6/09 Number of species: 36 Canada Goose 11 American Wigeon 4 Mallard 27 Redhead 8 Ring-necked Duck 1 Ruddy Duck 35 Ring-necked Pheasant 2 Common Loon 24 Pied-billed Grebe 8 Horned Grebe 3 Double-crested Cormorant 2 Great Blue Heron 3 Turkey Vulture 34 Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 10 American Kestrel 2 Killdeer 12 Bonaparte's Gull 518 Ring-billed Gull 2097 Herring Gull 1 Mourning Dove 5 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Blue Jay 7 American Crow 36 Black-capped Chickadee 1 Carolina Wren 1 Eastern Bluebird 3 American Robin 1 European Starling 510 American Pipit 15 Northern Cardinal 3 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 American Goldfinch 3 House Sparrow 21 Subject: IBET Montrose - November 6 From: David Antieau <dkantieau AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:04:28 -0800 (PST) Dear birders, It was a slow morning at Montrose.  Highlights were 5 Snow Buntings, 3 of which were sitting on the edge of the breakwall, and 2 Fox Sparrows.  Kanae reported an immature Cooper's Hawk. Species I saw or know about (you'll notice a lot of 1's): Canada Goose - 250+ Mallard American Coot Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull - 1 Cooper's Hawk (Kanae) American Robin Hermit Thrush - 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 8 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 Brown Creeper - 1 (spotted by Michelle Devlin) Black-capped Chickadee - 1 Downy Woodpecker - 1 American Crow - 31+ European Starling - more than I wanted to see Song Sparrow - 1 Swamp Sparrow - 1 White-crowned Sparrow - 1 immature White-throated Sparrow - 2 Fox Sparrow - 2 (with White-throated in area Jim Landing called Gallinule Grove) Dark-eyed Junco - 1 Snow Bunting - 5 Northern Cardinal - 3 House Finch - 1 American Goldfinch - 9+ House Sparrow - 4 or 5 For the birds, Dave Antieau dkantieau AT sbcglobal.net Chicago [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Outdoor Illinois "Hawk Watch" article available online From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:02:10 -0800 (PST)   While Outdoor Illinois is a subscription magazine, they do post a "feature" article from each issue on their web site.   November's feature article just happens to be Vic Berardi's "Hawk Watch" piece:   http://dnr.state.il.us/oi/Sites/Nov%2009%20Site.pdf   Bernie Sloan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? From: "pjbruchman" <pjbruchman AT comcast.net> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:49:14 -0000 I have a record of seeing RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS at Rosewood Beach in Highland Park, Lake County, on 12/13/05 and then again on 2/7/06. These dates would indicate to me that these were the same birds and that they had over-wintered there. They were coming to feeders at a house up on the bluff above the parking lot. I also have a 2/28/07 record of seeing 1 RED-HEADED WOODPECKER at Illinois Beach State Park, South Unit. Joan Bruchman Arlington Heights NW Cook County Subject: RE: IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin From: Sebastian Patti <sebastianpatti AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:34:12 -0600 speaking of southern martins . . . might not be a bad idea because of the lateness to eliminate SOUTHERN Rough-winged Swallow . . . sebastianpatti AT hotmail.com Sebastian T. Patti (Lincoln Park) Chicago, ILLINOIS 60614-3354 PHONE: 312/603-4416 (o) 773/248-0570 (h) FAX: 312/603-2041 (o) 773/248-0264 (h) To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com From: jhh_60910 AT yahoo.com Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 18:07:09 -0800 Subject: IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin Hi all, Thurs 05-Nov-09: Kankakee: 0735-1130H (1 W + Brkft)_35-53_NW 0-10_River Receding. Seems to be a slow birding day so here's a post to give folks something to read and see (Swallow photo). The most important news to pass along, in my mind, is not only that the Northern Rough-winged Swallow continues at Metro-Sewer, and a Merlin powered-by the same site at the same time, but that my wife's Point & Shoot camera is the best little investment I've made to record such Fly-over sightings. Take a look at the photos and you'll see what I mean. It wasn't that long ago I wouldn't gotten any photo, and was thinking of spending $1000s on a heavy duty camera and lens. To realize a $150 shirt pocket size camera will do the "trick" blows my mind.( I bet Doug Stotz wishes he'd stuck one of these little guys in his pocket the day that Brown-chested (?) Martin was sitting there on the utility-line - and how many times have the rest of us been in the same situation?). Anyway, enough of this babble - blame it on Jeff Gordon's (Midwest Birding Symposium) video that got me thinking about the neat stuff out there to enhance our passion. Here's my list of the 37 species I found on a less then thorough morning's outing: Anatidae 2 ¨ ¨ 6 Canada Goose ¨ ¨ ¨ 16 Mallard ¨ Phasianidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨ Ardeidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Great Blue Heron ¨ Accipitridae 2 ¨ ¨ 1 Bald Eagle ¨ adult perched at Bird Park (viewed from LeVasseur Park). ¨ ¨ 3 Red-tailed Hawk ¨ at least one imm Falconidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Merlin ¨ 1110H FO at Metro Sewer. Rallidae 1 ¨ ¨ 13 American Coot ¨ Bird Park Laridae 2 ¨ ¨ 6 Ring-billed Gull ¨ ¨ ¨ 1 Herring Gull ¨ Columbidae 2 ¨ ¨ 8 Rock Pigeon ¨ ¨ ¨ 1 Mourning Dove ¨ Cerylidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Belted Kingfisher ¨ Picidae 3 ¨ ¨ 7 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨ ¨ ¨ 4 Downy Woodpecker ¨ ¨ ¨ 2 Northern Flicker ¨ Corvidae 2 ¨ ¨ 5 Blue Jay ¨ ¨ ¨ 8 American Crow ¨ Hirundinidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨ Metro-sewer tanks at 1110H; photos Paridae 1 ¨ ¨ 3 Black-capped Chickadee ¨ Sittidae 1 ¨ ¨ 5 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨ Certhiidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Brown Creeper ¨ Troglodytidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Carolina Wren ¨ Regulidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨ Turdidae 2 ¨ ¨ 1 Hermit Thrush ¨ ¨ ¨ 14 American Robin ¨ Sturnidae 1 ¨ ¨ 10 European Starling ¨ Bombycillidae 1 ¨ ¨ 16 Cedar Waxwing ¨ Emberizidae 2 ¨ ¨ 1 Fox Sparrow ¨ ¨ ¨ 3 White-throated Sparrow ¨ Cardinalidae 1 ¨ ¨ 7 Northern Cardinal ¨ Icteridae 2 ¨ ¨ 22 Red-winged Blackbird ¨ ¨ ¨ 2 Common Grackle ¨ Fringillidae 3 ¨ ¨ 5 Purple Finch ¨ ¨ ¨ 2 House Finch ¨ ¨ ¨ 9 American Goldfinch ¨ Passeridae 1 ¨ ¨ 12 House Sparrow ¨ Jed Hertz Kankakee, Kankakee Co, IL (60 mi South of Chicago) Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/ Give "ebird" a try: http://ebird.org/content/ebird [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: ILbirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com ILbirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ILbirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: IBET Chautauqua On Thursday From: "Thad Edmonds" <dutch2 AT censattwb.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:29:32 -0600 Hi All, I was at Chatuaqua yesterday, Thursday. and saw the Bohemian Waxwing west of the office. Also, I saw a White-winged Scoter within a raft of Coots on the north pool. Then, when I left to go to Pekin I had a large hawk fly across the road in front of me. I turned into the road to the Old Airport and pulled off. The Hawk was a Swainson's. I watched it hunt and then eat a mouse. Thad Edmonds Dunlap,IL Peoria County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET Hawk Watch Article, Outdoor Illinois, no sighting From: Jenny Vogt <jmvogt2003 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 07:24:02 -0800 (PST) Vic's article is superb - kudos and thanks to Vic and all the hawkwatchers for your dedication. - and later in the pub is the "Hawks Overhead" silhouette quiz. You'll find many interesting articles relating to the natural resources of Illinois and I know of at least one particularly interesting article coming up in the December or January issue! Outdoor Illinois can be purchased in downtown Chicago at the James R. Thompson Center, 100 W Randolph St.or call1-800-720-3249, w/ Visa or Mastercard for $3.00/issue. - might as well as subscribe to a year of the publication for $15. Jenny Vogt IOS, President Commercial and Fine Art JennyVogt.com 847-408-0444 ---- Subject: IBET Hawk Watch Article, Outdoor Illinois, no sighting From: "arlenekoziol" Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:40:45 -0000 Check out the November issue of Outdoor Illinois, the magazine of the Illinois DNR on Illinois Beach Hawk Watch, story and photos by Vic Berardi. The hawk photos are beautiful! The article tells the history of Hawk Watch as well as information about the raptors that are seen at Hawk Watch. I have a subscription to Outdoor Illinois, so perhaps someone can post where to find the November issue. Arlene Koziol Arlington Hts., IL [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RE: IBET Digest Number 3527 From: Donnie <donniebird AT me.com> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:50:34 -0600 It seems the further south you go the more likely they are to be around. In my experience this is the first at the north shore lakefront in 24 years of a lot of looking. ibet _____ From: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com] Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 6:39 AM To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: IBET Digest Number 3527 IBET (IL Birders Exchanging Thoughts) Messages In This Digest (10 Messages) 1. Sandhills at Jasper-Pulaski(not a sighting for Illinois) From: Steve 2. Humboldt Park, 11-5-09 AM From: samburckhardt 3a. Re: RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? From: jwhoyt AT illinois.edu 4a. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher From: bob shelby 4b. Re: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher From: B.G. Sloan 5. (NO SIGHTINGS)Field Trip Sunday 11/8 - Ducks on Lake Michigan From: Ralph Eiseman 6. Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin From: Jed Hertz 7a. Havana area From: Kevin Richmond 8. SNOW GOOSE -Butler lake From: Beau Schaefer 9. IBSP Hawk Watch - Goshawk! From: VBirdman AT aol.com View All Topics | Create New Topic Messages 1. Sandhills at Jasper-Pulaski(not a sighting for Illinois) Posted by: "Steve" fishn51 AT comcast.net gofishn1951 Thu Nov 5, 2009 4:47 am (PST) For all the Craniacs: Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Indiana is starting to get a large number of Sandhill Cranes. As of 11-3-09 the count was 10,200. It is a great spectacle to experience. www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3109.htm#updates I will post photos soon at http://www.flickr.com/photos/illini-images/ Steve Patterson Illini Images LaSalle County Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) 2. Humboldt Park, 11-5-09 AM Posted by: "samburckhardt" rawsbb AT mac.com samburckhardt Thu Nov 5, 2009 10:10 am (PST) After a six week absence, I was able to visit Humboldt Park, yesterday and today. The most notable bird, yesterday, was a lone RING-NECKED DUCK drake, among the Canada Geese, Mallards and Coots. Today, I saw a flock of about 60 SANDHILL CRANES fly over the park. The latter species brings my year-to-date total for the Park to 143. Sam Burckhardt Chicago Cook County Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) 3a. Re: RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? Posted by: "jwhoyt AT illinois.edu" jwhoyt AT illinois.edu Thu Nov 5, 2009 11:10 am (PST) IBETer's Just an educated guess about overwintering of Illinois Red Headed woodpeckers. On a trip to Union County, couple of years ago, where I helped Vern Kleen do a Christmas Bird Count we saw dozens of these in the flooded woodlands near a duck hunting club along with lots of other woodpeckers. Jim Hoyt Champaign County. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:58:49 -0800 (PST) >From: "B.G. Sloan" < bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com> >Subject: Re: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? >To: IBET < ilbirds AT yahoogroups.com> > > > > > The distribution map in BNA Online indicates that > all of Illinois falls within the winter range of the > Red-headed Woodpecker. > > The text suggests that the yearly dynamics of the > species is greatly influenced by the abundance of > hard mast (e.g., acorns, beechnuts). The birds may > be common one year and absent the next at > a specific location. > > Bernie Sloan > > --- On Wed, 11/4/09, Donnie < donniebird AT me.com> > wrote: > > From: Donnie < donniebird AT me.com> > Subject: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? > To: "ILbirds" < ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com> > Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 12:32 PM > > > > This is the 24th year we have lived in our current > home and although we > regularly see breeding RED-HEADED WODPECKERS I have > never observed them > after September. This year, one or 2 have continued > at my suet feeder > almost daily and I'm looking at one as I type this. > Bohlen writes > "occasionally many seem to winter near their summer > homes". It would be a > great Christmas Count bird. > > Donnie Dann > > Highland Park/Lake County > > donniebird AT yahoo. com > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (3) 4a. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Posted by: "bob shelby" bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com Thu Nov 5, 2009 2:12 pm (PST) Leroy Harrison and I were driving to Prairie Ridge this morning around 6:30, when a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew across the highway. We were going north on St. Rt130 near CR50 in Jasper County. The FC was flying west so we took the first road west and tried to intercept it. We drove & drove around the area but could not locate the FC. We plan to check the area again Friday morning. Bob Shelby West Salem, Edwards Co. bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com __________________________________________________________ Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9690331&ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US :WWL_WIN_evergreen:112009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (5) 4b. Re: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Posted by: "B.G. Sloan" bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com bgsloan2 Thu Nov 5, 2009 2:30 pm (PST) There was also a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in southern Indiana (Monroe County) this past weekend. It stuck around cooperatively for about 24 hours, and then disappeared. Bernie Sloan Champaign County, IL Monroe County, IN --- On Thu, 11/5/09, bob shelby < bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com> wrote: From: bob shelby < bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com> Subject: IBET Scissor-tailed Flycatcher To: "IBET IBET" < ilbirds AT yahoogroups.com> Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 5:12 PM Leroy Harrison and I were driving to Prairie Ridge this morning around 6:30, when a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew across the highway. We were going north on St. Rt130 near CR50 in Jasper County. The FC was flying west so we took the first road west and tried to intercept it. We drove & drove around the area but could not locate the FC. We plan to check the area again Friday morning. Bob Shelby West Salem, Edwards Co. bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. http://go.microsoft .com/?linkid= 9690331&ocid= PID24727: :T:WLMTAGL: ON:WL:en- US:WWL_WIN_ evergreen: 112009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (5) 5. (NO SIGHTINGS)Field Trip Sunday 11/8 - Ducks on Lake Michigan Posted by: "Ralph Eiseman" r18btbw AT sbcglobal.net ralpheiseman Thu Nov 5, 2009 4:09 pm (PST) > Field Trip Sunday 11/8 - Ducks on Lake Michigan >> Sunday November 8 -- 7:30 AM >> Ducks on Lake Michigan >> Starting from Evanston >> >> This car tour along the lakefront through Chicago's North Shore >> reveals arriving winter ducks and other waterfowl. Some land >> species may be seen as well. We will follow the Lake Michigan >> lakefront starting at Northwestern University in Evanston and head >> north. Dress for lakefront winds and weather. Bring a scope if you >> own one. More detail on the website. >> If you have a portable radio to keep in touch with the group, >> bring it too. >> Directions to starting point: >> >> From Sheridan Road in Evanston, go east on Lincoln St., turn south >> past the Fitness Center, turn east (left) and drive almost to the >> end. ( Map) If you miss the start of the tour, call 847 971 1101 >> to find our current location. >> >> Leader: Jeff Sanders 847-657-6431 Ralph Ralph M. Eiseman 8210 ELMWOOD AVE. SKOKIE, COOK CO., ILLINOIS 60077 CONTINENTAL BIRDING FRS CHANNEL/SUBCODE 11/22 r18btbw AT sbcglobal.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) 6. Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin Posted by: "Jed Hertz" jhh_60910 AT yahoo.com jhh_60910 Thu Nov 5, 2009 6:07 pm (PST) Hi all, Thurs 05-Nov-09: Kankakee: 0735-1130H (1 W + Brkft)_35-53_NW 0-10_River Receding. Seems to be a slow birding day so here's a post to give folks something to read and see (Swallow photo). The most important news to pass along, in my mind, is not only that the Northern Rough-winged Swallow continues at Metro-Sewer, and a Merlin powered-by the same site at the same time, but that my wife's Point & Shoot camera is the best little investment I've made to record such Fly-over sightings. Take a look at the photos and you'll see what I mean. It wasn't that long ago I wouldn't gotten any photo, and was thinking of spending $1000s on a heavy duty camera and lens. To realize a $150 shirt pocket size camera will do the "trick" blows my mind.( I bet Doug Stotz wishes he'd stuck one of these little guys in his pocket the day that Brown-chested (?) Martin was sitting there on the utility-line - and how many times have the rest of us been in the same situation?). Anyway, enough of this babble - blame it on Jeff Gordon's (Midwest Birding Symposium) video that got me thinking about the neat stuff out there to enhance our passion. Here's my list of the 37 species I found on a less then thorough morning's outing: Anatidae 2 ¨ ¨ 6 Canada Goose ¨ ¨ ¨ 16 Mallard ¨ Phasianidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨ Ardeidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Great Blue Heron ¨ Accipitridae 2 ¨ ¨ 1 Bald Eagle ¨ adult perched at Bird Park (viewed from LeVasseur Park). ¨ ¨ 3 Red-tailed Hawk ¨ at least one imm Falconidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Merlin ¨ 1110H FO at Metro Sewer. Rallidae 1 ¨ ¨ 13 American Coot ¨ Bird Park Laridae 2 ¨ ¨ 6 Ring-billed Gull ¨ ¨ ¨ 1 Herring Gull ¨ Columbidae 2 ¨ ¨ 8 Rock Pigeon ¨ ¨ ¨ 1 Mourning Dove ¨ Cerylidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Belted Kingfisher ¨ Picidae 3 ¨ ¨ 7 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨ ¨ ¨ 4 Downy Woodpecker ¨ ¨ ¨ 2 Northern Flicker ¨ Corvidae 2 ¨ ¨ 5 Blue Jay ¨ ¨ ¨ 8 American Crow ¨ Hirundinidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨ Metro-sewer tanks at 1110H; photos Paridae 1 ¨ ¨ 3 Black-capped Chickadee ¨ Sittidae 1 ¨ ¨ 5 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨ Certhiidae 1 ¨ ¨ 1 Brown Creeper ¨ Troglodytidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Carolina Wren ¨ Regulidae 1 ¨ ¨ 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨ Turdidae 2 ¨ ¨ 1 Hermit Thrush ¨ ¨ ¨ 14 American Robin ¨ Sturnidae 1 ¨ ¨ 10 European Starling ¨ Bombycillidae 1 ¨ ¨ 16 Cedar Waxwing ¨ Emberizidae 2 ¨ ¨ 1 Fox Sparrow ¨ ¨ ¨ 3 White-throated Sparrow ¨ Cardinalidae 1 ¨ ¨ 7 Northern Cardinal ¨ Icteridae 2 ¨ ¨ 22 Red-winged Blackbird ¨ ¨ ¨ 2 Common Grackle ¨ Fringillidae 3 ¨ ¨ 5 Purple Finch ¨ ¨ ¨ 2 House Finch ¨ ¨ ¨ 9 American Goldfinch ¨ Passeridae 1 ¨ ¨ 12 House Sparrow ¨ Jed Hertz Kankakee, Kankakee Co, IL (60 mi South of Chicago) Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/ Give "ebird" a try: http://ebird.org/content/ebird [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) 7a. Havana area Posted by: "Kevin Richmond" theeggman AT comcast.net tonkder Thu Nov 5, 2009 6:35 pm (PST) Had been having a pretty dull day until I started scanning from the check station parking lot at Thompson Lake (in Fulton Co.) at mid- morning. One of the first things I found was an EARED GREBE. I lost sight of it after it started diving and never saw it again the rest of the day. For a time, two (!) CLARK'S GREBES (!) were visible to the east/northeast. At one point, they were facing each other and both raised their breasts up out of the water and began waving their necks/ heads back and forth at each other - like a pair of Cobras engaged in battle. I am not sure what that was about, but it was pretty neat to get to see. Both birds seemed to be very similar in appearance as far as I could tell. About fifteen minutes later, I lost sight of them after they started diving and never saw them again the rest of the day. At one point looking north, an adult GOLDEN EAGLE was seen briefly as it was trying to flush waterfowl. I went and visited some other local areas and then returned to the check station parking lot again about three hours later. The visibility was good in the morning, but it was even better this afternoon. Bright sky and almost no wind at all. Both a COMMON LOON and a RED-THROATED LOON were visible to the east the entire time I was there then. Got to watch the Red-throated Loon enjoying a sunbath for twenty minutes with my Questar. It eventually started diving but remained in the same area. Briefly got to see a RED-NECKED GREBE in the middle of a flock of ten HORNED GREBES to the east/southeast. I lost sight of it after it started diving and never saw it again. Also got to see a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER flying down the lake. Do NOT want to give the impression that you will see all of these birds if you drive there and set up your scope. This is a very large body of water and the birds there are generally distant and hard to see. They are EXTREMELY hard to see if they are actively diving. REMEMBER - waterfowl hunting is in progress there on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. That is not a problem within the check station parking lot, but remember - if you get there too early - you will be looking right into the sun, as you are facing east. Most of nearby Emiquon is currently flooded and CLOSED for waterfowl season. When I got back to Morton (in Tazewell Co.) later this afternoon, some very distraught Blue Jays alerted me to the presence of a young NORTHERN GOSHAWK perched in a tree. Had great looks at it with just binoculars. Thank You, Blue Jays. FYI - I was recently informed by the staff at Chautauqua Refuge (in Mason Co.) that the location there that has recently been hosting a BOHEMIAN WAXWING is CLOSED to the public until late January. I was previously under the impression that the CLOSED section was the area west of the one-hundred foot tall observation tower, but have been informed that EVERYTHING west of the office is CLOSED. Kevin Richmond Morton, Illinois Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (7) 8. SNOW GOOSE -Butler lake Posted by: "Beau Schaefer" beauschaefer AT sbcglobal.net Thu Nov 5, 2009 8:11 pm (PST) Did a little pond searching this morning. Didn't see much except 30 RING-NECKED DUCKS and 1 SNOW GOOSE at Butler Lake on the campus of Libertyville High School. Good Birding! Beau Schaefer beauschaefer AT sbcglobal.net Round Lake Beach, IL Lake Co [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) 9. IBSP Hawk Watch - Goshawk! Posted by: "VBirdman AT aol.com" VBirdman AT aol.com vbirdman Thu Nov 5, 2009 9:10 pm (PST) A decent flight of raptors today at the Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch included great looks at a juvenile Northern Goshawk, and several Rough-legged and Red-shouldered Hawks that flew directly overhead. Here are today's totals: Bald Eagle - 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 22 Cooper's Hawk - 6 Northern Goshawk - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 4 Red-tailed Hawk - 116 Rough-legged Hawk - 5 TOTAL - 155 For complete information on today's count including other birds seen and other related information, please go to and click on "Latest count data": https://www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=527 Vic Berardi Gurnee, IL VBirdman AT aol.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity * 4 New Members Visit Your Group Yahoo! Finance It's Now Personal Guides, news, advice & more. Yahoo! Groups Mental Health Zone Find support for Mental illnesses Yahoo! Groups Auto Enthusiast Zone Auto Enthusiast Zone Car groups and more! Need to Reply? Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in the Daily Digest. Create New Topic | Visit Your Group on the Web Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar MARKETPLACE Mom Power: Discover the community of moms doing more for their families, for the world and for each other Yahoo! Groups Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Individual | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET IBSP Hawk Watch - Goshawk! From: VBirdman AT aol.com Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:10:21 -0500 A decent flight of raptors today at the Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch included great looks at a juvenile Northern Goshawk, and several Rough-legged and Red-shouldered Hawks that flew directly overhead. Here are today's totals: Bald Eagle - 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 22 Cooper's Hawk - 6 Northern Goshawk - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 4 Red-tailed Hawk - 116 Rough-legged Hawk - 5 TOTAL - 155 For complete information on today's count including other birds seen and other related information, please go to and click on "Latest count data": https://www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=527 Vic Berardi Gurnee, IL VBirdman AT aol.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET SNOW GOOSE -Butler lake From: Beau Schaefer <beauschaefer AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 22:08:38 -0600 Did a little pond searching this morning. Didn't see much except 30 RING-NECKED DUCKS and 1 SNOW GOOSE at Butler Lake on the campus of Libertyville High School. Good Birding! Beau Schaefer beauschaefer AT sbcglobal.net Round Lake Beach, IL Lake Co [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Havana area From: Kevin Richmond <theeggman AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 20:35:47 -0600 Had been having a pretty dull day until I started scanning from the check station parking lot at Thompson Lake (in Fulton Co.) at mid- morning. One of the first things I found was an EARED GREBE. I lost sight of it after it started diving and never saw it again the rest of the day. For a time, two (!) CLARK'S GREBES (!) were visible to the east/northeast. At one point, they were facing each other and both raised their breasts up out of the water and began waving their necks/ heads back and forth at each other - like a pair of Cobras engaged in battle. I am not sure what that was about, but it was pretty neat to get to see. Both birds seemed to be very similar in appearance as far as I could tell. About fifteen minutes later, I lost sight of them after they started diving and never saw them again the rest of the day. At one point looking north, an adult GOLDEN EAGLE was seen briefly as it was trying to flush waterfowl. I went and visited some other local areas and then returned to the check station parking lot again about three hours later. The visibility was good in the morning, but it was even better this afternoon. Bright sky and almost no wind at all. Both a COMMON LOON and a RED-THROATED LOON were visible to the east the entire time I was there then. Got to watch the Red-throated Loon enjoying a sunbath for twenty minutes with my Questar. It eventually started diving but remained in the same area. Briefly got to see a RED-NECKED GREBE in the middle of a flock of ten HORNED GREBES to the east/southeast. I lost sight of it after it started diving and never saw it again. Also got to see a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER flying down the lake. Do NOT want to give the impression that you will see all of these birds if you drive there and set up your scope. This is a very large body of water and the birds there are generally distant and hard to see. They are EXTREMELY hard to see if they are actively diving. REMEMBER - waterfowl hunting is in progress there on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. That is not a problem within the check station parking lot, but remember - if you get there too early - you will be looking right into the sun, as you are facing east. Most of nearby Emiquon is currently flooded and CLOSED for waterfowl season. When I got back to Morton (in Tazewell Co.) later this afternoon, some very distraught Blue Jays alerted me to the presence of a young NORTHERN GOSHAWK perched in a tree. Had great looks at it with just binoculars. Thank You, Blue Jays. FYI - I was recently informed by the staff at Chautauqua Refuge (in Mason Co.) that the location there that has recently been hosting a BOHEMIAN WAXWING is CLOSED to the public until late January. I was previously under the impression that the CLOSED section was the area west of the one-hundred foot tall observation tower, but have been informed that EVERYTHING west of the office is CLOSED. Kevin Richmond Morton, Illinois Subject: IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow Continues + Merlin From: Jed Hertz <jhh_60910 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 18:07:09 -0800 (PST) Hi all,   Thurs 05-Nov-09: Kankakee: 0735-1130H (1 W + Brkft)_35-53_NW 0-10_River Receding.   Seems to be a slow birding day so here's a post to give folks something to read and see (Swallow photo).  The most important news to pass along, in my mind, is not only that the Northern Rough-winged Swallow continues at Metro-Sewer, and a Merlin powered-by the same site at the same time, but that my wife's Point & Shoot camera is the best little investment I've made to record such Fly-over sightings.  Take a look at the photos and you'll see what I mean.  It wasn't that long ago I wouldn't gotten any photo, and was thinking of spending $1000s on a  heavy duty camera and lens.  To realize a $150 shirt pocket size camera will do the "trick" blows my mind.( I bet Doug Stotz wishes he'd stuck one of these little guys in his pocket the day that Brown-chested (?) Martin was sitting there on the utility-line - and how many times have the rest of us been in the same situation?). Anyway, enough of this babble - blame it on Jeff Gordon's (Midwest Birding Symposium) video that got me thinking about the neat stuff out there to enhance our passion.   Here's my list of the 37 species I found on a less then thorough morning's outing:   Anatidae 2   ¨ ¨ 6 Canada Goose ¨   ¨ ¨ 16 Mallard ¨   Phasianidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨   Ardeidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Great Blue Heron ¨   Accipitridae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Bald Eagle ¨ adult perched at Bird Park (viewed from LeVasseur Park).   ¨ ¨ 3 Red-tailed Hawk ¨ at least one imm Falconidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Merlin ¨ 1110H FO at Metro Sewer. Rallidae 1   ¨ ¨ 13 American Coot ¨ Bird Park Laridae 2   ¨ ¨ 6 Ring-billed Gull ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Herring Gull ¨   Columbidae 2   ¨ ¨ 8 Rock Pigeon ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Mourning Dove ¨   Cerylidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Belted Kingfisher ¨   Picidae 3   ¨ ¨ 7 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 4 Downy Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 Northern Flicker ¨   Corvidae 2   ¨ ¨ 5 Blue Jay ¨     ¨ ¨ 8 American Crow ¨   Hirundinidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨ Metro-sewer tanks at 1110H; photos Paridae 1   ¨ ¨ 3 Black-capped Chickadee ¨   Sittidae 1   ¨ ¨ 5 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   Certhiidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Brown Creeper ¨   Troglodytidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Carolina Wren ¨   Regulidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨   Turdidae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Hermit Thrush ¨     ¨ ¨ 14 American Robin ¨   Sturnidae 1   ¨ ¨ 10 European Starling ¨   Bombycillidae 1   ¨ ¨ 16 Cedar Waxwing ¨   Emberizidae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Fox Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 3 White-throated Sparrow ¨   Cardinalidae 1   ¨ ¨ 7 Northern Cardinal ¨   Icteridae 2   ¨ ¨ 22 Red-winged Blackbird ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 Common Grackle ¨   Fringillidae 3   ¨ ¨ 5 Purple Finch ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 House Finch ¨     ¨ ¨ 9 American Goldfinch ¨   Passeridae 1   ¨ ¨ 12 House Sparrow ¨   Jed Hertz Kankakee, Kankakee Co, IL (60 mi South of Chicago) Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/ Give "ebird" a try: http://ebird.org/content/ebird [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET (NO SIGHTINGS)Field Trip Sunday 11/8 - Ducks on Lake Michigan From: Ralph Eiseman <r18btbw AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 18:09:08 -0600 > Field Trip Sunday 11/8 - Ducks on Lake Michigan >> Sunday November 8 -- 7:30 AM >> Ducks on Lake Michigan >> Starting from Evanston >> >> This car tour along the lakefront through Chicago's North Shore >> reveals arriving winter ducks and other waterfowl. Some land >> species may be seen as well. We will follow the Lake Michigan >> lakefront starting at Northwestern University in Evanston and head >> north. Dress for lakefront winds and weather. Bring a scope if you >> own one. More detail on the website. >> If you have a portable radio to keep in touch with the group, >> bring it too. >> Directions to starting point: >> >> From Sheridan Road in Evanston, go east on Lincoln St., turn south >> past the Fitness Center, turn east (left) and drive almost to the >> end. ( Map) If you miss the start of the tour, call 847 971 1101 >> to find our current location. >> >> Leader: Jeff Sanders 847-657-6431 Ralph Ralph M. Eiseman 8210 ELMWOOD AVE. SKOKIE, COOK CO., ILLINOIS 60077 CONTINENTAL BIRDING FRS CHANNEL/SUBCODE 11/22 r18btbw AT sbcglobal.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET Scissor-tailed Flycatcher From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:30:24 -0800 (PST)   There was also a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in southern Indiana (Monroe County) this past weekend. It stuck around cooperatively for about 24 hours, and then disappeared.   Bernie Sloan Champaign County, IL Monroe County, IN --- On Thu, 11/5/09, bob shelby wrote: From: bob shelby Subject: IBET Scissor-tailed Flycatcher To: "IBET IBET" Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 5:12 PM   Leroy Harrison and I were driving to Prairie Ridge this morning around 6:30, when a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew across the highway. We were going north on St. Rt130 near CR50 in Jasper County. The FC was flying west so we took the first road west and tried to intercept it. We drove & drove around the area but could not locate the FC. We plan to check the area again Friday morning. Bob Shelby West Salem, Edwards Co. bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. http://go.microsoft .com/?linkid= 9690331&ocid= PID24727: :T:WLMTAGL: ON:WL:en- US:WWL_WIN_ evergreen: 112009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Scissor-tailed Flycatcher From: bob shelby <bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:12:31 -0600 Leroy Harrison and I were driving to Prairie Ridge this morning around 6:30, when a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew across the highway. We were going north on St. Rt130 near CR50 in Jasper County. The FC was flying west so we took the first road west and tried to intercept it. We drove & drove around the area but could not locate the FC. We plan to check the area again Friday morning. Bob Shelby West Salem, Edwards Co. bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9690331&ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen:112009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? From: <jwhoyt AT illinois.edu> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 13:09:44 -0600 (CST) IBETer's Just an educated guess about overwintering of Illinois Red Headed woodpeckers. On a trip to Union County, couple of years ago, where I helped Vern Kleen do a Christmas Bird Count we saw dozens of these in the flooded woodlands near a duck hunting club along with lots of other woodpeckers. Jim Hoyt Champaign County. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:58:49 -0800 (PST) >From: "B.G. Sloan" >Subject: Re: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? >To: IBET > > > >   > The distribution map  in BNA Online indicates that > all of Illinois falls within the winter range of the > Red-headed Woodpecker. >   > The text suggests that the yearly dynamics of the > species is greatly influenced by the abundance of > hard mast (e.g., acorns, beechnuts). The birds may > be common one year and absent the next at > a specific location. >   > Bernie Sloan > > --- On Wed, 11/4/09, Donnie > wrote: > > From: Donnie > Subject: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? > To: "ILbirds" > Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 12:32 PM > >   > > This is the 24th year we have lived in our current > home and although we > regularly see breeding RED-HEADED WODPECKERS I have > never observed them > after September. This year, one or 2 have continued > at my suet feeder > almost daily and I'm looking at one as I type this. > Bohlen writes > "occasionally many seem to winter near their summer > homes". It would be a > great Christmas Count bird. > > Donnie Dann > > Highland Park/Lake County > > donniebird AT yahoo. com > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > Subject: IBET Humboldt Park, 11-5-09 AM From: "samburckhardt" <rawsbb AT mac.com> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:06:13 -0000 After a six week absence, I was able to visit Humboldt Park, yesterday and today. The most notable bird, yesterday, was a lone RING-NECKED DUCK drake, among the Canada Geese, Mallards and Coots. Today, I saw a flock of about 60 SANDHILL CRANES fly over the park. The latter species brings my year-to-date total for the Park to 143. Sam Burckhardt Chicago Cook County Subject: IBET Sandhills at Jasper-Pulaski(not a sighting for Illinois) From: "Steve" <fishn51 AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:43:13 -0000 For all the Craniacs: Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Indiana is starting to get a large number of Sandhill Cranes. As of 11-3-09 the count was 10,200. It is a great spectacle to experience. www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3109.htm#updates I will post photos soon at http://www.flickr.com/photos/illini-images/ Steve Patterson Illini Images LaSalle County Subject: IBET Pelican Photos (no sightings) From: "Robert" <rkdx AT aol.com> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:37:17 -0000 I have updated my Flickr site to include all photos taken through October 10, including Pelicans in flight. The group shot of 30 is not of great quality. It was a really crappy day for picture taking. The link is below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drlenscap/ Good birding Robert Kramer, aka: DrLenscap Subject: IBET FW: great studio photography of birds-NO BIRDS From: "Wes Serafin" <w.serafin AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 19:25:38 -0600 I thought I have seen great photos, but this photographer really raises the bar of excellence. Make sure you also check out his "film" option. Andrew Zuckerman is featured on the most recent cover of Audubon's Nov-Dec magazine . Click 'OK' Then make sure you hit the little fullscreen button at the top left, then click ' photographs' http://www.birdbook.org/ Wes Serafin Orland Pk SW Cook County -- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Kankakee: NRW Swallow From: Jed Hertz <jhh_60910 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 17:17:24 -0800 (PST) Hi all,   Wed 04-Nov-09: Kankakee LeVasseur Park/Perry Farm:0720-1245H (1.5 W)_Cld_44-50_SSW 5-0_Red Squirrel_River Receding.   The Northern Rough-winged Swallow (photo) continues at the Metro sewage tanks as of 1230H today.  Also of note: flyover immature Bald Eagle at 0925H, Gray Catbird heard and sighted in a honeysuckle shrub, and my highest count of Ring-necked Pheasant (22 in one flock) at Perry Farm Prairie.   Here's my list of 48 species tallied this morning:   Anatidae 3   ¨ ¨ 36 Canada Goose ¨   ¨ ¨ 6 Wood Duck ¨     ¨ ¨ 54 Mallard ¨   Phasianidae 1   ¨ ¨ 22 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨ My New high count for Perry Farm Prairie. Podicipedidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Pied-billed Grebe ¨ pond Ardeidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Great Blue Heron ¨   Accipitridae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Bald Eagle ¨ imm FO at 0925H; photo   ¨ ¨ 5 Red-tailed Hawk ¨ 2 imm + 3 ad Falconidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 American Kestrel ¨ 0810H ->NW then SE at 0900H. Laridae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Ring-billed Gull ¨   Columbidae 2   ¨ ¨ 3 Rock Pigeon ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 Mourning Dove ¨   Cerylidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Belted Kingfisher ¨ One along riverbank with goldfish. Picidae 4   ¨ ¨ 8 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 4 Downy Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Hairy Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 3 Northern Flicker ¨   Corvidae 2   ¨ ¨ 7 Blue Jay ¨     ¨ ¨ 19 American Crow ¨   Hirundinidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨ 1230H over Metro sewer tanks; photos Paridae 1   ¨ ¨ 6 Black-capped Chickadee ¨   Sittidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   Certhiidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Brown Creeper ¨   Troglodytidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Carolina Wren ¨   Regulidae 2   ¨ ¨ 6 Golden-crowned Kinglet ¨     ¨ ¨ 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨   Turdidae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Hermit Thrush ¨     ¨ ¨ 14 American Robin ¨   Mimidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Gray Catbird ¨ heard and sighted in honeysuckle Sturnidae 1   ¨ ¨ 50 European Starling ¨   Bombycillidae 1   ¨ ¨ 92 Cedar Waxwing ¨   Parulidae 1   ¨ ¨ 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler ¨   Emberizidae 10   ¨ ¨ 1 Eastern Towhee ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 American Tree Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Vesper Sparrow ¨ newly planted weedy area of prairie   ¨ ¨ 1 Savannah Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 7 Fox Sparrow ¨ together in bare prairie shrub.   ¨ ¨ 7 Song Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 Swamp Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 8 White-throated Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 White-crowned Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 16 Dark-eyed Junco ¨   Cardinalidae 1   ¨ ¨ 5 Northern Cardinal ¨   Icteridae 1   ¨ ¨ 130 Red-winged Blackbird ¨   Fringillidae 3   ¨ ¨ 4 Purple Finch ¨ one imm male singing   ¨ ¨ 5 House Finch ¨     ¨ ¨ 9 American Goldfinch ¨   Passeridae 1   ¨ ¨ 24 House Sparrow ¨   Jed Hertz Kankakee, Kankakee Co, IL (60 mi South of Chicago) Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/ Give "ebird" a try: http://ebird.org/content/ebird [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET coots+ From: Kevin Richmond <theeggman AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 18:40:07 -0600 FYI - The aerial survey conducted by the INHS on Monday tallied 53,000+ ducks and 89,000+ coots at Emiquon/Thompson Lake in Fulton County. Kevin Richmond Morton, Illinois Subject: IBET Yellow Rail From: bob shelby <bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 17:46:35 -0600 This afternoon I flushed a Yellow Rail at Prairie Ridge in Jasper County. Every Fall we till the Brood Strips at Prairie Ridge. This year it was to wet to work up the fields, so I started mowing them short today. The Rail flushed ahead of my tractor and flew about 20 yards and dropped into the grass. I tried to walk in the area it landed but I couldn't find it again. I also observed 1 Sedge Wren in another Brood field I mowed. Bob Shelby West Salem, Edwards Co. bobshelby_1956 AT hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Re: IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) From: "greg_neise" <gregneise AT ilbirds.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:19:02 -0000 You know, one potentially neat thing that we didn't set up initially...but could at any time, are sub-groups for individual counties on the TXTblaster text messaging system. So, let's say that you are in a sub-group for Cook County, you might text to 25278: cook Red-throated Loon AT Montrose "cook" being the keyword that identifies the county sub-group the message is sent to. If there's an interest, I can set this up for any county people would like to have a sub-group for. Cheers, -greg neise Berwyn, IL --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "Daniel & Barbara Williams" wrote: > > I'll use this shorter email string to reply to Eric's question about the > Rockford (NCIOS) telephone hotline. It was run by Barbara Williams out of > the Burpee Museum in Rockford, but was cancelled nearly 5 years ago for lack > of participation and a dearth of reports. > > The Rockford Bird Club still maintains a rare bird calling tree in the event > that something unusual shows up. txt messaging hasn't filtered into most of > the local group yet. > > Dan Williams > Rockford > > On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 3:09 PM, greg_neise wrote: > > > > > > > Eric, you'll have to pick another bird...I was standing next to Rich, when > > we both got Bohemian Waxwing on our IL list the day after the ENBC Christmas > > Count: 12/28/1977, at Barat College in Lake County. > > > > Another little bit of history trivia (...maybe Rich or Larry can chime in > > to correct me if I am not remembering it correctly)- - I believe that the > > first "mega" rarity called in to the hotline was the Ross' Gull at Wilmette > > Harbor, 12/19/1978. > > > > Cheers, > > > > -greg neise > > Berwyn, IL > > > > --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com , "ericwalt40" > > wrote: > > I still am ready to give him another call when I find yet again that > > species which brought me to the top of the hotline for the very first time > > ... "Rich, do you still need Bohemian Waxwing for IL?". > > > > > > > > > Eric Walters > > > Zion, IL > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > Subject: Re: IBET Re: IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) From: "Daniel & Barbara Williams" <twotringas AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 16:01:54 -0600 I'll use this shorter email string to reply to Eric's question about the Rockford (NCIOS) telephone hotline. It was run by Barbara Williams out of the Burpee Museum in Rockford, but was cancelled nearly 5 years ago for lack of participation and a dearth of reports. The Rockford Bird Club still maintains a rare bird calling tree in the event that something unusual shows up. txt messaging hasn't filtered into most of the local group yet. Dan Williams Rockford On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 3:09 PM, greg_neise wrote: > > > Eric, you'll have to pick another bird...I was standing next to Rich, when > we both got Bohemian Waxwing on our IL list the day after the ENBC Christmas > Count: 12/28/1977, at Barat College in Lake County. > > Another little bit of history trivia (...maybe Rich or Larry can chime in > to correct me if I am not remembering it correctly)- - I believe that the > first "mega" rarity called in to the hotline was the Ross' Gull at Wilmette > Harbor, 12/19/1978. > > Cheers, > > -greg neise > Berwyn, IL > > --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com , "ericwalt40" > wrote: > I still am ready to give him another call when I find yet again that > species which brought me to the top of the hotline for the very first time > ... "Rich, do you still need Bohemian Waxwing for IL?". > > > > > > Eric Walters > > Zion, IL > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: ILbirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com ILbirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ILbirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Re: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) From: Eric Secker <esecker AT bcnbirds.org> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:45:51 -0600 I have to chime in also and give out a kudos to Jim Frazier who actually ran the DuPage Hotline for a quite a long time in DuPage County. He really refined a lot of things associated with the hotline and also developed a very good website to go along with it. Dave Hodge also ran it for a short time after that before I actually took over. Jim also continued to let us use the phone line at his house for the hotline (you had to have a physical land even though we only needed it for the voicemail). The DuPage Hotline kind of died after I got busy with college and kept having a lot of frustrations with the voicemail and long recorded messages getting deleted or recorded to the wrong mailbox, which I sometimes didn't notice for a long time until someone said something. Reports getting called in by phone also became very sparse as IBET took over and more people got on the internet. Both of those things made it hard to stay motivated to update it. To me, the fact that nobody was reporting anything said that nobody was really listening to it anymore. However, what I still miss is that Rare Bird Alerts still provide a great summary of rare birds that are currently being seen. I still gravitate to them frequently if I am looking at bird sightings in other states or going on a trip. RBA's are kind of like an IBET version of the Field Notes in Meadowlark. I think birders need better access to an electronic database with these kinds of sightings. I keep all IBET posts and have every IBET post from 2002 onward, but it still takes time to do a search for a particular species and some e-mails that come up aren't of actual sightings of the species. I would like to see the field notes in Meadowlark in an electronic form that all birders have access to. A point that has been mentioned, is the necessity for the RBA compiler to make choices regarding what sightings to post. Occasionally rare birds have not been posted in a timely manner because one of us as a compiler didn't have enough info about the bird to know if the sighting was credible. The Anhinga that showed up at McKee Marsh once is a good example. It took some time before word got around that there was in fact an Anhinga present and it wasn't just a cormorant. The trouble is that the hotlines tended to get calls from a lot of new and even non-birders and prank callers and you really couldn't post every sighting and just assume it was credible. I remember getting calls or e-mails about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers after the sighting down south made the news. People also provide a lot more details about a sighting in e-mail posts than they did when calling in a sighting on the hotline. Also, I have to send a thanks to Denis Kania. The DuPage Bird Checklist that Denis has put out for years and still continues to update is an invaluable resource for newer birders that really helped people know what birds were worth reporting on the DuPage Hotline. I don't know if I have ever come across another checklist that is as detailed and useful as the DuPage Bird Checklist, which has species abundances for seven distinct seasons. There is a similar, slightly less detailed, list for Kane Co. that he has helped create as well. Eric Secker Wheaton, DuPage Co. & West Dundee, Kane Co. Subject: IBET Re: IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) From: "greg_neise" <gregneise AT ilbirds.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:09:42 -0000 Eric, you'll have to pick another bird...I was standing next to Rich, when we both got Bohemian Waxwing on our IL list the day after the ENBC Christmas Count: 12/28/1977, at Barat College in Lake County. Another little bit of history trivia (...maybe Rich or Larry can chime in to correct me if I am not remembering it correctly)- - I believe that the first "mega" rarity called in to the hotline was the Ross' Gull at Wilmette Harbor, 12/19/1978. Cheers, -greg neise Berwyn, IL --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "ericwalt40" wrote: I still am ready to give him another call when I find yet again that species which brought me to the top of the hotline for the very first time ... "Rich, do you still need Bohemian Waxwing for IL?". > > > Eric Walters > Zion, IL > Subject: IBET Tufted titmouse - a first for Wheaton yard From: L C <lcc0920 AT ameritech.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:14:30 -0800 (PST) Was about to walk out the door to work and I saw a bird on my sunflower feeder and did a double take like I do when I see any bird. I figured maybe it was a house sparrow or house finch. Then I saw the tuft and was like -wait a minute - that's no HS! I grabbed my Peterson's Guide, figuring it HAD to be a Tufted Titmouse and sure enough, it was. When I left he was still enjoying black oil sunflower. That's my first TT ever and my first new species in quite a while. Yay! Leslie Cummings Wheaton, IL DuPage County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) From: Craig Taylor <tnemec1 AT ameritech.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:02:53 -0800 (PST) Actually, Jim Frazier did the DuPage hotline for many years and did an outstanding job. More than outstanding, the DuPage hotline was written up in a national birding publication (Birders World? Bird Watchers Digest?)) as being one of the best, if not the best, birding hotline in the country! Kudos to Jim! Craig Taylor La Grange, IL ________________________________ From: ericwalt40 To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Wed, November 4, 2009 12:39:04 PM Subject: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) A few weeks ago, I noticed what appeared to be a hotline transcription that Sulli G. posted and the conclusion at the time was that the CAS Rare Bird Alert had finally taken to many punches from the latest technological advances and was finally being put out to pasture. I had meaned to write up something back then, but haven't gotten to it till now. Alan Anderson's comments giving thanks to Rich Biss for his years of service reminded me again to follow through on posting. I While it's hardly noticed, it's really the final expression of a shift in birding communication and as such, I want to write from the angle of reminising about the hotline of old. For those who are recent birders or have gotten into birding as a result of IBET (and more recently IBF), you may never have even called or referenced the Chicago/Statewide Rare Bird Alerts. However, picture it from the perspective of the past and you might understand what a shift in birding communication it was when these hotline first appeared...... Back before I started birding.... well, let's start way back.... like in the 1950's. Back in those days, sending a postal letter to your friends was often a method of communication of rare birds recently seen. That actually was quicker than recieving the quarterly IL Audubon Bulletin, where you could find out some great bird records from months past - certainly of no use in chasing, but could help prepare in the upcoming similar season. Certainly if you personally knew a birder, one could call to share recent sightings. But it wasn't reasonable to spend time calling a host of birders if some rare bird was located. Enter into the picture the 'Rare Bird Alerts', which gave a single phone number source where one could call and get info on somewhat recent to very recent sightings. There have been a number of IL hotlines over the years. I know the Southern IL one lasted for a few years. There the last remaining one in the state (North-central IL) - I assume it's still alive, but perhaps it might not last either (ask Dan Williams on that). I think the first one was run by Dave Bohlen out of Springfield and it gave a statewide update about once a week. There was the DuPage hotline that originally eminated out of Fullersburg Woods Nature Center, but it was virtually unknown until the DuPage Birding Club really gave some strength to it. Jeff Hardt, a very gifted, young pre-college birder began overseeing that hotline and it became a very good run in no time.. Of course, when he left for college less than 2 years later, the hotline had a mini-crisis, as who could step in mirror the fine job he was doing? It certainly has been nice to see Eric Secker run that hotline during much (all?) of the past decade and his work reminded me of the good work Jeff had done starting back in 1987. Of course, Eric gets more kudos as he's done it over a much longer timeframe. However, I wanted to focus on the CAS Rare Bird Alert because I think it significantly contributed to taking IL birding to another level. For those who had familiarity and/or called Rare Bird Alerts around the USA, you would likely agree with me in saying this hotline was clearly one of the best in the nation. A significant reason was manyfold. Firstly, it was updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a day when a mega-rarity was found. Secondly, it gave great details, sometimes down to 'take a left at the red-colored bush' kind of detail. Thirdly, it you didn't want to pay for the full phone call cost or if you wanted current info on the rarest local bird and didn't want to listen to an additional 5+ minute of other birds, this hotline satisfied as it focused on the very rarest bird firstly on the hotline, before moving on to other nice, rare-but-regular kind of birds. There's probably other reasons why I can confidently say this was one of America's top Rare Bird Alerts. One main personal reason is that it was a key method of contribution to seeing new life birds and for that I'm thankful to Rich Biss and Larry Balch. In the last two parts, I'll give a few personal stories from the past phone hotline (pre-IBET/IBF) days. After all, it's like a sort of 'death' has occurred, with the official passing of this great hotline, so story telling is in order for such a time as this (and perhaps other old-time birders can add their own highlights directly related to IL hotlines and birding). Eric Walters Zion, IL ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 2 of 3 (no birds) From: trptjoe AT aol.com Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:25:12 -0500 <> At the CAS Awards Dinner tomorrow night (reservations still available; see the CAS website at www.chicagoaudubon.org) Richard Biss, who's being honored for his years at the helm of the hotline, will be playing some "highlights" from the calls he's received. Joe Lill Chicago, Cook County Subject: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 3 of 3 (no birds) From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalters7 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:22:14 -0000 Ah yes, the 'Richard Biss' years of the Chicago Audubon Society's Rare Bird Alert.... If I had to give the top thing I remember about the hotline, it wouldn't be a bird. Nor specifically about birds. No, it would relate back to when Rich went on some family vacation and he asked me to run the hotline for about a week or so. And it was only during the non-busy mid-summer birding time. No prob, glad to help..... but after doing it and realizing all the time it took in planning out the species highlight order and writing out what I wanted to say (so you wouldn't have to keep re-recording the taped message because of an spoken error in birds/directions, etc.), I realized it was no simple matter. There was work involved and boy, how much moreso during the busy migration periods! Things also came more clearly into focus when I realized how easy it could be to make a mistake, to not include a bird because it didn't seem rare for that season or location, to not update the hotline quick enough for callers (or those who called in something they found and expected immediate updates) or even just leaving off potentially questionable sightings so dozens of birders wouldn't run out based on a call-in (but risking incurring the wrath of the individual who called in and reported it). It was after this experience that I realized in a deeper way how vulnerable hotline workers are subject to potential compliants or disappointments from local birders and so I made a decision to not contribute towards any negativity towards any hotline, but instead being glad I was getting some benefit over the course of time regarding rare bird info. After all, these were volunteers doing this bird information distribution. Over the years, when I heard others comment/complain about such-and-such negative thing related to some experience they might have had with a hotline (esp. the CAS one), I would always have an internal thought of 'I wonder how you would do if you were carrying all this hotline volunteer work over a long period of time'. So that's the main life impact that came out of doing the hotline work for a measly one week period. And Rich Biss did this labor of love for nearly a quarter century and as ALL old-timer birders in IL know, we've all significantly benefited at various times from Rich's summaries and great directions and pretty darn quick rare bird updates. Over time, I picked up on Rich's hotline 'insider' method. He never told me this directly (that I remember), but I kinda figured it out over time. It was a crafty way to let the active skilled birders know what he surmised were sightings that one could lean on in terms of veracity. Those sightings were always put in the front of the hotline, with the top rare bird kicking it off. It kinda makes sense to do it this way, start with the bird with the most 'bang', but it's interesting that during the 80's and 90's, I found that most US rare bird alerts didn't do it this way. And then, at the end of the hotline, sometimes other very rare birds were noted, but it was obvious those had some potential question marks, perhaps due to lack of info, or lack of confidence of the reporter, or something else.... yet it was still noted at the end, so that birders could stay aware of this species potentiality in the area (and to keep the person who reporting feeling like they weren't being ignored). There was always a personal thrill when I had the blessing to find a rare bird in the region. Back then, with no IBET 'RARE BIRDS IN CAPITAL LETTERS' or awesome IBF rare photo documentations, the way to get a nice personal thrill was to make it to the top of Rich's rare bird alert. If your bird kicked off that hotline update, well then, you were just feeling good about yourself. And I must admit, I called in a few times on my very best personal finds as I just wanted to personally 'relive' my find and that moment through the words of another person. It's a different kind of pat on the back that one can gets from reporting a rare bird these days. I do remember the first species I called in that made the start of Rich's hotline summary. It was the Bohemian Waxwing I had found at the Morton Arboretum in February of 1986. That was big news to those who birded and worked at the Arb that day, but to have it spread throughout Chicagoland (and then downstate) by nightfall really took me by surprise. And then the next day to have people from all over the state showing up at the Arb looking for it... I saw how much power a hotline could actually have. For some reason it never clicked before. Hotlines also had a significant contribution to bringing birders together as the rare bird chase brought us across one another's paths so many times. All due to the hotline. This Bohemian excited Rich as well as evidenced by his hotline voice being more excited than usual (or was just my interpretation because I was excited?). I found out later it was a bird Rich wanted to see in the state, so thus began the ongoing ritual of calling Rich every 6-7 years from various spots in IL (ie. Chicago Botanic Gardens, Evanston, Clinton Lake, ect.).... "Hi Rich?... yeah, do you still need Bohemian Waxwing in IL?.... hmm, well can you come out to such-and-such place as I have one here for you". Still not sure if Rich has gotten that species for IL (but man are they one of the most beautiful of IL's vagrants?!). I do remember the time Rich got a call in early May from somebody down in Lake Calument region saying they had what they thought was a pelican. But it wasn't white, but instead more darker. Rich felt strong enough to believe it could be a Brown Pelican and he called me to see if I could followup with driving down there to take a look (you always wanted to be on Rich's good side, so you could get the occasional call to do some due diligence on some potential rare bird). I'm kinda forgetting now some of how the details worked out, if Rich and his wife Mary were going down there at the same time. But I do remember getting quite a shock when I saw what turned out to be a Brown Pelican flying around Lake Calumet proper. Back then, I only associated this species with my aunt's property along the coast of Florida, not a Midwestern state. And this was back when this species was basically a new bird for everybody's state list. So either I called Rich back to confirm it was true and he and his wife came down, or perhaps I was able to find them looking around in a nearby Calumet spot to alert them to the bird. By that time, May of 1990, I knew the process. This was going to be the top bird on the hotline that night. The news was going to spread throughout Ne. IL by dinner time and throughout the state before people went to sleep. Many folks were looking at their schedules and figuring out how to get out of work and make a potentially long trek to Calumet for their chance to see this exciting bird. But then it hit, that strong cold front, which not only brought down many rare birds all along the Lake Michigan lakefront... but that same Brown Pelican decided to make an appearance at Montrose Harbor beach, wooing large numbers of springtime birders! Rich's hotline updates were seemingly occuring every few hours in those 24 hour span. I know of more than one birder who used his hotline update to bypass birding Calumet because they just got the update the bird was now at Montrose, saving alot of wasted time in the wrong place. Nowadays with IBF/IBET and the intense speed of updates available with today's current technology, this storyline would seem the norm. However, back in those days, we had none of the high-tech stuff now present and Rich's hotline was the fulcrum point of getting key and timely rare bird info for the Chicagoland region. And Rich very capably ran that hotline, likely one of the main contributors to adding thousands upon thousands of life and state birds to various birders lists. Chicago Audubon Society is giving Rich an award for his many years of service and as such, it's worth re-repeating what Alan Anderson recently wrote about why he's getting this award from CAS: "Richard Biss took over the reigns of the CHICAGO AUDUBON RARE BIRD ALERT in August of 1985, when Larry Balch, who really started this service, became very busy with many other things ( ABA , Attour) and was unable to continue. Rich had essentially then handled all of the RBA calls and posts for all 24 years since. He (with able help from his wife Mary) answered countless calls about both rare and common birds, and many other topics. He worked tirelessly to both answer questions, post updates about rare birds, and helped Chicago Audubon in so many ways (publicity among them), and rarely asked for any help. We on the Chicago Audubon Board are so thankful for his years of service to us in running the Rare Bird Alert, and he probably hasn´t gotten the recognition and thanks he (and his wife) deserve. It was with kind of sadness that Chicago Audubon decided that with so few calls coming in, due to the increase in web birding information dissemination (with IBET, ILBirds and other technology), that the days of our RBA were numbered. But we definitely wanted to thank Rich so much for his yeoman work over the years. " Maybe someday we'll see Rich out in the field more often. Or maybe in the very least, this post might lure Rich out to share a few of his personal memories of hotlines past. I know there's been some crazy and funny reports that many would enjoy hearing about...... or even perhaps his top personal memory of the last quarter-century of hotline work. And even though his amazing work with this rare bird alert are now over, I still am ready to give him another call when I find yet again that species which brought me to the top of the hotline for the very first time ... "Rich, do you still need Bohemian Waxwing for IL?". Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 2 of 3 (no birds) From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalters7 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:58:35 -0000 I never knew Larry Balch back in the old days when the Chicago Audubon Society's Rare Bird Alert was birthed with him at the helm in latter 1977. Actually, I knew only 2 other birders, none of which had a license to drive anywhere, so we were at the mercy of parental favor to get a ride and pickup to some local good birding haunt. The Morton Arboretum (DuPage County) was the acknowleged best birding location in our small sphere of access. I don't remember being on good terms with my sister that week to warrant such favor, but something moved her to bring to my attention something she saw in the Chicago Tribune Sunday paper. She had ripped out a small portion that highlighted information about a new local rare bird hotline that had started. If she hadn't done this for me, it likely would have taken a few more months before hearing about all the local rare birds, which could have led me to miss out on something incredible happening in my midst, without me having any awareness of it. I'm talking about the greatest IL invasion ever of Pine Grosbeaks, which started in late December 1977. And it wasn't until I called that Rare Bird hotline for the first time that I found out that bunches of these Grosbeaks were hanging out at 'my' Morton Arboretum! Of course, this put me into a personal mini-crisis, as I had no means to travel 3 miles along busy roads in late December to get there, so I had to be on my best behavior for nearly a whole month (!), just to have the chance of catching a ride with my friend's parents to get there. With the help of the hotline details, we were able to bag a half dozen of these beautiful birds. I never did see them again that winter there, nor have I seen them in IL in the 30+ years since, so I have to give Larry an assist for that Life/state bird. Those early calls to the hotline were filled with excitement as I dialed the number (literally dialed, not a touch button phone). It spoke of those rare owls that I had been dreaming about someday finding and seeing.... it talked about the winter finch invasion that winter (WW Crossbills, large numbers of redpolls, a couple Hoary's and of course those Pine Grosbeaks reported in various Chicagoland locations). There were birds on the hotline that I had no knowledge about (what was a Black-legged Kittiwake anyways?). And the report of the 'Little' Gull on Lake Michigan... was there actually a species called "Little Gull" or was this actually a physically 'little' gull of some species that hadn't been identified? The hotline in those first few months were actually my non-field training grounds for growing in birding knowledge. And then there were the rarities I had no chance at seeing (due to no car license nor folks willing to drive me), but I was vicariously able to enjoy the excitement from afar, via Balch's excited voice updates on the hotline. Even when the 1st Ross's Gull showed up in IL, I think it was such a sensation due to it being the very 1st one in the Lower 48 states (or something close to that). So little was known, so even Larry had to do some research about where the birds were nesting, why this bird was here along Chicago's Lake Michigan, etc. So it was through the hotline I learned even about breeding birds and some natural history life tidbits about this very rare gull. It just so happened that at the time I started calling the hotline, I happened to get my first cassette tape recorder for xmas (the high tech gift back in those days). Since I was looking to play with this new tech toy, I ended up recording a number of hotlines in that first month. Maybe I'll try and convert those tapes over and put up an example of what the hotline sounded like back in late 1977. It would be interesting to hear directly from Larry (if he's willing) about any long ago highlight stories or memories (not necessarily on a rare bird) associated with running the hotline for those years. Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: IBET IL Hotlines - Part 1 of 3 (no birds) From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalters7 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:39:04 -0000 A few weeks ago, I noticed what appeared to be a hotline transcription that Sulli G. posted and the conclusion at the time was that the CAS Rare Bird Alert had finally taken to many punches from the latest technological advances and was finally being put out to pasture. I had meaned to write up something back then, but haven't gotten to it till now. Alan Anderson's comments giving thanks to Rich Biss for his years of service reminded me again to follow through on posting. I While it's hardly noticed, it's really the final expression of a shift in birding communication and as such, I want to write from the angle of reminising about the hotline of old. For those who are recent birders or have gotten into birding as a result of IBET (and more recently IBF), you may never have even called or referenced the Chicago/Statewide Rare Bird Alerts. However, picture it from the perspective of the past and you might understand what a shift in birding communication it was when these hotline first appeared...... Back before I started birding.... well, let's start way back.... like in the 1950's. Back in those days, sending a postal letter to your friends was often a method of communication of rare birds recently seen. That actually was quicker than recieving the quarterly IL Audubon Bulletin, where you could find out some great bird records from months past - certainly of no use in chasing, but could help prepare in the upcoming similar season. Certainly if you personally knew a birder, one could call to share recent sightings. But it wasn't reasonable to spend time calling a host of birders if some rare bird was located. Enter into the picture the 'Rare Bird Alerts', which gave a single phone number source where one could call and get info on somewhat recent to very recent sightings. There have been a number of IL hotlines over the years. I know the Southern IL one lasted for a few years. There the last remaining one in the state (North-central IL) - I assume it's still alive, but perhaps it might not last either (ask Dan Williams on that). I think the first one was run by Dave Bohlen out of Springfield and it gave a statewide update about once a week. There was the DuPage hotline that originally eminated out of Fullersburg Woods Nature Center, but it was virtually unknown until the DuPage Birding Club really gave some strength to it. Jeff Hardt, a very gifted, young pre-college birder began overseeing that hotline and it became a very good run in no time.. Of course, when he left for college less than 2 years later, the hotline had a mini-crisis, as who could step in mirror the fine job he was doing? It certainly has been nice to see Eric Secker run that hotline during much (all?) of the past decade and his work reminded me of the good work Jeff had done starting back in 1987. Of course, Eric gets more kudos as he's done it over a much longer timeframe. However, I wanted to focus on the CAS Rare Bird Alert because I think it significantly contributed to taking IL birding to another level. For those who had familiarity and/or called Rare Bird Alerts around the USA, you would likely agree with me in saying this hotline was clearly one of the best in the nation. A significant reason was manyfold. Firstly, it was updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a day when a mega-rarity was found. Secondly, it gave great details, sometimes down to 'take a left at the red-colored bush' kind of detail. Thirdly, it you didn't want to pay for the full phone call cost or if you wanted current info on the rarest local bird and didn't want to listen to an additional 5+ minute of other birds, this hotline satisfied as it focused on the very rarest bird firstly on the hotline, before moving on to other nice, rare-but-regular kind of birds. There's probably other reasons why I can confidently say this was one of America's top Rare Bird Alerts. One main personal reason is that it was a key method of contribution to seeing new life birds and for that I'm thankful to Rich Biss and Larry Balch. In the last two parts, I'll give a few personal stories from the past phone hotline (pre-IBET/IBF) days. After all, it's like a sort of 'death' has occurred, with the official passing of this great hotline, so story telling is in order for such a time as this (and perhaps other old-time birders can add their own highlights directly related to IL hotlines and birding). Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: IBET IBSP Pines Hike results (Sat, Oct 31st) From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalters7 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:27:02 -0000 The summary for this past weekend's IBSP hike-to-the-pines hasn't been posted yet, so here's some of the less common species. Best overall bird was found by Alan Stokie, when he eyed a bird flying west-to-east just south of the IBSP hotel. After hitting the lake, it began to head south, whereupon he recognized the bird as an dark-phased Ibis. With the strong west winds the prior day and this being so late in Fall, it's extremely likely this was a White-faced Ibis. 1 'dark-phase'/White-faced Ibis 2 Great Egret 7 Tundra Swan 20+ Bufflehead 3 Hooded Merganser 2 Redhead 500+ Scaup 3 Killdeer 2 Common Snipe 1 American Woodcock 4 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Great-horned Owl 2 Short-eared Owl 3 Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 Winter Wren 22 Eastern Bluebird 10+ Yellow-rumped Warbler 15+ Palm Warbler 2 Field Sparrows 1-2 Sharp-tailed Sparrows 1? LeConte's Sparrow 1 Lapland Longspur 14 Snow Bunting 100+ American Goldfinch The Tundra Swans, as expected, were heading directly east and went out over the Lake. These were the precursers to the 84 swans seen later in the day from the IBSP Hawkwatch. The Woodcock did it's typical 'scare-the-innocent-birders' with it's sudden flight explosion. Only pheasants can give greater heart palpatations upon takeoff. We had a Merlin and Red-shouldered Hawk fly real close, whereupon we were able to get very nice extended views. The first Short-eared Owl was seen north of the Dead River as it came from well out over the Lake and crashing down (from exhaustion) into prairie grass at the first dune it came to. A minute later a Peregrine Falcon fly right over our heads and we watched as it approached the owl location. When there, it took a quick short dive down, as if to scare the owl alittle. We had a theory about this owl that it was pushed out over the Lake and when sunrise arrived, it realized it wasn't supposed to be above the Lake and headed directly west to the nearest land. After all, why would a Short-eared try to migrate over the Lake? This theory proved acceptable and reasonable for a few hours, until we found another Short-eared coming from the west and then heading directly east over the Lake, until we no longer saw it! I guess there's other factors behind how SE's migrate over large bodies of water and that some might actually go out a couple miles without hesitation. A strong representation of Winter Wrens and Bluebirds suggested a peak for their Fall migration. One rather pale sparrow was flushed from the prairie sand, eliminating all but LeConte's, Savannah or Grasshopper. The second time it flushed, I thought I saw a fair amount of color on its back, which if accurate, would make this a LeConte's. A rather late Sharp-tailed Sparrow flushed out of the flooded low lying grasses at the south end of the main swale. A second bird flushed up with it, suggesting there could have been 2 present. Many small flocks (about 3-8 in size) of Goldfinch were moseying southward through much of the morning. Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: Re: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:58:49 -0800 (PST)   The distribution map  in BNA Online indicates that all of Illinois falls within the winter range of the Red-headed Woodpecker.   The text suggests that the yearly dynamics of the species is greatly influenced by the abundance of hard mast (e.g., acorns, beechnuts). The birds may be common one year and absent the next at a specific location.   Bernie Sloan --- On Wed, 11/4/09, Donnie wrote: From: Donnie Subject: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? To: "ILbirds" Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 12:32 PM   This is the 24th year we have lived in our current home and although we regularly see breeding RED-HEADED WODPECKERS I have never observed them after September. This year, one or 2 have continued at my suet feeder almost daily and I'm looking at one as I type this. Bohlen writes "occasionally many seem to winter near their summer homes". It would be a great Christmas Count bird. Donnie Dann Highland Park/Lake County donniebird AT yahoo. com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET RED HEADED WOODPECKER over winter? From: Donnie <donniebird AT me.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:32:01 -0600 This is the 24th year we have lived in our current home and although we regularly see breeding RED-HEADED WODPECKERS I have never observed them after September. This year, one or 2 have continued at my suet feeder almost daily and I'm looking at one as I type this. Bohlen writes "occasionally many seem to winter near their summer homes". It would be a great Christmas Count bird. Donnie Dann Highland Park/Lake County donniebird AT yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Montrose Yellowlegs 11/4 ( also Sag Slough 11/1 birds) From: "tanagers77" <bncthay AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:02:08 -0000 Montrose/Jarvis were very slow this morning but AT 7:45 AM 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS flew over heading south. There were also 2 or 3 SNOW BUNTINGS at the beach. My previous Saganashkee Slough(SW Cook County) report for Sunday November 1 was apparently lost in cyberspace. On that date birds observed at this location included 1 GREAT EGRET as well as 2 BARN SWALLOWS. Craig Thayer Chicago Subject: IBET Independence Grove RFI (nos ightings) From: Robert Hughes <rhughes.enteract AT rcn.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:32:05 -0600 Has anyone been to Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Lake County recently? I was just wondering if they're still charging $$ to get in. Thanks. Robert D. Hughes Chicago, Illinois Subject: IBET Fraker Farm Miscellany; Woodford Co; 11/02/09 From: "prairie oak" <frakerpovc AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:31:40 -0000 Greetings, everyone -- I attempted to do this post at IBF last evening, but I think Neise put a hex on me after my Halloween funning; then I tried to load up photobucket, which also failed, so then I placed all blame on the Full Beaver Moon (as the Hunter's Moon was referred to by certain Native Americans). Why I would have any reason to blame THIS full Moon shall remain a private matter. Here is my tired, post Tuesday, final attempt at a post. If anyone is so interested, remember to click the "zoom in" option on the upper left corner of the linked pictures. After a rather harrowing Monday morning at my clinic where I had to do our payroll, end of the month reports, had to say goodbye to an old friend that I have been caring for since he was a little fur ball of a puppy 13 years ago, and then had to do a rather gruesome emergency surgery -- keep in mind, this was a day OFF -- I took my buns out to the Farm to celebrate the Full Hunter's Moon with a wonderful afternoon into evening hike. It's been way too long since I wondered about on our Farm. Highlights included a group of frolicking Red-headed Woodpeckers in the North Oak Timber, including this little acorn cacher : http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/?action=view¤t=P1030278.jpg a cozy little encounter with a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets up by the old homestead -- here's one of the frisky little midgets: http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/?action=view¤t=Ruby-crownedKingletFrakerFarm110209.jpg and an at dusk fly-by of an immature female Northern Harrier. As Matthew Winks had noted in his post, the evening sunset show was lovely: http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/?action=view¤t=P1030324.jpg Sadly, I came upon our great Black Oak and found it had fallen: http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/?action=view¤t=P1030325-1.jpg Respects were heartfelt and duly paid to this dinosaur of a tree, in the company of a couple of Coyotes and a Barred Owl to the north: http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/?action=view¤t=P1030333-1.jpg I then concluded my walk with the wonderful Moonrise: http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/?action=view¤t=P1030335-1.jpg Totals for this walkabout are below. Matt Fraker Woodford Co 11/02/09, reported on 11/03/09 Location: Fraker Farm Observation date: 11/2/09 Number of species: 26 Canada Goose 4 Wood Duck 3 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Barred Owl 2 Red-headed Woodpecker 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 8 Downy Woodpecker 4 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Blue Jay 13 American Crow 1 Black-capped Chickadee 12 Tufted Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Eastern Bluebird 8 American Robin 97 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 1 Fox Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 3 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 6 Northern Cardinal 5 Red-winged Blackbird 27 American Goldfinch 13 Subject: IBET Canvasback Near Montrose Harbor From: "Robert" <rkdx AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:48:18 -0000 I observed a Canvasback swimming with a bunch of Canada Geese in the open water south of the mouth of Montrose Harbor. He seemed to be napping most of the time I saw him. Robert Kramer Subject: IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) From: "franmmmk" <franmmmk AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:58:05 -0000 great suggestions.....yes my feeders are close together and they seem to jump off a perch before feeding on the suet, so this should help.....thanks a bunch Fran --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "Leslie" wrote: > > Bernie - Glad the suggestion of no perches helped. I will sometimes find the > HS attempting to cling or finding a way to cling for an extremely short > time, in general, they get way less food than they do when they can just sit > and perch and feed away. > > > > Fran - Do you keep your upside down suet feeder near other feeders? My > suggestion - put a large baffle over the top of the suet feeder and hang it > away from other feeders. For me, this greatly reduces the number of house > sparrows that will feed on the suet. When they have other feeders, posts, > branches they can easily fly from to get onto the suet feeder, it makes it > easier for them. I noticed a significant difference between when I had my > upside down suet feeder close to other feeders and when I had it further > away and when I had a baffle on it vs. no baffle > > > > Leslie Cummings > > Wheaton > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > Subject: IBET Stateline Beach - AM. White Pelican Tuesday From: "pjbruchman" <pjbruchman AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:31:26 -0000 After spending a few hours at the Hawkwatch this morning a group of our Tuesday Birders went to Stateline Beach, just north of North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, to check out the gulls. We were able to find 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 1 adult THAYER's, but no CALIFORNIA. At 3:30pm we were packing up to leave when Chuck Westcott spotted an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN flying in from the north. What a surprise! The pelican landed at the edge of the beach where it strutted amongst gulls. We watched the pelican for a while then headed off to Rollins Savanna where we did find at least 3 SHORT-EARED OWLS just before dark. The above sightings were in Lake County. Joan Bruchman Arlington Heights NW Cook County Subject: IBET Hawk Watch Article, Outdoor Illinois, no sighting From: "arlenekoziol" <arlenekoziol AT mac.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:40:45 -0000 Check out the November issue of Outdoor Illinois, the magazine of the Illinois DNR on Illinois Beach Hawk Watch, story and photos by Vic Berardi. The hawk photos are beautiful! The article tells the history of Hawk Watch as well as information about the raptors that are seen at Hawk Watch. I have a subscription to Outdoor Illinois, so perhaps someone can post where to find the November issue. Arlene Koziol Arlington Hts., IL Subject: IBET IBSP restricted area, south unit From: Donnie <donniebird AT me.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:31:08 -0600 3 birders took advantage of IDNR's weekly permit program to walk the south pines at Illinois Beach S.P. this morning from 8 until 11. Besides the 2 scoter species, we found it ironic that the 2 best birds, given that it's November, were warblers, ORANGE-CROWNED and PINE. I was told Wellie boots should be fine for crossing the Dead River, but it turned out I would have avoided wet socks with hip boots. Here's the complete list. CANADA GOOSE 42, including those in front of the lodge REDHEAD 1 GREATER SCAUP 600, approximately, most just north and south OF Dead River, including a few LESSER, mixed in BLACK SCOTER 1, adult female, within 100 feet from shore by lodge SURF SCOTER 1, with the scaup flock by the Dead River RED-TAILED HAWK 9 MERLIN 1 SANDHILL CRANE 2 SANDERLING 2 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 3 DOWNY WOODPECKER 4 NORTHERN FLICKER 1 HORNED LARK 1 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 12 EASTERN BLUEBIRD 3 HERMIT THRUSH 1 BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE 30 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH 24 BROWN CREEPER 1 BLUE JAY 25 AMERICAN CROW 20 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH 6 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER 1 PINE WARBLER 1 AMERICAN TREE SPARROW 24 SONG SPARROW 2 DARK-EYED JUNCO 12 NORTHERN CARDINAL 1 Donnie Dann Highland Park/Lake County donniebird AT yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Kankakee: Cape May Warbler + NRW Swallow From: Jed Hertz <jhh_60910 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 15:08:13 -0800 (PST) Hi all,   Tue 03-Nov-09: Kankakee LeVasseur Park/Perry Farm Prairie: 0620-1130H (1.5 W)_Sun_36-46_NW -NE 0-5_Beaver_Domestic Cat_Red Squirrel_Red Fox_River Up.   I came across two late birds today, both near the Metro-sewer plant.  A Cape May Warbler (female) was sighted twice flycatching along the river trail with a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow was sighted over the Metro-sewer tanks late morning on my return trip from Perry Farm Prairie.  Though I spent some time trying for photos I was unsuccessful in this effort.   Here's my morning list of 45 species:   Anatidae 3   ¨ ¨ 52 Canada Goose ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Wood Duck ¨     ¨ ¨ 32 Mallard ¨   Phasianidae 1   ¨ ¨ 7 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨   Podicipedidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Pied-billed Grebe ¨   Accipitridae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Cooper's Hawk ¨ adult perched on prairie treeline.   ¨ ¨ 2 Red-tailed Hawk ¨ ad + ? Laridae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Herring Gull ¨   Columbidae 2   ¨ ¨ 14 Rock Pigeon ¨     ¨ ¨ 5 Mourning Dove ¨   Cerylidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Belted Kingfisher ¨ males together AT 1100H Picidae 3   ¨ ¨ 5 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 3 Downy Woodpecker ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Flicker ¨   Corvidae 2   ¨ ¨ 7 Blue Jay ¨     ¨ ¨ 18 American Crow ¨   Hirundinidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨ Sighted over Metro-sewer tanks at 1100H; waited 15 min to get photo but didn't reappear from tanks; 5 days later then my previous 2009 record. Paridae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Black-capped Chickadee ¨   Sittidae 1   ¨ ¨ 4 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   Certhiidae 1   ¨ ¨ 1 Brown Creeper ¨   Troglodytidae 1   ¨ ¨ 2 Carolina Wren ¨   Regulidae 2   ¨ ¨ 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet ¨     ¨ ¨ 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨   Turdidae 3   ¨ ¨ 1 Eastern Bluebird ¨ FO calling   ¨ ¨ 1 Hermit Thrush ¨     ¨ ¨ 34 American Robin ¨   Sturnidae 1   ¨ ¨ 14 European Starling ¨   Bombycillidae 1   ¨ ¨ 42 Cedar Waxwing ¨   Parulidae 2   ¨ ¨ 1 Cape May Warbler ¨ Female; 0840H sighted twice; very yellow warbler-sized bird flycatching along Metro-sewer trail with Yellow-rumped Warbler; pale yellowish rump; dark flank streaking, dark streaking on sides and across yellow breast (though minimal on center of breast and none on throat); dark auricular set-off by yellow swatch on side of neck; ~50' + ~35' in full sun; perched in honeysuckle shrubs; 16 days later then my 2003 record.   ¨ ¨ 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler ¨   Emberizidae 8   ¨ ¨ 1 Eastern Towhee ¨     ¨ ¨ 3 American Tree Sparrow ¨ FOS and about a month later then my 2006 record.   ¨ ¨ 1 Savannah Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 Fox Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 1 Song Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 14 White-throated Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 3 White-crowned Sparrow ¨     ¨ ¨ 24 Dark-eyed Junco ¨   Cardinalidae 1   ¨ ¨ 13 Northern Cardinal ¨   Icteridae 2   ¨ ¨ 25 Red-winged Blackbird ¨     ¨ ¨ 2 Common Grackle ¨   Fringillidae 3   ¨ ¨ 10 Purple Finch ¨     ¨ ¨ 8 House Finch ¨     ¨ ¨ 15 American Goldfinch ¨   Passeridae 1   ¨ ¨ 40 House Sparrow ¨   Jed Hertz Kankakee, Kankakee Co, IL (60 mi South of Chicago) Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/ Give "ebird" a try: http://ebird.org/content/ebird [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Montrose Harbor - Canvasback Among The Coots From: Steve Spitzer <steven0703 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:52:33 -0800 (PST) Hi Birders There was a Canvasback swimming with the Coots and occasionally mugging them and stealing their seaweed. Now and then one of the Coots would bite the duck. They reminded me of Kittens playing the way they went at it. A few pictures at the link. I am not sure if this is a hen or a drake. The left side of the head seemed reddish and the right side seemed brown. http://www.flickr.com/photos/happy_peasant/4072594313/ Steve Spitzer Chicago, Cook [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET Operation Migration (no sightings) From: "kayakryan" <ryanwc AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:51:26 -0000 I forgot to sign my previous post. Ryan Chew Chicago Cook County Also, left out the word "no" before "strong response." And misspelled adolescence. I should preview longer. Subject: Re: IBET Operation Migration (no sightings) From: "kayakryan" <ryanwc AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:30:17 -0000 > Just a reminder that the folks from Operation Migration are heading South. you can follow the progress here: > http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html > > John Heneghan > Big Rock, Kane I just thought I'd reply and see what others think. I'm fascinated with what Operation Migration is doing with Whooping Cranes. I've have followed the migration diaries at times. Your e-mail is all too accurate, though. The diaries are almost completely about what "the folks from Operation Migration" are doing. Very little is about the whooping cranes. The diary has its interest, in the way a diary about a cattle drive might. Or a diary of an interesting road trip. I wouldn't pursue this criticism, except the lack of curiosity about the birds in the diary seems to relate to the problems they're having -- 9 years in, only one pair has nested successfully. Last year, 12 nests failed, and this year, 13. In almost all cases, the failure is a nest abandonment at a point when the egg or eggs were close to hatching. Last year, there was talk that the problem might have been caused by black flies, or by marsh conditions that led to hungry whoopers abandoning nests. But as the nesting abandonments add up, it seems tougher to explain it away by citing unusual environmental causes. Notably, the non-migratory population in Florida has had similar problems. Whooping crane advocates have actually given up on the idea that the non-migratory group can ever become self-sustaining, partly due to repeated nesting failure. Why are captive-raised and then released whooping cranes failing to hatch out eggs? Even while captive-raised whoopers that remain in captivity successfully tend to their nests? Normal wild whooper parents would have faced black flies, hunger and other extreme environmental conditions regularly without abandoning nests in large numbers. I think it's more likely there's a behavioral cause, perhaps something rooted in the socialization process that these whoopers are undergoing with their captive, costumed handlers. Meanwhile, if the diaries offer a valid reflection of what they're thinking about, the project managers seem utterly uninterested in whooping crane behavior. As I understand it, the young cranes are kept penned each night during migration (and for much of the fledging season). I don't have a sense for how large the pen is. Wild young cranes obviously would face no physical impediment to wandering off at night. Instead, presumably if they tried, they might hear a call from a parent that means, stay close; stay here; even if I don't wake up next time; stay here for a long time. Could such a call be related to a call between nesting birds that means "stay here while I'm out feeding"? Could the perils of roosting time reinforce the neural pathways that make young whoopers respond to that call? Is it possible that the captive-raised whoopers are not hearing a call (or another behavioral clue - a wing flap or a head-bob), so that they have strong response to the call when it's given later in life, when, as nest-tenders, they need to stay put? Obviously, this is just an extremely naive supposition ... a thought experiment to think about how it MIGHT be possible that behavioral issues could be leading to the nesting failures. I could be on completely the wrong track. But it does wig me out to go back over and over to the OM website, and find so little curiosity there about how the young birds behave, how their captive lives may be different from a wild whooper adolescense, and how that might be affecting them. If the project were completely successful, I'd forget about it. Lack of success in a difficult venture inevitably brings out ill-informed critics like myself. Maybe I should bite my tongue and let them sort it out. I just wondered if birders wiser than myself here had any thoughts on this. Subject: IBET GHO above North Lombard House on 11/3 From: Chris Kelly <tomchriskelly AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:02:35 -0600 (Read in "Jack Webb" type cadence.) 2:30am. Woken up by hooting. Heard it again and again. Knew it was a Great Horned Owl. Got up. Threw on a coat. Grabbed the binocs. Stepped outside (while realizing that our front storm door needs the hinges oiled badly!) and listened. Heard the hooting of a Great Horned Owl. He/she sounded really close. I looked up into the 60 foot bur oak outside our living room and saw a big lump on a high branch. Put the binocs up to my eyes and YES! A GHO right above my head hooting and hooting! I saw his/her individual breast feathers, saw the head revolve, saw him/her preen the chest feathers, and saw him/her open the beak to hoot. What a great animal to see so close. I really wanted to watch him/her take off and fill the sky with those silent huge wings, but, of course, it took off when I put my head down for a second. GHO neck is much worse than warbler neck because he/she was so high up. I then heard the hooting far away. I wish I had a digiscope camera because here was the owl, perched on a gnarly old branch against the midnight blue of the moonlit sky, with stars shining behind him. It would have been an awesome photo. Moral of my story - if you hear the 5-note hooting of a GHO and it sounds fairly close, it is. The hooting is not that loud, really. It carries, but 60 feet away it isn't that loud. Not nearly as loud to me as a robin singing his morning songs. FYI - our house is very near to Route 53 and St. Charles Road. I can't tell you how many "owl walks" we have done and came up empty. This owl revived my passion for bird watching which had diminished a bit. Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoot Chris Kelly DuPage County Lombard Subject: IBET COS/DBC Field trip to Miller Beach From: "sigrid schmidt" <sigmsch AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:42:22 -0600 Sunday, November 08, 2009 - 08:00 AM Miller Beach, Indiana Leader: Karen and Bob Fisher - 630-985-2956 or Kfisher928 AT aol.com Join DuPage Birding Club and COS members as we look for Loons, Grebes, Scoters, & hopefully, Jaegers and unusual gulls! Last year we had both Sabine's and Little Gulls along with a Black-legged Kittiwake. Directions: Take I-94 east through Gary, Indiana, past I-65 (note that northbound I-65 is currently closed for construction), to IN-51 (Ripley St.). Take IN-51 north to US-20. Go west on US-20 about 1.5 miles to Lake St. Turn right and follow Lake St. north to the beach parking lot. There is a McDonald's on the corner of Lake St. and Hwy 12 with a bathroom. There are no facilities at the beach. Some COS and DBC members will meet at the McDonald's and depart from there at 7:45 am. Scopes are very useful here. Also, dress much warmer than expected as the wind can be very chilling. Note: DBCers who wish to carpool, meet at the Bolingbrook Park and Ride just south of I-55 off of Rt.53. (Left at Old Chicago Dr.) before 6:30 a.m Sunday morning. Sigrid Schmidt COS Field Trip Chair [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET RB Grosbeak Update..... From: "Kristin Ellis" <kristin7 AT mwci.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:39:51 -0600 Thanks to all who responded............ I contacted the Fish & Wildlife Service and they are going to check into the situation. He is going to refer this to the appropriate person in Winnebago County. The gentleman I spoke with was thinking that someone else had reported this as well. I was impressed with the concern I heard in his voice. He also said he would get back to me with a report. You would think a Veterinary Clinic would know it was illegal.... I am not one to hold my tongue, but I didn't want to confront the veterinarian myself. I didn't want the bird to "disappear" before someone in authority could intervene. In my estimation this bird is too fragile to be released. This is not my vet - I had my son's dog at this clinic for some x-rays when I saw the bird. I have worked with some rehab people in the town and I am not aware that this vet has a license to rehabilitate wildlife. Thanks Again. Kristin Ogle County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET no sighting: Other hunting seasons that birders and hikers ought to be aware of From: "woodthrusheola8" <woodthrusheola8 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:34:29 -0000 Birders and folks who enjoy a winter woodland hike or a relaxing walk around a lake or wetland in southernmost IL need be aware that various hunting seasons start soon. Firearm deer season starts Nov. 20-22 & again Dec. 3-6 on Nat Wildlife Refuges and other Fed lands. Goose hunting starts Nov. 14 and will run for 66 days. And did you know that there was a crow season? Oct.28-Feb. 28. (As if West Nile virus didn't thin the crow population enough.) And there's a snipe, sora, and Virginia rail season too! But I digress. Just be careful and seriously consider wearing blaze orange if you choose to be out on public lands during hunting seasons. --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Judy Pollock wrote: > > I apologize if someone already sent this info out and I missed it, but this > is an FYI from the IDNR about a new deer hunting season during a few days of > the Christmas count period via Tom Clay at IAS ... a number of these sites > have Christmas counts, so, dig up those blaze orange birding vests! In > addition to being safe, you will be a magnet for all those wintering > hummingbirds. :-) > > This is just an announcement and not meant to get a discussion started. > > Judy Pollock > Evanston, IL > jpbobolink AT ... > > > From John Buhnerkempe at IDNR ... "Birders just need to be aware of hunters > afield and we encourage them to wear blaze orange or other highly visible > colors. I would discourage the wearing of white clothing." > > *IDNR** Public Land** Sites Open during the 2009/2010 Late Winter Deer Hunt* > > > > - December 31 – January 3; January 15 – 17 > > *Site Specific Permits Sold by License Vendors* > > Apple River Canyon SP – Thompson/Salem Units – JoDaviess > > Castle Rock SP – Ogle > > Goose Lake Prairie/Heidecke – Grundy > > Hanover Bluff SNA – JoDaviess > > Jubilee College SP – Peoria > > Lowden Miller SF - Ogle > > Rall Woods(formerly Falling Down Prairie) – JoDaviess > > Sahara Woods SFWA – Saline > > Sam Dale Lake SFWA - Wayne > > Siloam Springs/Buckhorn Unit – Brown > > Siloam Springs – Adams, Brown > > Starved Rock/Matthiessen SP/Mitchells Grove/Sandy Ford – Lasalle > > Tapley Woods SNA – JoDaviess > > Wards Grove SNA – JoDaviess > > White Pines SP - Ogle > > > > *Sites Open to Hunting with County Permits(where site is located)* > Clinton – Carlyle Lake – East Fork Unit, Eldon Hazlet SP(North side of Allen Branch) > Hamilton – Hamilton County SFWA > > Hamilton and Jefferson – Ten Mile Creek SFWA > Jefferson – Rend Lake SFWA and Rend Lake C.O.E. property > Johnson – Deer Pond SNA, Ferne Clyffe SP, Skinner Farm, Cache River(Johnson > portion only) > > Johnson and Union – Cypress Creek NWR, Cypress Pond SNA > > Perry – Pyramid SP(Captain, Denmark and "Old Park" units only) > > Randolph –Turkey Bluffs SFWA, Fort deChartres SHS > > Randolph, St. Clair, Monroe – Kaskaskia River SFWA > > Saline – Saline County SFWA > > Union – Trail of Tears SF, Devil's Island SFWA(Union portion only), Giant City SP(Union portion only) Subject: IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 07:18:25 -0800 (PST)   I left out some information that may be important. When I started getting HOSP problems I stopped feeding the birds for six weeks before starting my "perch-less" experiment.   I also wanted to make it clear that I'm not claiming that this solution will work in every situation. As I mentioned in my original note, what works for some people may not work for others, so your mileage may vary. But after one month of this experiment, so far, so good.   Bernie Sloan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Captive RB Grosbeak / No Sightings......... From: "calcariusp" <sdbailey AT mail.inhs.uiuc.edu> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:41:29 -0000 It seems hard to believe that the vet that you went to would not be aware that this is illegal, and is a federal law involving the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. I have a feeling that the grosbeak in the cage was confiscated from someone who was keeping the bird as a pet (and may have brought it into the vet for help, not knowing this is illegal in the U.S. With the very large increase of folks coming into this country from Mexico the last decade or more, there has been a large increase of such birds showing up in the U.S. in cages. They sometimes catch birders attention because they are birds native to Mexico and points farther south. It is a very common practice in Mexico, and Central and South America to not only keep wild parrots as pets, but also a wide variety of other species (mainly finches) such as Yellow Grosbeak, various grassquits and bunting species, seedeaters, etc. This practice is so prevalant that many of these finches have become very rare in their native habitats. There have been several instances of species like Yellow Grosbeak that generally do not appear as austral migrants or vagrants in the U.S. showing up quite north (Iowa?) into the U.S., and the thought is that they have escaped from their cages, under this type of captivity. My idea would be to go back and take a picture with a cell phone or other camera, of the bird in a cage (if still present), then ask the vet why such a bird is being held in a cage. The latest migrant Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are usually gone after the first week or so in October. They are fruit and seedeaters, so it may not be too late to just release it, if its plumage is not in too bad a shape. Otherwise, it should really be turned over to somebody with the Fish & Wildlife Service. Steve Bailey Mundelein (Lake Co) sdbailey AT mail.inhs.uiuc.edu >I was at a veterinary office on Monday and saw a cage sitting in the >corner. I wandered over to see what pet bird they might >have............a Rose Breasted Grosbeak (very ragged looking) was >sitting in the cage. There was even a little sign that said "I am a >Rose Breasted Grosbeak". > >What should be done? It shouldn't be kept there should it? I didn't >say anything to anyone at the office because I wanted to find out from >all of you if there is something I should/could do? > >Thanks for any help. > >Kristin Ellis >Ogle County Subject: IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) From: "Leslie" <lcc0920 AT ameritech.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 07:21:34 -0600 Bernie - Glad the suggestion of no perches helped. I will sometimes find the HS attempting to cling or finding a way to cling for an extremely short time, in general, they get way less food than they do when they can just sit and perch and feed away. Fran - Do you keep your upside down suet feeder near other feeders? My suggestion - put a large baffle over the top of the suet feeder and hang it away from other feeders. For me, this greatly reduces the number of house sparrows that will feed on the suet. When they have other feeders, posts, branches they can easily fly from to get onto the suet feeder, it makes it easier for them. I noticed a significant difference between when I had my upside down suet feeder close to other feeders and when I had it further away and when I had a baffle on it vs. no baffle I have my sunflower seeds in a feeder that looks like this: http://www.duncraft.com/Peanut-Sunflower-Steel-Feeder-P1793C36.aspx?UserID=1 1162809 &SessionID=mnGgcAbYXylerVtG9ODc. The house sparrows will get on it, but it's not easy, they don't stay on it long and they don't get much. Have you tried the upside down thistle feeder? My HS will sometimes try to figure this out, but it's very difficult for them even when they do. I also keep this feeder hanging away from the other feeders. http://www.birdfeeders.com/store/wild-bird-feeders/398 I am definitely not HS free, but at least am HS reduced. ;) Leslie Cummings Wheaton [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Captive RB Grosbeak / No Sightings......... From: "Kristin Ellis" <kristin7 AT mwci.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 07:03:00 -0600 I was at a veterinary office on Monday and saw a cage sitting in the corner. I wandered over to see what pet bird they might have............a Rose Breasted Grosbeak (very ragged looking) was sitting in the cage. There was even a little sign that said "I am a Rose Breasted Grosbeak". What should be done? It shouldn't be kept there should it? I didn't say anything to anyone at the office because I wanted to find out from all of you if there is something I should/could do? Thanks for any help. Kristin Ellis Ogle County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Lake Forest hawks From: "Sundberg, Jeffrey" <jsundber AT lakeforest.edu> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 22:55:14 -0600 The informal and all-too-sporadic Lake Forest College Rooftop Hawkwatch was in operation for a time today. In an hour (noon to 1 pm) we saw over 90 raptors, primarily Redtails and Sharpies. Also seen were 5 N. Harriers, 3 Roughlegged Hawks, 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Coop and 1 N. Goshawk. Sorry we missed the Golden Eagle seen at IBSP. A little more time spent later in the day showed more of the regulars along with a Red-shouldered, another Roughleg, and a Peregrine. We also had two small flocks of cranes. Jeff Sundberg, et al Lake Forest College/Lake County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL From: Bill Rudden <bilrudn AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:00:10 -0800 (PST) Here a Swallow pic from Southwestern IL 11-1-09. http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c281/bilrudn/42009/11-1-09d.jpg http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c281/bilrudn/42009/11-1-09d2.jpg Bill RuddenSt. Louis MO --- On Mon, 11/2/09, Sulli Gibson wrote: From: Sulli Gibson Subject: Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL To: "IBET" Date: Monday, November 2, 2009, 9:35 PM Hello everyone, Greg Lasley and Martin Reid had a probable White-winged Swallow in Texas on 24 September 2009. See the ABA Peeps blog, URL below. http://birding.typepad.com/peeps/2009/09/mystery-swallow-balmorhea-lake-tx.html Sulli Gibson Northfield, IL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Clyne" To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 2, 2009 8:28:13 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL White-winged Swallow (Tachycineta albiventer) caught my eye! I checked the AOU list on line (which includes species recorded through Middle America), and this South American species is missing from that list. I gather that this is a single-observer sight record, so I don't suppose the record will never make it to the AOU list, but looking at plates of White-winged Swallow it matches Bohlen's description of "white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow." So we should all start preparing for this as an addition to the North American avifauna. So begins another contest.... Good birding! Paul Clyne Hyde Park, Chicago paulclyne2000 AT yahoo.com --- On Mon, 11/2/09, Beckie Dyer < dyer AT museum.state.il.us > wrote: From: Beckie Dyer < dyer AT museum.state.il.us > Subject: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, November 2, 2009, 3:42 PM Report from Sangamon County, IL... Birds in Sangamon County for October 2009 Common Loon -- Oct 12 Red-necked Grebe -- Oct 14 earliest ever fall arrival Eared Grebe -- Oct 24 (2) Horned Grebe -- Oct 17 Green Heron -- Oct 16 Cattle Egret -- Oct 1 White fr.Goose -- Oct 20 (40) Cackling Goose -- Oct 12 Blue-winged Teal -- Oct 27 Ring-necked Duck -- Oct 4 Redhead -- Oct 24 Lesser Scaup -- Oct 24 Bufflehead -- Oct 25 Hooded Merganser -- Oct 26 N.Harrier -- Oct 1 very late arrival Harlan's Hawk -- Oct 31 photo taken Sora -- Oct 7 Solitary Sandpiper -- Oct 4 Spotted Sandpiper -- Oct 24 Lesser Yellowlegs -- Oct 26 Am. Avocet -- Oct 11 (1) -- Oct 25 (4) Ruddy Turnstone -- Oct 25 imm latest ever Baird's Sandpiper -- Oct 18 Pectoral Sandpiper -- Oct 22 Dunlin -- Oct 14 Forster's Tern - Oct 28 Common Tern -- Oct 24 imm Black Tern -- Oct 22 latest ever Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- Oct 24 Common Nighthawk -- Oct 19 Ruby-thr.Hummingbir d -- Oct 4 Chimney Swift -- Oct 25 Olive-sided Flycatcher -- Oct 11 latest ever, photo taken E.Wood Pewee -- Oct 23 Say's Phoebe -- Oct 1 photo taken White-winged Swallow ? (/Tachycineta albiventer/ ) -- Oct 3 (white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow - Austral migrant or partial albino????) N.Rough-winged Swallow -- Oct 10 Barn Swallow -- Oct 25 Gray Catbird -- Oct 30 (2) Brown Thrasher -- Oct 16 Swainson's Thrush -- Oct 11 Marsh Wren -- Oct 26 Sedge Wren -- Oct 9 Golden-cr.Kinglet -- Oct 4 White-eyed Vireo -- Oct 3 Blue-headed Vireo -- Oct 27 Yellow-throated Vireo -- Oct 7 Warbling Vireo -- Oct 4 Philadelphia Vireo -- Oct 16 Red-eyed Vireo -- Oct 17 Tennessee Warbler -- Oct 29 Orange-cr. Warbler -- Oct 3 arrival Nashville Warbler -- Oct 30 N.Parula -- Oct 9 Chestnut-sided Warbler -- Oct 11 Magnolia Warbler -- Oct 5 Cape May Warbler -- Oct 21 Black-thr Green Warbler -- Oct 23 Blackburnian Warbler -- Oct 7 Yellow-throated Warbler -- Oct 7 Black&White Warbler -- Oct 7 Am. Redstart -- Oct 23 (ad ?) Pine Warbler -- Oct 4 Palm Warbler -- Oct 28 Bay-br.Warbler -- Oct 7 Ovenbird -- Oct 14 window kill Northern Waterthrush -- Oct 12 Mourning Warbler -- Oct 4 Common Yellowthroat -- Oct 22 Wilson's Warbler -- Oct 7 Summer Tanager -- Oct 23 (?) Rose-br Grosbeak -- Oct 17 Indigo Bunting -- Oct 31 (2) Clay-colored Sparrow -- Oct 5 Grasshopper Sparrow -- Oct 24 LeConte's Sparrow -- Oct 22 arrival Bobolink -- Oct 15 Rusty Blackbird -- Oct 16 Brewer's Blackbird -- Oct 30 (10) Purple Finch -- Oct 4 Pine Siskin -- Oct 24 H.David Bohlen, Illinois State Museum Springfield, IL, Sangamon Co. bohlen AT museum. state.il. us -- Beckie Dyer Museum Technician Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center 1011 East Ash Street Springfield, Illinois 62703-3500 Phone: 217-782-7475 Fax: 217-785-2857 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Re: North of Foster Avenue Beach - Long-tailed Duck From: "Steve" <steven0703 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:00:10 -0000 Maybe. I don't know how rare these are, but have seen one a year the last three years, this one, one at Loyola and one at Belmont Harbor. I think our rocky lakefront areas attract them as they pass through the area. Steve Spitzer Chicago, Cook --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "franmmmk" wrote: > > My one and only Long-tailed Duck was a female at Foster Beach on Oct 16, 2007. Same bird, perhaps? > > Fran > > --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Steve Spitzer wrote: > > > > Hi Birders, > > > > There was a female Long-tailed Duck along the shoreline North of Foster a little while ago. > > Details and pictures/video at the link. > > > > http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=28525.0 > > > > Steve Spitzer > > Chicago, Cook > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > Subject: Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL From: Sulli Gibson <sulli.gibson AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 03:35:40 +0000 (UTC) Hello everyone, Greg Lasley and Martin Reid had a probable White-winged Swallow in Texas on 24 September 2009. See the ABA Peeps blog, URL below. http://birding.typepad.com/peeps/2009/09/mystery-swallow-balmorhea-lake-tx.html Sulli Gibson Northfield, IL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Clyne" To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 2, 2009 8:28:13 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL White-winged Swallow (Tachycineta albiventer) caught my eye! I checked the AOU list on line (which includes species recorded through Middle America), and this South American species is missing from that list. I gather that this is a single-observer sight record, so I don't suppose the record will never make it to the AOU list, but looking at plates of White-winged Swallow it matches Bohlen's description of "white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow." So we should all start preparing for this as an addition to the North American avifauna. So begins another contest.... Good birding! Paul Clyne Hyde Park, Chicago paulclyne2000 AT yahoo.com --- On Mon, 11/2/09, Beckie Dyer < dyer AT museum.state.il.us > wrote: From: Beckie Dyer < dyer AT museum.state.il.us > Subject: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, November 2, 2009, 3:42 PM Report from Sangamon County, IL... Birds in Sangamon County for October 2009 Common Loon -- Oct 12 Red-necked Grebe -- Oct 14 earliest ever fall arrival Eared Grebe -- Oct 24 (2) Horned Grebe -- Oct 17 Green Heron -- Oct 16 Cattle Egret -- Oct 1 White fr.Goose -- Oct 20 (40) Cackling Goose -- Oct 12 Blue-winged Teal -- Oct 27 Ring-necked Duck -- Oct 4 Redhead -- Oct 24 Lesser Scaup -- Oct 24 Bufflehead -- Oct 25 Hooded Merganser -- Oct 26 N.Harrier -- Oct 1 very late arrival Harlan's Hawk -- Oct 31 photo taken Sora -- Oct 7 Solitary Sandpiper -- Oct 4 Spotted Sandpiper -- Oct 24 Lesser Yellowlegs -- Oct 26 Am. Avocet -- Oct 11 (1) -- Oct 25 (4) Ruddy Turnstone -- Oct 25 imm latest ever Baird's Sandpiper -- Oct 18 Pectoral Sandpiper -- Oct 22 Dunlin -- Oct 14 Forster's Tern - Oct 28 Common Tern -- Oct 24 imm Black Tern -- Oct 22 latest ever Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- Oct 24 Common Nighthawk -- Oct 19 Ruby-thr.Hummingbir d -- Oct 4 Chimney Swift -- Oct 25 Olive-sided Flycatcher -- Oct 11 latest ever, photo taken E.Wood Pewee -- Oct 23 Say's Phoebe -- Oct 1 photo taken White-winged Swallow ? (/Tachycineta albiventer/ ) -- Oct 3 (white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow - Austral migrant or partial albino????) N.Rough-winged Swallow -- Oct 10 Barn Swallow -- Oct 25 Gray Catbird -- Oct 30 (2) Brown Thrasher -- Oct 16 Swainson's Thrush -- Oct 11 Marsh Wren -- Oct 26 Sedge Wren -- Oct 9 Golden-cr.Kinglet -- Oct 4 White-eyed Vireo -- Oct 3 Blue-headed Vireo -- Oct 27 Yellow-throated Vireo -- Oct 7 Warbling Vireo -- Oct 4 Philadelphia Vireo -- Oct 16 Red-eyed Vireo -- Oct 17 Tennessee Warbler -- Oct 29 Orange-cr. Warbler -- Oct 3 arrival Nashville Warbler -- Oct 30 N.Parula -- Oct 9 Chestnut-sided Warbler -- Oct 11 Magnolia Warbler -- Oct 5 Cape May Warbler -- Oct 21 Black-thr Green Warbler -- Oct 23 Blackburnian Warbler -- Oct 7 Yellow-throated Warbler -- Oct 7 Black&White Warbler -- Oct 7 Am. Redstart -- Oct 23 (ad ?) Pine Warbler -- Oct 4 Palm Warbler -- Oct 28 Bay-br.Warbler -- Oct 7 Ovenbird -- Oct 14 window kill Northern Waterthrush -- Oct 12 Mourning Warbler -- Oct 4 Common Yellowthroat -- Oct 22 Wilson's Warbler -- Oct 7 Summer Tanager -- Oct 23 (?) Rose-br Grosbeak -- Oct 17 Indigo Bunting -- Oct 31 (2) Clay-colored Sparrow -- Oct 5 Grasshopper Sparrow -- Oct 24 LeConte's Sparrow -- Oct 22 arrival Bobolink -- Oct 15 Rusty Blackbird -- Oct 16 Brewer's Blackbird -- Oct 30 (10) Purple Finch -- Oct 4 Pine Siskin -- Oct 24 H.David Bohlen, Illinois State Museum Springfield, IL, Sangamon Co. bohlen AT museum. state.il. us -- Beckie Dyer Museum Technician Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center 1011 East Ash Street Springfield, Illinois 62703-3500 Phone: 217-782-7475 Fax: 217-785-2857 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET A Red-shouldered Hawk day at the Greene Valley hawkwatch on Monday From: BFisher928 AT aol.com Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:44:35 EST The 5 Red-shoulders we had today on the hill is our highest single day count for this species since we began the count in '06. Another highlight was a juvenile N. Goshawk. Many of the birds were very high and we undoubtedly missed raptors, which can be very difficult to spot when peering into the featureless 'blue dome'. We counted 86 birds in all, mostly Sharpies (15) and Redtails (50), but also including 3 TVs, a male harrier, 4 Coops, a light morph Roughleg, a male kestrel and 5 unidentifiable raptors. A late single Chimney Swift briefly flew around the hill. Flocks of Cedar Waxwings, E Bluebirds, Am. Pipits and Lapland Longspurs flew by, and we had 425 Sandhill Cranes, all in the afternoon. No sign of the Sprague's Pipit, though we did not spend any time checking out the base of the glider hill where the bird was last seen. Regards Bob Fisher Downers Grove DuPage County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL From: Paul Clyne <paulclyne2000 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:28:13 -0800 (PST) White-winged Swallow (Tachycineta albiventer) caught my eye!  I checked the AOU list on line (which includes species recorded through Middle America), and this South American species is missing from that list. I gather that this is a single-observer sight record, so I don't suppose the record will never make it to the AOU list, but looking at plates of White-winged Swallow it matches Bohlen's description of "white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow." So we should all start preparing for this as an addition to the North American avifauna.  So begins another contest.... Good birding! Paul Clyne Hyde Park, Chicago paulclyne2000 AT yahoo.com --- On Mon, 11/2/09, Beckie Dyer wrote: From: Beckie Dyer Subject: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, November 2, 2009, 3:42 PM                         Report from Sangamon County, IL... Birds in Sangamon County for October 2009 Common Loon -- Oct 12 Red-necked Grebe -- Oct 14 earliest ever fall arrival Eared Grebe -- Oct 24 (2) Horned Grebe -- Oct 17 Green Heron -- Oct 16 Cattle Egret -- Oct 1 White fr.Goose -- Oct 20 (40) Cackling Goose -- Oct 12 Blue-winged Teal -- Oct 27 Ring-necked Duck -- Oct 4 Redhead -- Oct 24 Lesser Scaup -- Oct 24 Bufflehead -- Oct 25 Hooded Merganser -- Oct 26 N.Harrier -- Oct 1 very late arrival Harlan's Hawk -- Oct 31 photo taken Sora -- Oct 7 Solitary Sandpiper -- Oct 4 Spotted Sandpiper -- Oct 24 Lesser Yellowlegs -- Oct 26 Am. Avocet -- Oct 11 (1) -- Oct 25 (4) Ruddy Turnstone -- Oct 25 imm latest ever Baird's Sandpiper -- Oct 18 Pectoral Sandpiper -- Oct 22 Dunlin -- Oct 14 Forster's Tern - Oct 28 Common Tern -- Oct 24 imm Black Tern -- Oct 22 latest ever Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- Oct 24 Common Nighthawk -- Oct 19 Ruby-thr.Hummingbir d -- Oct 4 Chimney Swift -- Oct 25 Olive-sided Flycatcher -- Oct 11 latest ever, photo taken E.Wood Pewee -- Oct 23 Say's Phoebe -- Oct 1 photo taken White-winged Swallow ? (/Tachycineta albiventer/  ) -- Oct 3 (white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow -  Austral migrant or partial albino????) N.Rough-winged Swallow -- Oct 10 Barn Swallow -- Oct 25 Gray Catbird -- Oct 30 (2) Brown Thrasher -- Oct 16 Swainson's Thrush -- Oct 11 Marsh Wren -- Oct 26 Sedge Wren -- Oct 9 Golden-cr.Kinglet -- Oct 4 White-eyed Vireo -- Oct 3 Blue-headed Vireo -- Oct 27 Yellow-throated Vireo -- Oct 7 Warbling Vireo -- Oct 4 Philadelphia Vireo -- Oct 16 Red-eyed Vireo -- Oct 17 Tennessee Warbler -- Oct 29 Orange-cr. Warbler -- Oct 3 arrival Nashville Warbler -- Oct 30 N.Parula -- Oct 9 Chestnut-sided Warbler -- Oct 11 Magnolia Warbler -- Oct 5 Cape May Warbler -- Oct 21 Black-thr Green Warbler -- Oct 23 Blackburnian Warbler -- Oct 7 Yellow-throated Warbler -- Oct 7 Black&White Warbler -- Oct 7 Am. Redstart -- Oct 23 (ad ?) Pine Warbler -- Oct 4 Palm Warbler -- Oct 28 Bay-br.Warbler -- Oct 7 Ovenbird -- Oct 14 window kill Northern Waterthrush -- Oct 12 Mourning Warbler -- Oct 4 Common Yellowthroat -- Oct 22 Wilson's Warbler -- Oct 7 Summer Tanager -- Oct 23 (?) Rose-br Grosbeak -- Oct 17 Indigo Bunting -- Oct 31 (2) Clay-colored Sparrow -- Oct 5 Grasshopper Sparrow -- Oct 24 LeConte's Sparrow -- Oct 22 arrival Bobolink -- Oct 15 Rusty Blackbird -- Oct 16 Brewer's Blackbird -- Oct 30 (10) Purple Finch -- Oct 4 Pine Siskin -- Oct 24 H.David Bohlen,  Illinois State Museum Springfield, IL, Sangamon Co. bohlen AT museum. state.il. us -- Beckie Dyer Museum Technician Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center 1011 East Ash Street Springfield, Illinois 62703-3500 Phone: 217-782-7475 Fax: 217-785-2857 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]                                                         Subject: IBET Re: North of Foster Avenue Beach - Long-tailed Duck From: "franmmmk" <franmmmk AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:20:37 -0000 My one and only Long-tailed Duck was a female at Foster Beach on Oct 16, 2007. Same bird, perhaps? Fran --- In ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Steve Spitzer wrote: > > Hi Birders, > > There was a female Long-tailed Duck along the shoreline North of Foster a little while ago. > Details and pictures/video at the link. > > http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=28525.0 > > Steve Spitzer > Chicago, Cook > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > Subject: IBET Re: Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) From: "franmmmk" <franmmmk AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:15:58 -0000 "So far, so good" .....famous last words.....last year I bought an upside down suet feeder for woodpeckers, because the HOSPs were eating all the suet on the vertical cage.....fast forward 6 months, first they learned to peck at it from underneath, like a hummingbird fluttering and taking a quick stab while in flight.....then a few learned to hang upside down......now they all have it figured out..... they also hang from my finch feeder and eat most of my sunflower seeds..... good luck Bernie! Fran Evanston I will occasionally scatter some seed on the ground to keep the juncos and other winter sparrows interested, so I do have a few HOSPs around, but not on the feeders. So far, so good. > > Bernie Sloan > Subject: IBET IBSP Hawk Watch - Terrific Flight! From: VBirdman AT aol.com Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:29:41 -0500 A superb raptor movement occurred today at the Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch. Most of today's raptors came immediately after the cold front passed. These birds must've been stacked right behind the front. It was the hawk watch's best day for Red-tailed Hawks (including a dark morph Western RT and a partial albino RT) and the best day for Rough-legged Hawk. The Golden Eagle was an adult and flew directly overhead. Tomorrow's weather also looks favorable for raptor movement. Whether or not it will be comparable to today, less than today or possibly even better will be interesting to see. Might be worth a trip down to the hawk watch! Here is what our counters and observers saw today: Turkey Vulture - 2 Bald Eagle - 1 Northern Harrier - 11 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 172 Cooper's Hawk - 14 Northern Goshawk - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 4 Red-tailed Hawk - 210 Rough-legged Hawk - 15 Golden Eagle - 1 American Kestrel - 2 Merlin - 2 Peregrine Falcon - 2 TOTAL - 437 Directions to the IBSP Hawk Watch: Take I-94 to Route 173, exit and head east to Sheridan Road (approx. 8 miles) Go north on Sheridan Road to 17th Street and go east (you'll see a Moose Lodge with a flag waving hard form the west wind) Take 17th Street into the park and continue into the park and turn right at the sign for the Sand Prairie Day Use Area. The count site is located at the first pavilion on the right. For complete information on today's count including other birds seen and other related information, please go to and click on "Latest count data": https://www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=527 Vic Berardi Gurnee, IL VBirdman AT aol.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Keeping House Sparrows away from bird feeders (no sightings) From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:52:21 -0800 (PST) Six weeks ago I posted a request to a couple of birding lists, asking for advice on how to keep House Sparrows (HOSPs) away from backyard bird feeders.   Evidently this is a popular topic. I received nearly 50 replies to my question, by far the most responses I’ve ever received for an e-mail question. Thanks to all who took the time to reply!   The responses ranged from despair ("It is a lost cause") to resignation ("We have decided that if we are going to have birds, we can't select what we feed.  Take what comes."). Several people suggested violent but tempting solutions. For example: "How about a sawed-off shotgun?" and "I'm convinced that there is only one way to keep them from your feeder. Two letters...BB."  :-)   The advice people offered can be broken down into two categories: 1) The type of feed to use (and/or NOT use), and 2) Equipment.   The most interesting aspect of the "type of feed" advice is that some people experienced contradictory results, i.e, what worked for some people did not work for others. For example, where one person said they got rid of sparrows by offering safflower seed, another remarked that their sparrows got used to safflower and started eating it. Where one person said they solved their problem by only using feed with no millet or cracked corn, another related that this did not solve their HOSP problem. A couple of folks said HOSPS didn’t like peanut pieces, while another said their HOSPs liked them ("we have 45 or so House Sparrows at our feeder and they consume everything, including peanut pieces"). And one person even said that black oil sunflower seed worked for them at one residence, but when they moved to another house the HOSPs there LOVED black oil sunflower. A couple of people suggested "diversionary feeding" (feeding cracked corn and white millet on the ground away from the feeders), while others tried that without success.   In my original note I also said I was considering feeding peanut pieces. Several people encouraged me to do so, saying it would attract many desirable species. But others warned of possible dire consequences: "If a squirrel or raccoon can get to the feeder it WILL be destroyed" and "The squirrels will tear your feeders apart trying to get to the peanuts.  I really would discourage feeding peanut pieces for that reason." More on my experiences with squirrels and raccoons in a bit.   As far as equipment is concerned, several people suggested various solutions that used monofilament fishing line. They all said it worked like a charm in keeping the HOSPs away from the feeder. But two of them had experiences with other species getting tangled in the lines and decided it was not worth the risk. While it sounds like it has potential, I’d rather not risk the chance of having to untangle a bird from monofilament. From my experiences with fishing, it’s bad enough when monofilament gets tangled with itself, let alone with a bird.   Very few people had suggestions with regard to bird feeders. There were suggestions about how to keep squirrels away from feeders if I decided to feed peanut pieces, but very little about the feeders themselves. But the overall best piece of advice I received was about feeders. Leslie in Wheaton gave some great advice when she said: "The perches are the problem – get rid of the perches." Apparently HOSPs don’t like feeders without perches.   Intrigued by Leslie’s suggestion I went into my storage shed and found two feeders that would let me conduct a "no perches" experiment:   1. This feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited has perches, but they can be flipped up. I tied them up with garbage bag twisty ties, just in case an enterprising HOSP figured out how to flip them down. Birds cling to a metal mesh to get at the feeding ports.  I filled this one with sunflower hearts. http://tinyurl.com/y87zpy8   2. This Duncraft feeder has no perches. I filled this one with a woodpecker feed mix (shelled peanuts, sunflower kernels, corn, pecans, pistachios, shelled pumpkin seed, and dried cherries). http://tinyurl.com/yewynl8   Both of these feeders have the added advantage of being squirrel-proof. I’ve never seen a squirrel get anything out of them in the past. And I found out that they are raccoon-proof as well. The night after I added the woodpecker mix a raccoon destroyed my ceramic birdbath while trying to reach the feeder. It must have perched on the edge of the birdbath and tipped it over. The next night a raccoon knocked over the stand that holds the feeders and scattered the feeders across the patio. The feeders were fine and lost very little feed. I weighted down the base of the stand and have had no problems since.   The HOSPs definitely do NOT like the perch-less feeders. The Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, White and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Hairy and Downy and Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers all LOVE the setup. I will occasionally scatter some seed on the ground to keep the juncos and other winter sparrows interested, so I do have a few HOSPs around, but not on the feeders. So far, so good. Bernie Sloan Subject: IBET McLean Co. BCNH / Woodford Co. ROGO From: Matthew Winks <fluidfive AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:14:45 -0600 Hi all, Pete Fenner informed me of a small flock of Cackling Geese and a single Ross's Goose at South Park in El Paso around midday Saturday. This is a bird I need for my Woodford year list and it was literally in my back yard. But I couldn't make it there till sunset at which point the Cacklers and Ross's were gone. I figured that was probably my one and only chance for a Woodford Ross's this year. For work today, I had to make a run to El Paso at noon. While driving north up I-39 I noticed a large flock of small geese flying towards the borrow pit at the El Paso exit. I figured out there were Cacklers quickly and as they started turning back and forth to come down, I noticed one small white goose in the bunch. On my way out of town, I check the pit and luckily found a Ross's Goose (Woodford Year #232) hanging with a flock of ~130 Cackling Geese. White Oak Park in Bloomington was pretty slow at lunch today, but did have a drake Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal. I checked it briefly after work with an amazing sunset to the west and a full moon on the horizon to the east. While parking I noticed a large heron-like bird perched high on the power lines. I thought it was a Green Heron, but got the bincoluars on an immature Night-Heron. McLean County is not exactly a haven for Night-Herons. I've seen only one in the county which was a Yellow-crowned this spring. Woodford County has been no better to me since I've had neither species there. I got the scope on the bird and found my first county Black-crowned Night-Heron. Matthew Winks El Paso, IL _________________________________________________________________ Windows 7: It works the way you want. http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/default.aspx?ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen2:112009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET:Sangamon Co.,IL From: Beckie Dyer <dyer AT museum.state.il.us> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:42:08 -0600 Report from Sangamon County, IL... Birds in Sangamon County for October 2009 Common Loon -- Oct 12 Red-necked Grebe -- Oct 14 earliest ever fall arrival Eared Grebe -- Oct 24 (2) Horned Grebe -- Oct 17 Green Heron -- Oct 16 Cattle Egret -- Oct 1 White fr.Goose -- Oct 20 (40) Cackling Goose -- Oct 12 Blue-winged Teal -- Oct 27 Ring-necked Duck -- Oct 4 Redhead -- Oct 24 Lesser Scaup -- Oct 24 Bufflehead -- Oct 25 Hooded Merganser -- Oct 26 N.Harrier -- Oct 1 very late arrival Harlan's Hawk -- Oct 31 photo taken Sora -- Oct 7 Solitary Sandpiper -- Oct 4 Spotted Sandpiper -- Oct 24 Lesser Yellowlegs -- Oct 26 Am. Avocet -- Oct 11 (1) -- Oct 25 (4) Ruddy Turnstone -- Oct 25 imm latest ever Baird's Sandpiper -- Oct 18 Pectoral Sandpiper -- Oct 22 Dunlin -- Oct 14 Forster's Tern - Oct 28 Common Tern -- Oct 24 imm Black Tern -- Oct 22 latest ever Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- Oct 24 Common Nighthawk -- Oct 19 Ruby-thr.Hummingbird -- Oct 4 Chimney Swift -- Oct 25 Olive-sided Flycatcher -- Oct 11 latest ever, photo taken E.Wood Pewee -- Oct 23 Say's Phoebe -- Oct 1 photo taken White-winged Swallow ? (/Tachycineta albiventer/ ) -- Oct 3 (white rump and white in secondaries, otherwise like Tree Swallow - Austral migrant or partial albino????) N.Rough-winged Swallow -- Oct 10 Barn Swallow -- Oct 25 Gray Catbird -- Oct 30 (2) Brown Thrasher -- Oct 16 Swainson's Thrush -- Oct 11 Marsh Wren -- Oct 26 Sedge Wren -- Oct 9 Golden-cr.Kinglet -- Oct 4 White-eyed Vireo -- Oct 3 Blue-headed Vireo -- Oct 27 Yellow-throated Vireo -- Oct 7 Warbling Vireo -- Oct 4 Philadelphia Vireo -- Oct 16 Red-eyed Vireo -- Oct 17 Tennessee Warbler -- Oct 29 Orange-cr. Warbler -- Oct 3 arrival Nashville Warbler -- Oct 30 N.Parula -- Oct 9 Chestnut-sided Warbler -- Oct 11 Magnolia Warbler -- Oct 5 Cape May Warbler -- Oct 21 Black-thr Green Warbler -- Oct 23 Blackburnian Warbler -- Oct 7 Yellow-throated Warbler -- Oct 7 Black&White Warbler -- Oct 7 Am. Redstart -- Oct 23 (ad ?) Pine Warbler -- Oct 4 Palm Warbler -- Oct 28 Bay-br.Warbler -- Oct 7 Ovenbird -- Oct 14 window kill Northern Waterthrush -- Oct 12 Mourning Warbler -- Oct 4 Common Yellowthroat -- Oct 22 Wilson's Warbler -- Oct 7 Summer Tanager -- Oct 23 (?) Rose-br Grosbeak -- Oct 17 Indigo Bunting -- Oct 31 (2) Clay-colored Sparrow -- Oct 5 Grasshopper Sparrow -- Oct 24 LeConte's Sparrow -- Oct 22 arrival Bobolink -- Oct 15 Rusty Blackbird -- Oct 16 Brewer's Blackbird -- Oct 30 (10) Purple Finch -- Oct 4 Pine Siskin -- Oct 24 H.David Bohlen, Illinois State Museum Springfield, IL, Sangamon Co. bohlen AT museum.state.il.us -- Beckie Dyer Museum Technician Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center 1011 East Ash Street Springfield, Illinois 62703-3500 Phone: 217-782-7475 Fax: 217-785-2857 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Evanston Yard Bird - Tundra Swan From: "mcvetas" <mcvetas AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:49:19 -0000 At 2:45pm, a flock of high flying 20 TUNDRA SWANs are making their way east over Evanston toward Lake Michigan. Tundra Swan is a new yard bird and a FoY sighting for me. Matthew Cvetas Evanston, IL Cook County Subject: IBET North of Foster Avenue Beach - Long-tailed Duck From: Steve Spitzer <steven0703 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:47:17 -0800 (PST) Hi Birders, There was a female Long-tailed Duck along the shoreline North of Foster a little while ago. Details and pictures/video at the link. http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=28525.0 Steve Spitzer Chicago, Cook [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: IBET Re: Inca Doves in captivity (No sightings) From: "calcariusp" <sdbailey AT mail.inhs.uiuc.edu> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:43:40 -0000 Sorry for getting in on this thread rather late, but I would agree with Sebastian (more expert than I on its range expansion into Kansas) as to the likelihood that this birds disposition being more likely to be of a wild origin, not a bird raised in captivity. I researched and wrote an article for the Illinois Ornithological Society's journal the Meadowlark back in 2005 called "Invasion of the doves: Illinois and regional patterns in a national context". I spent a lot of time in the article discussing the rather recent expansion (relatively explosive expansion!) of both the Inca and White-winged Doves range into the southern (and even somewhat northern!) Great Plains. White-winged Dove has a similar U.S. range as Inca Dove. At least one White-winged Dove (sometimes two or more) has been found somewhere in Illinois since 1998 (the year the first record for the species was documented), except for one year. There was one photographed this summer at a feeder near Macomb, in west-central Illinois. Many other nearby states have been getting some of their first records for this species just within the last few years, (these numbers as of 2005) Ohio (all 3 of their records in last 6 years), Kentucky (4, all in the last 4 years), Wisconsin (5, at least 4 since April 2004), Minnesota (9, 7 since 2003), Iowa ~6 including several in 2005), Missouri (at least 5 since 2004). O.K., this isn't Inca Dove, but on a smaller scale, the same kind of thing is happening with it. Where it is found, Inca dove in the U.S. and elsewhere is often a "town" bird, more-times-than-not found on lawns and in peoples yards in town. Prior to Illinois's first Inca Dove record which was found and stayed in a suburban yard in Carbondale in southern Illinois from at least late September to 24 December 2004, the Inca Dove had been found in several other midwestern states (fairly recently) including Tennessee (1st found on 28 Aug.), Kentucky (1st record shot by a dove hunter on 1 Oct.), Missouri and Michigan. Many records for this species (and White-winged Dove) are post-breeding late-summer and early fall birds, which fits well with this recent Illinois record. For a more thorough discussion on timing of movements, see my Meadowlark article in Vol.15, No. 2). The former U.S. range for both White-Winged and Inca Dove were formerly in the deep south and southwest, but have been continually creeping northward, especially in the Great Plains, for some time now. Both species readily come to feeders, where many Illinois records have occurred for both of these dove species. From my article, "in southwestern Kansas where the breeding avantgarde for Inca Doves currently resides, one yard whose owners feed has attracted up to 18 Inca Doves and 106 White-winged Doves (as well as Mourning and Eurasian Collard-Doves) at one time! These folks feed more than 700 pounds of sunflower chips in just 2-3 months. As of May 2004, there had been at least 76 records of Inca Dove in Kansas from 26 counties with 68 of them just since 1990. So, my guess is that the likelihood of this recent Illinois Inca Dove being a wild bird, far outweighs the chances that the bird is an escaped cagebird, especially given the date of its arrival. I would suspect that if the IORC does their homework, they will come to the same conclusion. Steve Bailey Mundelein (Lake County) sdbailey AT mail.inhs.uiuc.edu Subject: IBET 64th St beach From: Glyn Dawson <dawg AT uchicago.edu> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 11:05:11 -0600 Sunday highlights at 64th St beach were a late wood thrush and 3 horned (Slavonian) grebes off Larabida. Please be advised that this whole area (including the driving range/monk parakeet nests) now has metered parking 24/7. Glyn and Sylvia Hyde Park