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Updated on Sunday, May 11 at 05:25 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.


Pallass Sandgrouse,©BirdQuest

11 May IBET Lost glasses at Jarvis/ No Sightings [Owen McHugh ]
11 May IBET Little Red Schoolhouse ["judyfruin" ]
11 May IBET IL SBC, Lake Co, Rollins Savanna FP []
11 May IBET spring bird count Palos/Orland ["Wes Serafin" ]
11 May IBET: May 11 birds from Chicago's lakefront []
11 May IBET Meacham Grove, May 9th ["katelyn.beaty" ]
11 May IBET Montrose Beach -Caspian Terns 5/11 am [Steve Huggins ]
11 May IBET Montrose 5/10 []
11 May IBET Woodford Co. Mackinaw Bluffs SBC [Matthew Winks ]
11 May IBET Woodford Co. Mackinaw Bluffs SBC [Matthew Winks ]
11 May IBET Calumet Area Spring Count (5-10-08) [Walter Marcisz ]
11 May IBET Brown County spring bird count ["Tony Ward" ]
11 May RE: IBET Martin Houses on Wooded Island need volunteers! ["Carolyn A. Marsh" ]
11 May IBET Bbackyard Bonanza in Mundelein -- lots of activity [Ms Sheryl DeVore ]
11 May IBET The Spring Count in southeast DuPage []
11 May Re: IBET Black-billed cuckoo, Waterfall Glen []
11 May IBET swainson's warbler---no ["bik_horus" ]
11 May IBET Black-billed cuckoo, Waterfall Glen [Vicky Sroczynski ]
11 May IBET Conkey, Turtlehead, Swallow Cliff, Maple Lake Spring Count ["Beth Simkins" ]
11 May IBET Saturday in southern DeKalb County ["Darrell Shambaugh" ]
11 May IBET 5 Siskins at feeders in Gurnee ["Jim Solum" ]
11 May IBET Midewin Harris' Sparrow on Saturday [cindy alberico ]
11 May IBET Martin Houses on Wooded Island need volunteers! ["q4birds" ]
11 May IBET Kankakee Co Spring Count [Jed Hertz ]
11 May IBET Nachusa Grasslands [John Heneghan ]
10 May IBET huge Caspian Tern count and other highlights from Evanston [Josh Engel ]
11 May IBET Chicago Botanic Gardens, 5/10 a.m. []
11 May IBET Air Station Prairie, 5/10 a.m. []
11 May IBET Techny Basin Conservation Area SBC, 5/10 a.m. []
10 May IBET North Pond, Spring Count Highlights [Steve Huggins ]
10 May IBET Elsen's Hill Area (DuPage Co. SBC) - 25 sp. of Warblers [Eric Secker ]
10 May IBET NW Cook County, Sat. 10 May 2008 ["Geoffrey A. Williamson" ]
10 May IBET Great Black-backed Gull and Blue Grosbeak, Cook Co. - 10 May 2008 ["Nicholas Block" ]
10 May IBET Common Loon, Black Tern at Pella Pond [Urs Geiser ]
10 May IBET LaBagh early afternoon [Jill Niland ]
11 May IBET cerulean warblers in St Charles ["mayhill10" ]
10 May IBET NE Lake Co SBC highlights-Red Crossbills & Pine Siskins ["Jim Solum" ]
10 May IBET Piatt County: Robert Allerton Park, May 5 ["Jane Ward" ]
10 May IBET YELLOW RAIL Chain O Lakes State Park [Matthew Fletcher ]
10 May IBET Sightings @ Botanic Gardens Magnolia warbler? ["jfrankfurter" ]
10 May IBET sorry [Grant Simon ]
10 May IBET Lake County, 5/10 [Robert Hughes ]
10 May IBET harris' sparrow-north pond yellow crowned - montrose [Grant Simon ]
10 May IBET Palos area (SW Cook County) May 10 ["Craig & Barb Thayer" ]
10 May IBET Montrose Harbour correction ["toffeeman26" ]
10 May IBET Labagh Woods and Montrose Harbour ["toffeeman26" ]
10 May IBET wooded isle jackson park chicago Il [Paul Doughty ]
10 May IBET Waukegan Black-legged Kittiwake, 5/10 p.m. [Robert Hughes ]
10 May IBET Sora Rail Video Wilkinson-Renwick Marsh Nature Preserve, Dekalb County ["Bill" ]
10 May IBET Black-legged Kittiwake Waukegan beach ["bruceheimer" ]
10 May IBET Lost Cell Phone @ Montrose Bird Sanctuary ["marshallbsegal" ]
10 May IBET Lost Motorola cell phone @ Montrose []

Subject: IBET Lost glasses at Jarvis/ No Sightings
From: Owen McHugh <artbirds AT sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 15:25:26 -0700 (PDT)
Hello Ibeters:

A few days ago I found a pair of glasses along the
north fence of the Jarvis Bird Sanctuary in Lincoln
Park Chicago. On the good chance that they might
belong to a birder let me describe them. The 
glasses are bifocals with brown frames. They are 
in a Lenscrafters dark cloth case. Contact me if
they might be yours.

Owen McHugh
Artbirds AT Sbcglobal.net 
Subject: IBET Little Red Schoolhouse
From: "judyfruin" <judyfruin AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 21:01:33 -0000
We were in Lemont yesterday.
Apparently the Little Red Schoolhouse will reopen today.  Yesterday
(Saturday) there were two Osprey over the lake.  I understand they have 
erected a pole hoping to get a nest.  Also pair of Orioles and 4 red 
grossbeaks and red bellied woodpecker at feeder and in the area.
Judy Fruin
McHenry County
Subject: IBET IL SBC, Lake Co, Rollins Savanna FP
From: djohnsoda AT comcast.net
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 20:56:03 +0000
11 May 2008

Fellow Ibeters,

As most have posted, in spite of the late SBC date, birding in northern 
Illinois was tedious and slow yesterday, 10 May 2008, particularly in the 
passerine department, the cold and northerly winds basically shut down 
migration except for some waterbirds like loons and terns which seemed to be 
moving in spite of the weather. However, I was able to "eek" out 104 species, 
for the SBC so far, with 88 species being recorded at Rollins Savanna Lake 
County F.P. alone--thanks to Richard Biss and Robert Hughes--helping out--with 
great birding skills!We did remarkably well! 


Here, then, are our totals for the day:

Location: Rollins Savanna Observation date: 10 May 2008 Number of species: 88
 
36 Canada Goose 
2 Mute Swan
5 Wood Duck 
16 Gadwall  (inc. 4 on Third Lake)
2 American Wigeon
45 Mallard 
21 Blue-winged Teal
2 Green-winged Teal
5 Ring-necked Duck
1 Lesser Scaup
5 Bufflehead
10 Ruddy Duck
1 Common Loon
6 Pied-billed Grebe
1 American Bittern  (thank you! Robert Hughes!)
2 Great Blue Heron
3 Great Egret 
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Northern Harrier (immature)
1 Cooper’s Hawk
2 Red-tailed Hawk
1 American Kestrel
3 Virginia Rail
13 Sora
67 American Coot
2 Sandhill Crane
5 Killdeer 
3 Spotted Sandpiper
11 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Solitary Sandpiper
7 Least Sandpiper
3 Wilson’s Snipe
1 American Woodcock
2 Wilson’s Phalarope (thank you! Robert Hughes!)
4 Ring-billed Gull
1 Caspian Tern
2 Black Tern
2 Mourning Dove
8 Chimney Swift
2 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
4 Eastern Kingbird (sitting on top of the cattails in big lake marsh)
1 Warbling Vireo
2 Blue Jay
1 Horned Lark
2 Purple Martin
22 Tree Swallow
7 Bank Swallow
1 Cliff Swallow 
8 Barn Swallow
1 Black-capped Chickadee 
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
5 House Wren
3 Sedge Wren
1 Marsh Wren
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
15 American Robin
2 Gray Catbird
2 Brown Thrasher 
10 European Starling
1 Nashville Warbler 
3 Yellow Warbler 
11 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
20 Palm Warbler
 21 Common Yellowthroat 
2 Field Sparrow 
97 Savannah Sparrow
1 Grasshopper Sparrow
11 Henslow's Sparrow
18 Song Sparrow 
3 Lincoln's Sparrow
12 Swamp Sparrow 
1 White-throated Sparrow 
4 White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)
2 Northern Cardinal 
203 Bobolink
69 Red-winged Blackbird 
9 Eastern Meadowlark
14 Yellow-headed Blackbird 
32 Common Grackle
15 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Orchard Oriole (male)
3 Baltimore Oriole
2 House Finch
2 American Goldfinch 
6 House Sparrow 
 
Other stops:
 
1 Redhead (male, Highland Lake)
1 Double-crested Cormorant (Long Lake)
1 Herring Gull (Diamond Lake)
2 Downy Woodpecker (one at Gages Lake)
1 Hairy Woodpecker (Reed Turner Woodland)
2 Belted Kingfisher
2 Great Crested Flycatcher (one at Gages Lake)
2 American Crow 
1 Blue-headed Vireo (Reed Turner Woodland)
1 Eastern Bluebird  (Reed Turner Woodland)
6 Cedar Waxwing 
1 Swainson's Thrush (near Honey Lake)
1 Scarlet Tanager (Reed Turner Woodland)
3 Chipping Sparrow
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Reed Turner Woodland)
2 Indigo Bunting (Reed Turner Woodland)
 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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Subject: IBET spring bird count Palos/Orland
From: "Wes Serafin" <w.serafin AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 15:25:14 -0500
Amar Ayyash and Steve Ambrose joined me for the spring bird count.
Highlights are:
 
 
McGinnis Slough
 
1 HORNED GREBE  breeding plumage
6 SORA
5 PIED BILLED GREBE
1 NORTHERN SHOVELER
18 RUDDY DUCKS
 
Palos West Elementary Slough
 
1 SORA
14 PURPLE MARTINS    there are probably twice that number here
1 BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERON
 
Orland Grasslands
 
7 BOBOLINKS
2 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS
4 SAVANNAH SPARROWS
2 CLAY COLORED SPARROWS
 
Palos Residential
 
3 BROADWING HAWKS
2 RED HEADED WOODPECKERS
2 RED BREASTED NUTHATCHES
5 NOTHERN PARULA
1 SUMMER TANAGER  female at Paddock Woods
16 species of warbler
 
Happy Mothers Day to all moms!
 
Wes Serafin
Orland Pk
SW Cook County


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET: May 11 birds from Chicago's lakefront
From: birdchris AT aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 16:23:33 EDT
Geoff and I birded in heavy rain and hideous winds at Montrose on Sunday,  
May 11 and saw two Common Terns on the beach among about 25 Caspian Terns at  
about 6:30 a.m. Shorebirds present were a Dunlin, a Least Sandpiper and two  
Spotted Sandpiper. Land birding was poor at Montrose, although we turned up a  
Veery, a Woodthrush and a Sedge Wren on the west (sheltered) side of the Magic 

Hedge. The Yellow-crowned Night-heron still was present at the Waveland Golf  
Course Pond.
 
We checked the south end of North Pond for the Harris' Sparrow and didn't  
find it. Terrestrial birding was even worse at this location than at Montrose  
and aside from numerous White-crowned Sparrows and a few Swamp and  
White-throated Sparrows, only saw a Tennessee Warbler, a Yellow Warbler and 
three 

Yellow-rumped Warblers. 
 
Christine Williamson
Chicago, Cook County
birdchris AT aol.com
 



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Meacham Grove, May 9th
From: "katelyn.beaty" <katelyn.beaty AT gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 19:58:21 -0000
I visited Meacham Grove in DuPage County last Friday evening. 
Highlights were 5 BALTIMORE ORIOLES, a NASHVILLE WARBLER, and three 
pairs of WOOD DUCKS. Other birds seen included:

1 green heron
3 red-bellied woodpecker
1 downy woodpecker
1 least flycatcher
1 gray catbird
2 eastern bluebird
1 common yellowthroat
1 american redstart
5-6 palm warbler
1 eastern towhee
barn swallows
bank swallows
blue-gray gnatcatchers

Good birding,
Katelyn Beaty
DuPage County

Subject: IBET Montrose Beach -Caspian Terns 5/11 am
From: Steve Huggins <sjhuggins1209 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:39:31 -0700 (PDT)
I braved the wind and rain at 11am this morning and
headed out to Montrose hoping for shorebirds - there
were none! Barely being able to stand up in the
impressive winds I was able to count 245 Caspian Terns
and 10 Forster's Terns on the beach.

Steve Huggins
http://www.pbase.com/sjhuggins
Chicago, IL



 
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Subject: IBET Montrose 5/10
From: MHKIWI AT aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 15:27:28 EDT
There was a Baird's Sandpiper on the beach shortly after 7:00 AM.
 
Only other notable sightings were a first year male Orchard Oriole, a  
Clay-colored Sparrow and the almost complete absence of warblers with 4 species 

(Yellow, Yellowthroat, Redstart and Ovenbird).
 
As others have noted, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron was present at the  Golf 
Course Pond.
 
Michael Hogg
Northbrook



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Woodford Co. Mackinaw Bluffs SBC
From: Matthew Winks <fluidfive AT hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 13:22:30 -0500
Sorry that format looked terrible....trying the plain text format.

Woodford County Mackinaw Bluffs Corridor Spring Bird Count summary
 
Matthew Winks and I covered the Corridor yesterday (Woodrum Tract, South 
Chinquapin, Mercier Impoundment, Fraker Farm, North Chinquapin, Letcher Basin, 
Ridgetop Nature Preserve). Despite barely managing 100+ species -- always a 
good day -- it was painful. Neotropical migrant flocks were sparse to non 
existent, and only one single flock the entire day had singing birds present, 
essentially killing any birding by ear on the warblers. Good shorebird habitat 
was also sparse to non existent, leaving us dry on both shorebirds and 
waterfowl. Todd Bugg, reporting to us for a McLean Co summary, also noted that 
poor numbers were the consensus, with sparse migrants and few good numbers of 
anything. I would love to see a McL Co summary if anyone gets a chance. I know 
that along with the Weth Harris's Sparrow, and Pete Fenner's Woodford Co 
Harris's Sparrow, Bugg started his day with TWO (and of course, had to call us 
-- you always know when a fellow counter is calling before 7am it's something 
good that you don't really want to know about). So, everyone -- GET FAMILIAR 
WITH HARRIS'S SPARROW AND REALLY LOOK THROUGH YOUR WHITE- CROWNED SPARROW 
FLOCKS. This huge sparrow is hard to miss -- you'd be more likely to overlook 
Bigfoot in your yard. 


Other count notes: Some migrants just had not arrived out here (cuckoo's, Sedge 
Wren,). The first Dickcissel was here, regretting it today I'm sure. Sora 
numbers, at 7, were solid. We had one big pipit flock. The best surprise of the 
day was the sparrow scene at Letcher Basin. Vesper, Lark, Savanna, Grasshopper, 
Field, and Chipping were all present in some numbers. This wonderful basin (258 
acres of which 52 are owned by us and 206 are owned by the ParkLands 
Foundation) will become something fabulous as the conservation restoration 
continues. The property is accessible and foot traffic is welcome. 


Location:     Mackinaw Bluffs Corridor
Observation date:     5/10/08
Number of species:     103

Canada Goose     26
Wood Duck     11
Mallard     4
Ring-necked Pheasant     15
Wild Turkey     4
Double-crested Cormorant     2
Great Blue Heron     5
Turkey Vulture     33
Cooper's Hawk     2
Broad-winged Hawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)     13
American Kestrel     3
Sora     7
Killdeer     7
Spotted Sandpiper     1
Solitary Sandpiper     4
Rock Pigeon     2
Eurasian Collared-Dove     4
Mourning Dove     19
Barred Owl     2
Chimney Swift     3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird     2
Belted Kingfisher     1
Red-headed Woodpecker     15
Red-bellied Woodpecker     23
Downy Woodpecker     14
Hairy Woodpecker     2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)     9
Eastern Wood-Pewee     2
Least Flycatcher     2
Eastern Phoebe     5
Great Crested Flycatcher     9
Eastern Kingbird     14
White-eyed Vireo     4
Yellow-throated Vireo     3
Warbling Vireo     5
Red-eyed Vireo     4
Blue Jay     28
American Crow     7
Horned Lark     1
Tree Swallow     12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     6
Barn Swallow     14
Black-capped Chickadee     18
Tufted Titmouse     24
White-breasted Nuthatch     13
Carolina Wren     2
House Wren     30
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     16
Eastern Bluebird     19
Veery     1
Gray-cheeked Thrush     1
Swainson's Thrush     2
Wood Thrush     8
American Robin     37
Gray Catbird     24
Northern Mockingbird     1
Brown Thrasher     5
European Starling     65
American Pipit     52
Tennessee Warbler     12
Orange-crowned Warbler     1
Nashville Warbler     14
Northern Parula     5
Yellow Warbler     4
Chestnut-sided Warbler     5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     43
Black-throated Green Warbler     3
Blackburnian Warbler     1
Palm Warbler     8
Cerulean Warbler     1
Black-and-white Warbler     2
American Redstart     5
Ovenbird     1
Northern Waterthrush     2
Kentucky Warbler     1
Common Yellowthroat     32
Scarlet Tanager     2
Eastern Towhee     20
Chipping Sparrow     14
Field Sparrow     49
Vesper Sparrow     9
Lark Sparrow     7
Savannah Sparrow     11
Grasshopper Sparrow     14
Henslow's Sparrow     2
Song Sparrow     11
Lincoln's Sparrow     4
Swamp Sparrow     9
White-throated Sparrow     25
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)     55
Northern Cardinal     15
Rose-breasted Grosbeak     24
Indigo Bunting     30
Dickcissel     1
Red-winged Blackbird     76
Eastern Meadowlark     28
Common Grackle     28
Brown-headed Cowbird     40
Orchard Oriole     3
Baltimore Oriole     17
American Goldfinch     41
House Sparrow     5

Matt Fraker
Woodford Co
05/10/08 reported on 05/11/08
Subject: IBET Woodford Co. Mackinaw Bluffs SBC
From: Matthew Winks <fluidfive AT hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 13:01:46 -0500
Woodford County Mackinaw Bluffs Corridor Spring Bird Count summary
 
Matthew Winks and I covered the Corridor yesterday (Woodrum Tract, South 
Chinquapin, Mercier Impoundment, Fraker Farm, North Chinquapin, Letcher Basin, 
Ridgetop Nature Preserve). Despite barely managing 100+ species -- always a 
good day -- it was painful. Neotropical migrant flocks were sparse to non 
existent, and only one single flock the entire day had singing birds present, 
essentially killing any birding by ear on the warblers. Good shorebird habitat 
was also sparse to non existent, leaving us dry on both shorebirds and 
waterfowl. Todd Bugg, reporting to us for a McLean Co summary, also noted that 
poor numbers were the consensus, with sparse migrants and few good numbers of 
anything. I would love to see a McL Co summary if anyone gets a chance. I know 
that along with the Weth Harris's Sparrow, and Pete Fenner's Woodford Co 
Harris's Sparrow, Bugg started his day with TWO (and of course, had to call us 
-- you always know when a fellow counter is calling before 7am it's something 
good that you don't really want to know about). So, everyone -- GET FAMILIAR 
WITH HARRIS'S SPARROW AND REALLY LOOK THROUGH YOUR WHITE- CROWNED SPARROW 
FLOCKS. This huge sparrow is hard to miss -- you'd be more likely to overlook 
Bigfoot in your yard.Other count notes: Some migrants just had not arrived out 
here (cuckoo's, Sedge Wren,). The first Dickcissel was here, regretting it 
today I'm sure. Sora numbers, at 7, were solid. We had one big pipit flock. The 
best surprise of the day was the sparrow scene at Letcher Basin. Vesper, Lark, 
Savanna, Grasshopper, Field, and Chipping were all present in some numbers. 
This wonderful basin (258 acres of which 52 are owned by us and 206 are owned 
by the ParkLands Foundation) will become something fabulous as the conservation 
restoration continues. The property is accessible and foot traffic is 
welcome.Location: Mackinaw Bluffs CorridorObservation date: 5/10/08Number of 
species: 103Canada Goose 26Wood Duck 11Mallard 4Ring-necked Pheasant 15Wild 
Turkey 4Double-crested Cormorant 2Great Blue Heron 5Turkey Vulture 33Cooper's 
Hawk 2Broad-winged Hawk 1Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 13American Kestrel 3Sora 
7Killdeer 7Spotted Sandpiper 1Solitary Sandpiper 4Rock Pigeon 2Eurasian 
Collared-Dove 4Mourning Dove 19Barred Owl 2Chimney Swift 3Ruby-throated 
Hummingbird 2Belted Kingfisher 1Red-headed Woodpecker 15Red-bellied Woodpecker 
23Downy Woodpecker 14Hairy Woodpecker 2Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 
9Eastern Wood-Pewee 2Least Flycatcher 2Eastern Phoebe 5Great Crested Flycatcher 
9Eastern Kingbird 14White-eyed Vireo 4Yellow-throated Vireo 3Warbling Vireo 
5Red-eyed Vireo 4Blue Jay 28American Crow 7Horned Lark 1Tree Swallow 12Northern 
Rough-winged Swallow 6Barn Swallow 14Black-capped Chickadee 18Tufted Titmouse 
24White-breasted Nuthatch 13Carolina Wren 2House Wren 30Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
16Eastern Bluebird 19Veery 1Gray-cheeked Thrush 1Swainson's Thrush 2Wood Thrush 
8American Robin 37Gray Catbird 24Northern Mockingbird 1Brown Thrasher 5European 
Starling 65American Pipit 52Tennessee Warbler 12Orange-crowned Warbler 
1Nashville Warbler 14Northern Parula 5Yellow Warbler 4Chestnut-sided Warbler 
5Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 43Black-throated Green Warbler 3Blackburnian 
Warbler 1Palm Warbler 8Cerulean Warbler 1Black-and-white Warbler 2American 
Redstart 5Ovenbird 1Northern Waterthrush 2Kentucky Warbler 1Common Yellowthroat 
32Scarlet Tanager 2Eastern Towhee 20Chipping Sparrow 14Field Sparrow 49Vesper 
Sparrow 9Lark Sparrow 7Savannah Sparrow 11Grasshopper Sparrow 14Henslow's 
Sparrow 2Song Sparrow 11Lincoln's Sparrow 4Swamp Sparrow 9White-throated 
Sparrow 25White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern) 55Northern Cardinal 15Rose-breasted 
Grosbeak 24Indigo Bunting 30Dickcissel 1Red-winged Blackbird 76Eastern 
Meadowlark 28Common Grackle 28Brown-headed Cowbird 40Orchard Oriole 3Baltimore 
Oriole 17American Goldfinch 41House Sparrow 5Matt FrakerWoodford Co05/10/08 
reported on 05/11/08 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Calumet Area Spring Count (5-10-08)
From: Walter Marcisz <wmarcisz AT att.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 10:23:55 -0700 (PDT)
Margaret Baker and I visited various Calumet area locations 
  (southeast Chicago & adjacent suburbs) for the Spring Bird 
  Count on Saturday (5/10/08). The morning was great, but 
  by early afternoon things got pretty slow. Bird activity picked 
  up again in the late afternoon, and in the end we had a pretty 
  good day, tallying 99 species.
  As others have mentioned, Catharus thrushes were basically 
  absent (we found only 1 Swainson's Thrush), and Eastern 
  Kingbird was the only flycatcher we were able to find. The 
  singing male BELL'S VIREO was back at its "usual" location 
  at Hegewisch Marsh. We had fifteen species of warbler and 
  nine shorebird species, with our most outstanding shorebird 
  find being a gorgeous female WILSON'S PHALAROPE at 
  the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant.
  Two adult LITTLE BLUE HERONS were at the 126th Street 
  Marsh, and another adult LITTLE BLUE HERON was trying 
  its best to swallow a huge Bullfrog at Burnham Prairie Marsh. 
  We arrived at Indian Ridge Marsh South at 2:45 pm, and 
  were surprised to find a very elegant BLACK TERN hawking 
  for insects with swallows over the drainage ditch. A few 
  decades ago these were regular nesters in the area, but now 
  I see them only rarely during migration. The adult YELLOW-
  CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was also back at Indian Ridge 
  South drainage ditch (at the same location as on 5/4). This 
  bird was also a surprise, as I have checked that spot several 
  times since 5/4, but had been unable to find it. We then 
  checked Deadstick Pond to see if the COMMON MOORHEN 
  reported by Craig T & Tim K on 5/5 was still there. It was! 
  We returned to Indian Ridge South at 5:55 pm, and both the 
  Black Tern and the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron were still 
  there. But that's not all - an adult PEREGRINE FALCON flew 
  by, and a SANDHILL CRANE circled low over the marsh, as 
  if looking for a place to land. Interesting to note that lone, 
  wandering Sandhill Cranes were reported from other Cook Co. 
  locations on Saturday. 
  An OSPREY and various shorebirds were at Harborside Golf 
  Course during our visit. A Ring-billed Gull with orange patagial 
  tags was also at Harborside, along with 3 Ring-billed Gulls that 
  appeared to have been stained with some bright green pigment.
  All in all, a most interesting day! 
   
  Canada Goose - 134
  Mute Swan - 3
  Wood Duck - 2
  Gadwall - 5
  Mallard - 48
  Blue-winged Teal - 4
  Northern Shoveler - 3
  Ruddy Duck - 3
  Pied-billed Grebe - 4
  Double-crested Cormorant - 14
  Great Blue Heron - 14
  Great Egret - 37 
  Little Blue Heron - 3
  Green Heron - 5
  Black-crowned Night-Heron - 125
  Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - 1
  Turkey Vulture - 4
  Osprey - 1
  Red-tailed Hawk - 4
  American Kestrel - 6
  Peregrine Falcon - 1
  Sora - 10
  Common Moorhen - 1
  American Coot - 54
  Sandhill Crane - 1
  Killdeer - 30 
  Lesser Yellowlegs - 9
  Solitary Sandpiper - 4
  Spotted Sandpiper - 24
  Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1
  Least Sandpiper - 41
  Dunlin - 3
  Short-billed Dowitcher - 3
  Wilson's Phalarope - 1
  Ring-billed Gull - 806
  Herring Gull - 2
  Caspian Tern - 8
  Black Tern - 1
  Rock Pigeon - 20
  Mourning Dove - 23
  Monk Parakeet - 5
  Chimney Swift - 195
  Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
  Downy Woodpecker - 11
  Hairy Woodpecker - 1
  Northern Flicker - 6
  Eastern Kingbird - 4
  Bell's Vireo - 1
  Warbling Vireo - 22
  Red-eyed Vireo - 1
  Blue Jay - 4
  American Crow - 4
  Purple Martin - 8
  Tree Swallow - 81
  N. Rough-winged Swallow - 23
  Bank Swallow - 20
  Barn Swallow - 58
  Black-capped Chickadee - 2
  House Wren - 20
  Marsh Wren - 6
  Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 8
  Swainson's Thrush - 1
  American Robin - 117
  Gray Catbird - 21
  Brown Thrasher - 1
  European Starling - 121
  Blue-winged Warbler - 1
  Golden-winged Warbler - 1
  Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
  Nashville Warbler - 7
  Northern Parula - 1
  Yellow Warbler - 66
  Yellow-rumped Warbler - 12
  Black-throated Green Warbler - 2
  Blackburnian Warbler - 1
  Palm Warbler - 14
  Bay-breasted Warbler - 1
  Black-and-White Warbler - 3
  Ovenbird - 2
  Northern Waterthrush - 18
  Common Yellowthroat - 21
  Eastern Towhee - 2
  Chipping Sparrow - 3
  Savannah Sparrow - 8
  Song Sparrow - 69
  Swamp Sparrow - 5
  White-throated Sparrow - 9
  White-crowned Sparrow - 28
  Northern Cardinal - 33
  Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 3
  Indigo Bunting - 1
  Red-winged Blackbird - 233
  Common Grackle - 110
  Brown-headed Cowbird - 47
  Baltimore Oriole - 20
  House Finch - 14
  American Goldfinch - 43
  House Sparrow - 107
   
  Areas visited:
  Indian Ridge Marsh, Heron Pond, Deadstick Pond, 
  Beaubien Woods F.P., Hegewisch Marsh, 126th 
  Street Marsh, Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, 
  O'Brien Lock & Dam, Burnham Prairie Marsh, Big 
  Marsh, Harborside International Golf Course.
   
  Walter Marcisz, Chicago, Cook Co.
  wmarcisz AT att.net
   
   
   
   


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Brown County spring bird count
From: "Tony Ward" <tward3 AT mchsi.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:23:21 -0500
Mike Ward and I had a good day for the brown county spring bird count. We 
tallied 157 species for the day. We missed last years high count by one. 


The best bird of the day by far was a Bewicks Wren,which was a first for the 
count. 

Other highlights included:
7 duck species
Prairie Falcon
3 King Rails
3 Virginia Rails
14 shorebird spcies including a calling Upland Sandpiper, 6 Dunlin, 2 
Long-billed Dowitchers responding to playback,and White-rumped sandpiper. 

 Friday afternoon we had 1 Whimbrel and 1 Willet which were absent on count 
day. 

5 vireo species
27 warbler species
Good  numbers of both Tanagers
10 sparrow species
Bobolinks
Western Meadowlark

Even though we had good birds it is hard not to look at the easy misses. For 
example: 

Eastern screech owl
Nighthawk
Hairy Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Mockingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Another Warbler or 2
And the biggest miss Grasshopper sparrow

Maybe next year,

Tony Ward
tward3 AT mchsi.com






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: RE: IBET Martin Houses on Wooded Island need volunteers!
From: "Carolyn A. Marsh" <cmarshbird AT prodigy.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:05:37 -0500
There is a martin landlord at Jackson Park; the same one for many years now.
Any monitoring of the houses must be coordinated with her. I gave the
contact information to a birder who is willing to help the martins.

 

After complaints made to me, I reluctantly contacted the person in charge
and she said that she has been taking care of the houses for three weeks
now.  The problem is that she and her friends have feelings that prevent
them from evicting House Sparrows and starlings. From the beginning when the
houses were first installed there, only one birder (he went on vacation the
first summer and then moved), no Jackson Park birders wanted to take care of
the houses. I had to go and take care of them at times at the request of the
Chicago Park District Natural Areas director.  

 

I wonder what is happening with the South Shore Cultural Center martin
houses since I no longer care for the three houses there. The biggest
problem there was that the park grass mower bent/broke the wheel handle that
lowered the houses. Many times I was afraid my wrists would get sprained
from lowering the heavy wooden houses (not the light-weight aluminum houses)
when the handle was bent and could spin out of control. The CPD had outside
contractors helping with the houses and we thought the problem was solved
when the space under the houses was filled with wood chips to eliminate the
need for the mowing. However, the next year, the mowing continued and two of
the three houses' handles were bent useless and dents were made in the
martins poles to show how close the mower was to the martin houses. 

 

The CPD natural areas director changed frequently after Mary V. left. They
seemed over loaded with "restoring" burning, and planting grant projects. At
the same time, at every place where martins houses were installed by the
CPD, birders have declined to maintain the houses leaving other volunteers
to do their best. 

 

Carolyn Marsh, a Purple Martin Steward for 10 years.

 

  _____  

From: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
q4birds
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:09 AM
To: ILbirds AT yahoogroups.com
Subject: IBET Martin Houses on Wooded Island need volunteers!

 

Hi all, 
It was brought to my attention that the MARTIN'S on Wooded Island need a new
monitor or 
several people who will pitch in to help keep the starlings and house
sparrows out and the 
martins in. I already have one volunteer but he can't go every day. If you
are interested in 
helping, please contact me personally by email.

Thanks
Sue Friscia
Listowner



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Bbackyard Bonanza in Mundelein -- lots of activity
From: Ms Sheryl DeVore <sheryl_1956 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 09:34:23 -0700 (PDT)
First, we had nice diversity at theSpring Bird Count yesterday at RyersonWoods, 
which included Nan and Luke Buckhartdt, Laurel Ann Kaiser (my sister), Suzanne 
Checchia, Marj Lundy, Steve Bailey and me. Steve and I later birded Ethel's 
Woods. Details later when we compile the results. 

 
Now for some exciting backyard birding on a windy, wet, blustery Sunday. 
Two male BALTIMORE ORIOLES, a GRAY CATBIRD and a female SUMMER TANAGER have 
been feasting on grape jelly in a feeder. From a distance, the female tanager 
was assumed to be a female Baltimore Oriole, but Steve, who leaves no bird 
unturned, went outside, heard the tell-tale "chip-i-tuc," brought his scope 
inside, and sure enough it was a female SUMMER TANAGER. New yard bird for us!! 
This bird has no wing bars, a reddish tail,  a yellow-silvery, large bill 
(Steve says the bill is between ivory and yellow- colored, what does he know? 
;-) 

In addition, the female PURPLE FINCH was feeding on sunflower seeds, while a 
male INDIGO BUNTING was feeding on thistle -- many AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and 
HOUSE FINCHES are feeding, too. 

The catbird was singing at the top of the serviceberry.  HOUSE WRENS also 
singing. Also, probable BLUE-HEADED VIREO singing. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS< 
mostly females, are feeding. And one or two COMMON GRACKLES are still around. 

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS are still hanging around and feeding on cracked corn, 
also a SONG SPARROW. Two BLUE JAYS also enjoying the feast. 

A female MALLARD has found a comfortable spot beneath four tall Norway spurces 
to rest. I"m sure the fact the we have put corn down there attracted here. In 
fact, last night after the SBC, she led a male around our feeders, from one to 
next pecking beneath the ground. Finally, Mr. Mallard said I'm tired of this 
and led her away. He usually stays behind her, follows her lead and watches for 
predators while she eats. 

So we have blue, bright yellow, muted yellow, deep orange, black, gray, red, 
brown, light raspberry, colors from the birds along with the greens of trees, 
white trillium, in the yard -- I LOVE SPRING COLORS!! 

Now we are hearing a sound that resembles very much the Peter Peter Peter of a 
TUFTED TITMOUSE. We are having a disagreement -- Steve says titmouse. I say 
it's a goofy oriole. Steve will probably be right. 

So far, no sign of the RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES at the feeder today. Have they 
left? 

Yesterday, my sister in Hawthorn Woods had three male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS 
and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, along with INDIGO BUNTING! 

Happy backyard spring birding.
 
Sheryl DeVore and Steve Bailey
Mundelein, Illinois
Sheryl De Vore 

Mundelein, Illinois
sheryl_1956 AT yahoo.com
Subject: IBET The Spring Count in southeast DuPage
From: BFisher928 AT aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 11:42:54 EDT
Karen and I birded Maple Grove and then Woodridge FPs Saturday AM for our 
area captain Jim Green. 

Notable at Maple Grove were singing Mourning and Cerulean Warblers. Woodridge 
was notable for a different reason: The total absence of treetop warblers! I 
walked the west side of Black Partridge Creek with bisects Woodridge and this 
beautiful oak/hickory woodland was totally devoid of warblers foraging in the 
trees. Not one single warbler did I see or hear. Finally, crossing the creek 
to join Karen (who had walked the east side), I heard and saw a N. Waterthrush, 

which Karen of course had already seen and counted. Also noteworthy - these 2 
wooded preserves produced exactly 2 thrushes, excluding robins. 

Vicky S already mentioned our great look at a Black-billed Cuckoo in the 
Poverty Prairie area in the afternoon. It was neat to watch the bird extracting 

caterpillars from a small 'tent' as bicyclists whizzed by right underneath. In 
that area, I also had a brief, distant look at a N. Mockingbird (there was a 
Mocker in the same area last year, north of the model airplane field near the 
fence bordering Argonne) and a closer look at a silent Clay-colored Sparrow.

Other birds of note at waterfall Glen FP from talking to Jim Green: a flyover 
Merlin, Sandhill Cranes, Barred Owls and a Pileated Woodpecker east of 
Sawmill Creek, and a good number of Prothonotary Warblers setting up 
housekeeping 

down where the creek joins the DesPlaines.

Regards
Bob Fisher
Downers Grove
DuPage County


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: Re: IBET Black-billed cuckoo, Waterfall Glen
From: eclipseaddict AT aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 11:33:14 EDT
Hi,
We did the Spring Bird Count in McHenry Co yesterday and had a  Black Billed 
Cuckoo eating tent caterpillars at Hollows Conservation Area in  Cary.
Vicki Buchwald
_eclipseaddict AT aol.com_ (mailto:eclipseaddict AT aol.com) 
 
 
 
In a message dated 5/11/2008 9:30:26 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
vsroczynski AT comcast.net writes:

Hello, I  didn't see many of this species posted from counts yesterday, but
Bob  Fisher and I, and an interested bicyclist, got long looks at a
black-billed  cuckoo near tent caterpillars, just off the path, east of the
model  airplane field, Poverty Prairie at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve,
DuPage  County. This was about 3:30 yesterday afternoon.

Vicky  Sroczynski
Darien
DuPage  County



------------------------------------

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET swainson's warbler---no
From: "bik_horus" <rlshonkw AT uchicago.edu>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 14:58:48 -0000
John Duran and I made a noble, but vain attempt in the rain (from
7:05-8:25 AM) to find the Swainson's Warbler at Thatcher Woods Forest
Preserve in the area south of the nature museum along the river.  Here
is what we did see:

Great Blue Heron---1
Mallard---2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet---1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher---1
Veery---3
Swainson's Thrush---3
Gray-cheeked Trush---1
A. Robin---6
Gray Catbird---1
Black-and-white Warbler---1
Ovenbird---4
Brown-headed Cowbird---3

Randy Shonkwiler
Hyde Park/Chicago
Subject: IBET Black-billed cuckoo, Waterfall Glen
From: Vicky Sroczynski <vsroczynski AT comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 09:30:26 -0500
Hello, I didn't see many of this species posted from counts yesterday, but
Bob Fisher and I, and an interested bicyclist, got long looks at a
black-billed cuckoo near tent caterpillars, just off the path, east of the
model airplane field, Poverty Prairie at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve,
DuPage County. This was about 3:30 yesterday afternoon.

Vicky Sroczynski
Darien
DuPage County

Subject: IBET Conkey, Turtlehead, Swallow Cliff, Maple Lake Spring Count
From: "Beth Simkins" <luvfreebirds AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 14:30:06 -0000
Saturday, May 10, 2008

What a beautiful day for a spring count!  Cary Hillegonds joined Sue 
Friscia and I in the morning to bird Conkey and Turtlehead.  Cary is 
an awesome birder and he picked up some great birds!  Conkey was 
really happening and there were many warblers.  In the afternoon Sue 
and I birded other places including Swallow Cliff and Maple Lake.  

Highlights include:

22 species of warblers including Pine, Blue-winged, Golden-winged, 
Northern Parula, Blackburnian, Cape May, Bay-breasted, Louisiana 
Waterthrush, Palm Warbler (109), Yellow-rumped Warbler (50)

5 Vireo species

Red-breasted Nuthatch (2)

Clay-colored Sparrow (Thanks Cary!)(at Turtlehead Lake)

Orchard Oriole (Turtlehead Lake)

Pileated Woodpecker (Swallow Cliff)

Summer Tanager pair (Maple Lake area)

Hooded Merganser female (Maple Lake area)

We had 92 species for the total.  We were surprised we did not get 
Brown Thrasher (Huh?), Terns, Common Nighthawk, Hairy Woodpecker, 
Tufted Titmouse, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, 
water birds (many people were at the lakes since it was nice out).

Beth Simkins
beths04 AT wowway.com





Subject: IBET Saturday in southern DeKalb County
From: "Darrell Shambaugh" <d.shambaugh AT mchsi.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 09:00:48 -0500
My area in Southern DeKalb County for the Statewide Spring Bird count was
not so good. Total species count was 78. I poached a few later in the day to
give me a personal list of 85 species. How many of these will go into the
SBC list remains to be seen. 

 

Sannuak Foreset Preserve wasn’t nearly as birdy as it was earlier in the
week. 11 species of Warblers were all I could find. The high count for any
species was PALM WARBLER, with 2. My personal highlight was seeing a pair of
YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS in the same tree. I heard a CAROLINA WREN calling,
and found several ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS. A VEERY and a SWAINSON’S THRUSH
made an appearance. A SPOTTED SANDPIPER was along the Somonauk Creek, but
there were no herons and only 1 MALLARD. Other notable misses were Scarlet
Tanager, Brown Thrasher, Tufted Titmouse, and most of the flycatchers except
EASTERN PHOEBE and GREAT CRESTED. Even the normally boisterous Belted
Kingfishers were hiding out. I gave it my best Ralph Kramden impersonation,
standing in front of their nest hole, saying, “It sure would be nice to see
a kingfisher”  over and over in increasingly louder voice. (This was before
the fishermen showed up) The Kingfishers played the Ed Norton role perfectly
and made no appearance, no matter how many times I said the line. Maybe no
fishermen was a bad sign. I’ve seen one particular fisherman at Sannauk
almost every year since I’ve been doing the count, but not this year.
Usually, he’s already there when I get there about 5:00 AM. I don’t know his
name, but we always exchange greeting and make small talk. He likes the dawn
chorus and thinks the raucous kingfishers are pretty cool. 

 

I heard the EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in Somonauk when I went home to make
more coffee about 10:30. 

 

At a private marsh on Pine Road north of Somonuak I got the best bird of the
day, an AMERICAN WOODCOCK. I flushed it from a ¼ acre of trees that usually
has a bunch of warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, orioles, and Solitary Sandpipers.
This year it had a SWAINSON’S THRUSH, a YELLOW WARBLER, and an AMERICAN
REDSTART. I guess this was pretty good in comparison to the rest of the
day’s count. Also at this marsh were LINCOLN’S SPARROW, MARSH WRENS, lots of
SWAMP SPARROWS, about 7 SORA, and a VIRGINIA RAIL. There were two PECTORAL
SANDPIPERS in a wet field south of this marsh. 

 

I tried a woodlot on the north side of County Line Road by Leland that has
produced good birds on bad days in the past, but not this year. Only SONG
SPARROWS, robins, GRAY CATBIRDS and HOUSE WRENS were of interest. 

 

Even Goble Road, the second-best birding road in DeKalb County behind McGirr
Road didn’t have anything. Of course the wind was blowing about 25 MPH by
the time I got on it. I stopped many times on Goble Road and other roads
trying to find a Horned Lark but failed. 

 

I did get four EASTERN SCREECH OWLS to respond to the Ipod. Two were on
Shabbona Grove Road in the woodlot between Howison and Governor Beverage
Roads. One flew right up to me and sat there looking at me while another one
called off in the distance. A GREAT HORNED OWL started calling at Sannauk
about 8:30 AM. I went back there about 9:30 PM and tried to call it, but
failed. I think I scared all the kids making out away.

 

Darrell Shambaugh

Somonauk, DeKalb County



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET 5 Siskins at feeders in Gurnee
From: "Jim Solum" <Solum11 AT msn.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 08:58:22 -0500
Boy am I glad the count was yesterday! But it may be a good day to be at the 
lakefront. 


I was surprised that the blustery weather this morning brought 5 PINE SISKIN to 
our feeding station. We've been down to 1-2 individuals since that last warm 
front last week but apparently others are in our area (I highly doubt the ones 
at Bowen Park flew 5 miles to our feeders :). 


Good Birding!

Jim & Kayce Solum
solum11 AT msn.com
Gurnee
Lake County


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Midewin Harris' Sparrow on Saturday
From: cindy alberico <strix_nebulosa AT sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 05:45:26 -0700 (PDT)
Hello all,
 Glenn Johnson, Bobbie (sorry I don't know your last name), and I did the bird 
count on the west side of Midewin in the morning. Some of the highlights 
include a handsome HARRIS' SPARROW hanging out with a group of WHITE-CROWNED 
SPARROWS. Also seen were 2 BLUE GROSBEAKS, a very vocal BELL'S VIREO, and about 
6 or so UPLAND SANDPIPERS that were both seen and heard. There were huge 
numbers or BOBOLINKS, EASTERN KINGBIRDS, EASTERN MEADOWLARKS and GRASSHOPPER 
SPARROWS but probably the biggest miss of the day was no Loggerhead Shrikes. 

   
  Cindy Alberico
  Crest Hill
  Will County


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Martin Houses on Wooded Island need volunteers!
From: "q4birds" <q4birds AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 12:09:11 -0000
Hi all, 
It was brought to my attention that the MARTIN'S on Wooded Island need a new 
monitor or 

several people who will pitch in to help keep the starlings and house sparrows 
out and the 

martins in. I already have one volunteer but he can't go every day. If you are 
interested in 

helping, please contact me personally by email.

Thanks
Sue Friscia
Listowner


Subject: IBET Kankakee Co Spring Count
From: Jed Hertz <jhh_60910 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 04:47:11 -0700 (PDT)
Hi all,
   
 Sat 10-May-08: Mostly Kankakee LeVasseur Park/Perry Farm + Parts of Pembroke 
Twp: 

   
 Good weather made for a fine day to be in the field. Waterfowl, raptors, 
shorebirds, and flycatchers were a challenge, but the CERULEAN WARBLER and two 
SUMMER TANAGER made my day. Here's my list 

   
   
 IL, Eastern Kankakee County 54 1355-1700H (1/2 mi Walk + 49.4 mi 
Drive)_Cld/Sun_67-70_SE 5-15. 

   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Mallard ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Northern Bobwhite ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Great Blue Heron ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 GREAT EGRET ¨ Aroma Park Pond on Birchwood Lane. 
    ¨ ¨ 4 Turkey Vulture ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Red-tailed Hawk ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Killdeer ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Rock Pigeon ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE ¨ Boy Scout Rd 
    ¨ ¨ 7 Mourning Dove ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 28 Chimney Swift ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 12 Red-headed Woodpecker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Flicker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Eastern Phoebe ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Great Crested Flycatcher ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Eastern Kingbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Warbling Vireo ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Blue Jay ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 American Crow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Horned Lark ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 Barn Swallow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Tufted Titmouse ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Carolina Wren ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 House Wren ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Eastern Bluebird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Veery ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 32 American Robin ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 Gray Catbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Brown Thrasher ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 72 European Starling ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Common Yellowthroat ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 SUMMER TANAGER ¨ Males; one sighted + one calling "pituk" 
    ¨ ¨ 13 Eastern Towhee ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 Chipping Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 14 Field Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 VESPER SPARROW¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 LARK SPARROW ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Savannah Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Song Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Swamp Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 White-throated Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 White-crowned Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeak ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 11 Red-winged Blackbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Eastern Meadowlark ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 WESTERN MEADOWLARD ¨ Momence Sod Farm 
    ¨ ¨ 38 Common Grackle ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 14 Brown-headed Cowbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Baltimore Oriole ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 13 American Goldfinch ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 22 House Sparrow ¨   
   
  IL, Justine Dr., Kankakee 18 
   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Mallard ¨  Red Fox 
    ¨ ¨ 6 Mourning Dove ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD ¨ together 
    ¨ ¨ 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Blue Jay ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Tufted Titmouse ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Gray Catbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Chipping Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 30 White-throated Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 White-crowned Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 6 Northern Cardinal ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 Rose-breasted Grosbeak ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Common Grackle ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Brown-headed Cowbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 6 House Finch ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 American Goldfinch ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 House Sparrow ¨   
   
 IL, LeVasseur Park-Perry Farm, Kankakee Co 87 0430-1215H + 1830-2010H (4 mi 
Walk + 13.9 mi Drive)_Sun_37-64_NE-SE 0-10_Wt Deer (12)_E Chipmunk_Coyote. 

   
    ¨ ¨ 12 Canada Goose ¨   
   ¨ ¨ 8 Wood Duck ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 46 Mallard ¨ some fledglings 
    ¨ ¨ 1 Hooded Merganser ¨ F 
    ¨ ¨ 4 Ring-necked Pheasant ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Great Blue Heron ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Green Heron ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Turkey Vulture ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Cooper's Hawk ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Red-tailed Hawk ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Killdeer ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Spotted Sandpiper ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 Ring-billed Gull ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 13 Rock Pigeon ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 9 Mourning Dove ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 34 Chimney Swift ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Belted Kingfisher ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 6 Red-headed Woodpecker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 Downy Woodpecker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 6 Northern Flicker ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 Least Flycatcher ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 Eastern Phoebe ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Eastern Kingbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 White-eyed Vireo ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Yellow-throated Vireo ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Blue-headed Vireo ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Warbling Vireo ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Red-eyed Vireo ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 Blue Jay ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 9 American Crow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 Tree Swallow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Bank Swallow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Barn Swallow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Tufted Titmouse ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Carolina Wren ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 12 House Wren ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Eastern Bluebird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Veery ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Gray-cheeked Thrush ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Swainson's Thrush ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 26 American Robin ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 12 Gray Catbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Brown Thrasher ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 52 European Starling ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Cedar Waxwing ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Tennessee Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 10 Nashville Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Northern Parula ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 Yellow Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 Chestnut-sided Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 6 Magnolia Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Cape May Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 34 Yellow-rumped Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Black-throated Green Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 Blackburnian Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 14 Palm Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 3 Blackpoll Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 CERULEAN WARBLER ¨ Male heard and sighted; 0620 - 0720H; recorded. 
    ¨ ¨ 3 Black-and-white Warbler ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 American Redstart ¨ 1 female 
    ¨ ¨ 6 Ovenbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 Northern Waterthrush ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 12 Common Yellowthroat ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 12 Chipping Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 9 Field Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 22 Song Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 2 Lincoln's Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 4 Swamp Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 44 White-throated Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 8 White-crowned Sparrow ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 1 DARK-EYED JUNCO ¨ Same location as 5/6/08; my latest by 4 days. 
    ¨ ¨ 14 Northern Cardinal ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 10 Rose-breasted Grosbeak ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 7 Indigo Bunting ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 60 Red-winged Blackbird ¨ 50 at airport pond. 
    ¨ ¨ 4 Eastern Meadowlark ¨ one at airport pond. 
    ¨ ¨ 64 Common Grackle ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 18 Brown-headed Cowbird ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 5 ORCHARD ORIOLE ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 13 Baltimore Oriole ¨   
    ¨ ¨ 32 American Goldfinch ¨ 10 at airport pond. 
    ¨ ¨ 32 House Sparrow ¨   
   
  


Take Care.

Jed Hertz
Kankakee, IL (Kankakee County)(60 mi South of Chicago)
 
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/

Give "e-bird" a try:  http://www.ebird.org/BCN/index.html

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Nachusa Grasslands
From: John Heneghan <johnhens AT sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 03:37:46 -0700 (PDT)
I participated in the Spring Bird Count at Nachusa Grasslands yesterday in Ogle 
County. As others mentioned in other posts, not a spectacular day for warblers. 
Highlights include many Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, a Scarlet Tanager, Towhees, 
Indigo Buntings, Bobolinks, Chats, Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, Nashville 
Warblers and an Ovenbird. Swainson's Thrush were seen also. Sparrows included 
Field, Lark, Grasshopper and Henslow's and Swamp. I was excited to see/hear 2 
Bell's Vireo's. 

   
 Noticeably absent were hawks. At the end of a nice day, we were treated to 5 
Sandhill Cranes which came gliding in to a gentle stop. It was a pleasant day 
to be Outside, I am glad we did the count yesterday and not today!!! 

   
  John Heneghan
  La Fox, Kane County
      


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET huge Caspian Tern count and other highlights from Evanston
From: Josh Engel <jengel5230 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 23:11:36 -0700 (PDT)
I arrived well before sunrise at Northwestern (in Evanston) this morning for 
the spring bird count and was immediately inundated by flock after flock of 
Caspian Terns. Between 5:15 and 5:55 I counted 848 Caspian Terns flying north. 
That's one bird every 2.8 seconds, on average--a constant, spectacular stream 
of huge red bills and raucous calls. Over 300 of the birds flew by before the 
first golden piece of the sun showed above the horizon. After 5:55 the movement 
slowed down considerably and I was finally able to look at something else! 


Besides the Great Black-backed Gull at Northwestern that Nick Block posted 
about earlier, other highlights from the day included the continuing Hooded 
Warbler at Perkin's Woods; a flyby Northern Shoveler at Northwestern; and three 
Orchard Orioles at Gillson Park (in Wilmette). 


As most other people have commented, the birding was slow. Migrant passerines 
were very thinly distributed and were as notable for what was absent as for 
what was seen. I saw only 14 species of warblers on the day, of which the most 
common was Common Yellowthroat (19 at Northwestern alone). I managed all four 
Catharus thrushes (Gray-cheeked and Hermit at Harbert Park), but only five 
total individuals. I saw only two species of vireo and no buntings, grosbeaks, 
or tanagers, and with fourteen species of warblers several expected species 
were missing, perhaps most notably Black-throated Green. Nonetheless, it was a 
beautiful day to be birding and even on a slow day during migration there are 
some interesting birds around. 


Good birding,
Josh Engel
Evanston (at the moment)/Cape Town, South Africa (usually)
jengel5230 AT yahoo.com

Guide, Tropical Birding
www.tropicalbirding.com



 
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Subject: IBET Chicago Botanic Gardens, 5/10 a.m.
From: sulli.gibson AT comcast.net
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 03:59:23 +0000
May 10 2008 - 

I birded the Chicago Botanic Gardens this afternoon (5/10/08) with Chuck 
Holland. Our highlights are as follows: 


1 Pied-billed Grebe
7 Purple Martin
2 Orchard Oriole (m/f)
1 Bobolink (in the prairie)

Good birding!
--
Sulli Gibson
Cook County, IL
sulli.gibson AT comcast.net
Subject: IBET Air Station Prairie, 5/10 a.m.
From: sulli.gibson AT comcast.net
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 03:51:18 +0000
May 10 2008 - 

I birded Air Station Prairie with Chuck Holland this morning (5/10/08). 
Surprisingly, no Rails, Swamp Sparrows, or Marsh Wrens were seen. The AMERICAN 
WOODCOCK was sheltering young under its wings. Our highlights are as follows: 


1 Solitary Sandpiper
1 American Woodcock (sheltering young)
1 Belted Kingfisher
3 Eastern Meadowlark (all singing)

Full list:
Location:     Air Station Prairie, Glenview
Observation date:     5/9/08
Number of species:     22

Canada Goose     3
Mallard     7
Green Heron     2
Killdeer     2
Spotted Sandpiper     1
SOLITARY SANDPIPER     1
AMERICAN WOODCOCK     1 (young have hatched, she was sheltering them under her 
wings, we watched from a distance for a short amount of time to minimize 
disturbance)
Ring-billed Gull     2
Mourning Dove     3
BELTED KINGFISHER     1
Warbling Vireo     2
Tree Swallow     4
American Robin     6
European Starling     4
Common Yellowthroat     1
Savannah Sparrow     3
Song Sparrow     2
Red-winged Blackbird     9
EASTERN MEADOWLARK     3 (all singing)
Common Grackle     5
American Goldfinch     5
House Sparrow     2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/bcn)

Good birding!
--
Sulli Gibson
Cook County, IL
sulli.gibson AT comcast.net
Subject: IBET Techny Basin Conservation Area SBC, 5/10 a.m.
From: sulli.gibson AT comcast.net
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 03:45:24 +0000
May 10 2008 - 

I covered Techny Basin Conservation Area in the Spring Bird Count this morning 
(5/10/08). I birded with Chuck Holland. We started at sunrise. Our highlights 
are as follows: 


3 Black-crowned Night-Heron (in a different roosting location)
1 Solitary Sandpiper
8 Warbling Vireo (high count for Techny)
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush (probably not many of these seen today)
1 Brown Thrasher
1 Magnolia Warbler (ad. male)
1 Grasshopper Sparrow (singing male, this time on the western rim unlike last 
year) 


Full List:
Location:     Techny Basin Conservation Area
Observation date:     5/9/08
Number of species:     41

Canada Goose     7
Wood Duck     2
Mallard     8
Great Blue Heron     2
Great Egret     1
Green Heron     1
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON     3
Red-tailed Hawk     1 
Killdeer     5
Spotted Sandpiper     3
SOLITARY SANDPIPER     1
Ring-billed Gull     4
Rock Pigeon     3
Mourning Dove     7
Downy Woodpecker     1
Northern Flicker     3
Eastern Kingbird     2
WARBLING VIREO     8 
Blue Jay     1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     1
Barn Swallow     4
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH     1
American Robin     17
Gray Catbird     1
BROWN THRASHER     1
European Starling     13
Yellow Warbler     2
MAGNOLIA WARBLER     1
Palm Warbler     6
Common Yellowthroat     1
Savannah Sparrow     4
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW     1 
Song Sparrow     3
White-throated Sparrow     1
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)     4
Red-winged Blackbird     19
Common Grackle     9
Baltimore Oriole     5 
House Finch     3
American Goldfinch     13
House Sparrow     1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/bcn)

Good birding!
--
Sulli Gibson
Cook County, IL
sulli.gibson AT comcast.net
Subject: IBET North Pond, Spring Count Highlights
From: Steve Huggins <sjhuggins1209 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 20:27:14 -0700 (PDT)
As everywhere else on the lakefront today North Pond
area was quieter than what we hope for at this time of
the year, however there were a few highlights that
included:

Harris's Sparrow -1
Black-throated Blue Warbler -1m
Yellow-throated Vireo - 2
Blue-headed Vireo -1
Red-breasted Nuthatch -1
Wood Thrush -2
Swainson's Thrush -1  (only cathurus of the whole
day!)
Louisiana Waterthrush -1
Orange-crowned Warbler - 6
Orchard Oriole - 1imm male

At South Pond, (plus the rowing canal bordering LSD)
Northern Shoveler -1m
BC Night Heron - 46
Caspian Tern -44 (possibly many more - 44 was a max
count at one time)
Forster's Tern -1
Common Tern-1

Woodpecker's (1 downy and 1 flicker) and Thrushes (2
Wood and 1 Swainson's) were almost no existent today.
Apart from White-crowns and White-throats, numbers of
sparrows were also very low. Fifteen species of
warblers was also tough going. Bring on the south
winds please!

The Harris's Sparrow continues to entertain at times
way too close to focus on. I was able to get a couple
of shots in better light today! Take a look at
http://www.pbase.com/sjhuggins
or
http://www.pbase.com/sjhuggins/image/96869293  &
http://www.pbase.com/sjhuggins/image/96869299

cheers
Steve Huggins
Chicago, IL


 


 
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Subject: IBET Elsen's Hill Area (DuPage Co. SBC) - 25 sp. of Warblers
From: Eric Secker <esecker AT bcnbirds.org>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 22:17:28 -0500
We concentrated our birding at Elsen's Hill this morning for the Spring 
Bird Count (also visiting Lincoln Marsh, West DuPage Woods, and Winfield 
Mounds later in the day).  Most of the warblers and other woodland 
migrants listed below are from Elsen's.  Some of the best birds were 
seen by the parking lot when we arrived around 6:30am and included 
WILSON'S WARBLER, CANADA WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, and a heard-only 
WORM-EATING WARBLER that refused to come out of the bushes.  Other good 
birds at Elsen's included a RUSTY BLACKBIRD, the RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, 
TUFTED TITMOUSE, a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW singing in one of the small 
fields.  We also had a second TUFTED TITMOUSE at Winfield Mounds (first 
time we have had them in two different locations in our count area).  
There were very good numbers of ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, BLUE-GRAY 
GNATCATCHERS, TENNESSEE WARBLERS, NASHVILLE WARBLERS.  Elsen's was also 
magical later in the evening around 5pm.  We had wonderful, close, 
eye-level looks at silent warblers in the Hawthorn trees by the parking 
lot and elsewhere.  Three stunning SCARLET TANAGERS were also back again 
this evening, feeding low in the Hawthorns in the restored fen area.

I had 104 species of birds personally, including 25 species of warblers 
(and 25 ticks and 7.8 miles of walking)

Double-crested Cormorant - 2
Great Blue Heron - 5
Great Egret - 1
Green Heron - 1
Canada Goose - 23
Wood Duck - 2
Mallard - 37
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 (Elsen's in p.m.)
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Killdeer - 4
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 2
Rock Pigeon - 3
Mourning Dove - 8
Great Horned Owl - 2
Chimney Swift - 6
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 16
Downy Woodpecker - 8
Hairy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 5
Willow Flycatcher - 1
Least Flycatcher - 2
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 5
Great Crested Flycatcher - 5
Tree Swallow - 8
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2
Barn Swallow - 27
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 6
Cedar Waxwing - 6
House Wren - 12
Marsh Wren - 5
Gray Catbird - 24
Brown Thrasher - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 4
Veery - 5 (4 at Elsen's back pond)
Swainson's Thrush - 1
Wood Thrush - 1
American Robin - 39
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 27
Black-capped Chickadee - 12
Tufted Titmouse - 2 (Elsen's, Winfield Mounds)
White-breasted Nuthatch - 6
Blue Jay - 26
American Crow - 7
European Starling - 7
House Sparrow - 10
Yellow-throated Vireo - 5
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Warbling Vireo - 3
Red-eyed Vireo - 5
Purple Finch - 1
House Finch - 2
American Goldfinch - 25
Blue-winged Warbler - 2
Golden-winged Warbler - 2
Tennessee Warbler - 41
Orange-crowned Warbler - 3 (far back end of Elsen's, Lincoln Marsh)
Nashville Warbler - 17
Northern Parula - 1
Yellow Warbler - 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 6
Magnolia Warbler - 7
Cape May Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 67
Black-throated Green Warbler - 2
Blackburnian Warbler - 4
Palm Warbler - 38
Bay-breasted Warbler - 4
Blackpoll Warbler - 3
Black-and-white Warbler - 9
American Redstart - 3
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 4
Northern Waterthrush - 4
Mourning Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 6
Wilson's Warbler - 2
Canada Warbler - 1
Scarlet Tanager - 5
Eastern Towhee - 4
Chipping Sparrow - 2
Clay-colored Sparrow - 1 (Elsen's)
Field Sparrow - 13
Savannah Sparrow - 7
Henslow's Sparrow - 1 (Winfield Mounds)
Grasshopper Sparrow - 2 (Winfield Mounds)
Song Sparrow - 19
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 3
White-crowned Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 52
Northern Cardinal - 30
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 19
Indigo Bunting - 31
Red-winged Blackbird - 175
Eastern Meadowlark - 1
Rusty Blackbird - 1
Common Grackle - 20
Brown-headed Cowbird - 18
Baltimore Oriole - 13
Orchard Oriole - 1

--------------
Eric Secker
Wheaton, DuPage Co.
Subject: IBET NW Cook County, Sat. 10 May 2008
From: "Geoffrey A. Williamson" <geoffrey.williamson AT comcast.net>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 22:06:57 -0500
Donna Motherway, Tony Szabados, Jenny Vogt, and I birded in northwest 
Cook County for the spring count, covering Baker's Lake and environs, 
plus Deer Grove West and Deer Grove East Forest Preserves.  I also 
stopped at the O'Hare Ponds on my way back into the city.

Our best birds were two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS on Baker's Lake at 
the start of the day, two CATTLE EGRETS that flew in to land on the 
rookery island at Baker's Lake, a lone SANDHILL CRANE that flew east 
past Baker's Lake, and a PINE SISKIN that briefly stopped at the oak 
savanna just west of Baker's Lake.   Other birds of note were a 
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK at Deer Grove West near the lakes, and HOODED 
WARBLERS at each of two different spots along the main trail in the 
northwest corner of Deer Grove West.  We tallied good numbers of 
SORAS (19 of them) plus four VIRGINIA RAILS, the rookery was flush 
with many DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and GREAT EGRETS, and SEDGE WREN 
numbers were good (with 15, at Younghusband Prairie and at Deer Grove 
East). Shorebirds were nearly absent everywhere (including the O'Hare 
Ponds, which had just a single KILLDEER).

We felt like birds were hard to come by all day, but we ended up with 
100 species, which is about average for species diversity in our 
territory. Given that the count was at the end of the 4-10 May 
period, we were expecting better though.

Good birding,
Geoff


Geoffrey A. Williamson
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
geoffrey.williamson AT comcast.net

IOS: http://www.illinoisbirds.org
COS: http://www.chicagobirder.org


Subject: IBET Great Black-backed Gull and Blue Grosbeak, Cook Co. - 10 May 2008
From: "Nicholas Block" <nlb.birder AT gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 20:48:58 -0500
Hello all,

I birded today with John Bates, Jason Weckstein, and Josh Engel for the
Spring Bird Count, mostly in Grant Park and Evanston.  Overall, bird
activity was very low, and we really had to work to build up our lists.  The
most notable birds seen today were toward the end of the day with Josh:
Great Black-backed Gull - a first-cycle bird seen on the beach just north of
Northwestern University at ~5:00 PM
Blue Grosbeak - the continuing female at the south end of Loyola Park at
~6:30 PM

Other highlights included a couple Grasshopper and Clay-colored Sparrows at
Northerly Island and a Sora in the hedges in the middle of Grant Park.

-- 
Nick Block
Chicago
Cook County
nlb.birder AT gmail.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Common Loon, Black Tern at Pella Pond
From: Urs Geiser <ugeiser AT xnet.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 20:31:36 -0500
The BLACK TERN reported earlier from Pella Pond (off Fabyan Rd. between 
West Chicago and Geneva, just barely in DuPage Co.) was still present 
Saturday evening.  More surprising was a non-breeding plumage COMMON LOON!

Highlights from the Spring Bird Count earlier in the day include a 
KENTUCKY WARBLER off the Prairie Path (Timber Ridge F.P./Kline Creek 
Farm boundary), an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER in the southwest section of 
Timber Ridge F.P., and two HOODED MERGANSER in a private pond in the 
woods along Indian Knoll Rd. in Winfield (all in DuPage Co.).

-- 
Urs Geiser (ugeiser AT xnet DOT com)
Woodridge (DuPage Co.), IL, USA
Subject: IBET LaBagh early afternoon
From: Jill Niland <bwwarbler AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 18:17:34 -0700 (PDT)
After helping with the bird count along the Chicago River, I checked LaBagh and 
quickly found a male blue winged, but not the golden winged warbler, as well as 
a few other species: black throated green, chestnut sided, redstart, a dozen 
palms and a number of magnolias. Other birds included great crested flycatcher 
and indigo bunting. 

   
 On my way home on Foster Ave, about a block west of Western Ave., a sandhill 
crane circled, trying to catch a thermal. I pulled over and watched it as two 
gulls appeared to try to drive it away. 

   
  Jill Niland
  Chicago

       
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Subject: IBET cerulean warblers in St Charles
From: "mayhill10" <mayhill10 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 01:11:42 -0000
Today, May 10, Ginny Widrick and I had 4 singing cerulean warblers for 
the bird count, 2 each at Norris Woods Park and Tekawitha Woods Forest 
Preserve, both in St Charles. A West Chicago birder at Tekawitha stated 
that he had 6 ceruleans there an hour earlier. Hopefully they will stay 
around for a few days. We also had a blue wing warbler with them at 
Tek. Julie Long, St Charles
Subject: IBET NE Lake Co SBC highlights-Red Crossbills & Pine Siskins
From: "Jim Solum" <Solum11 AT msn.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 20:10:00 -0500
Kind of sounds more like a Christmas Bird Count but even though our small group 
of three only tallied just over 100 species on the Spring Bird Count today, we 
did have a few "winter specialties" highlighting our list. The best bird by far 
was the 9 RED CROSSBILLS feasting together in the south end of Illinois Beach 
State Park! A nice sight for us all especially Beau who added a new lifer to 
his list! 


-It should be noted that this is the restricted access area south of the Dead 
River. I just received word this week from IDNR and IBSP when I got our permit 
for the count that ALL past permits as of this week have been revoked. No new 
passes are being issued unless the IDNR and IBSP deem it a necessity. 


Other birds seen include 5 PINE SISKINS and only TWO were at my house! The 
other 3 were at Bowen Park in Waukegan where they are obviously still visiting 
one of the many feeders at the homes on the bluff overlooking the park. 
Shorebirds included 12 SANDERLING and 2 DUNLIN that Danny Diaz spotted north of 
the Dead River. 


Passerine highlights included our annual CAROLINA WREN east of Bowen Park and a 
beautiful BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER feeding and singing in a very hard to get 
to spot at Larsen Park in Waukegan. I found out that my balance isn't as good 
as I thought as I tried to cross the flowing creek at a log jam to get to the 
little bugger and half fell in. Could've been the mat that looked like a 
concrete slab that slide out from under me when I jumped on it! But it was 
worth it to get photos of him from 8 feet away! 


Overall the weather was pleasant and it was a great day to be out!

Good Birding!

Jim Solum
solum11 AT msn.com
Gurnee
Lake County


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Subject: IBET Piatt County: Robert Allerton Park, May 5
From: "Jane Ward" <jward199 AT gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 19:30:43 -0500
Monday, May 5, I visited Allerton Park. It was a beautiful morning,
with Blue Bells and Blue-eyed Mary wildflowers carpeting the forest
floor. On the east side of the Sangamon River I saw two Barred Owls,
one by the Schroth Interpretive Trail and the other was by the Lost
Garden.  I also found two male Summer Tanagers. Catbirds were
everywhere I went.

Photos are posted here:
http://walkwithmepart2.blogspot.com/2008_05_05_archive.html

-- 
Jane Ward
Peoria, Illinois
http://walkwithmepart2.blogspot.com/
Subject: IBET YELLOW RAIL Chain O Lakes State Park
From: Matthew Fletcher <matthew_fletcher AT comcast.net>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 19:00:14 -0500
Of the 112 species we recorded on the Spring Count today, the  
highlight was at 4AM this morning at Chain O Lakes State Park, where a  
YELLOW RAIL was heard calling from the main marsh, which is south-west  
of the main entry road, shortly after the Horse Riding entrance.

The morning was so still, Jeff Skrentny, Eric Lundquist and I heard  
the call from the top of the hill next to the horse-riding area. We  
were able to move much closer, to where the path that crosses the  
marsh meets the road and heard it calling again. A truly wonderful  
start to the day, a day that included two species of owl, three Bald  
Eagles, eleven species of shorebirds, thirteen species of sparrows  
(including two LARK SPARROWS) and eighteen species of warbler....and  
boy, are we tired!

Regards,
Matthew Fletcher
Fox Lake, Lake County
Subject: IBET Sightings @ Botanic Gardens Magnolia warbler?
From: "jfrankfurter" <jfrankfurter AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 23:43:52 -0000
Are Magnolia warblers around here?  I believe it's what we saw, but
according to my books they shouldn't be around here, true or false?

Also saw: 
1 green heron, 
1 baltimore oriole, 
1 male wood duck, 
4 mallards, 
1 Pied billed grebe
2 goldfinches (although we could hear many more)
2 turkey vultures
2 white crowned sparrows,
uncounted:
house Sparrows
countless grackles
many robins
some geese
house finch (male)

That's about it.

Have a great weekend,

JEF

Subject: IBET sorry
From: Grant Simon <gsimon1694 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 16:22:17 -0700 (PDT)
oops...


Grant Simon
Chicago,il
cook county


 
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Subject: IBET Lake County, 5/10
From: Robert Hughes <rhughes.enteract AT rcn.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 18:22:15 -0500
I spent the day birding in Lake County. My first stop was Rollins 
Savanna, my favorite place in northeastern Illinois to look for marsh 
birds. The water level in the main marsh is very high and there was 
little in the way of cattail cover. The rail habitat looked 
excellent, especially around the smaller marshes west of the main 
marsh. Some of the smaller marshes to the southeast of the main marsh 
had decent looking shorebird habitat but few shorebirds. My list includes:

American Wigeon - 1 male
Gadwall - ~10
Ruddy Duck - ~8
Blue-winged Teal - +
Green-winged Teal - 1 male
Ring-necked Duck - 3
Bufflehead - 4
American Bittern - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs - 1
Wilson's Snipe - 2
Wilson's Phalarope - 2, male and female. Great, close looks.
Sora - 10
Virginia Rail - 1
Sandhill Crane - 1
Northern Harrier - 1 immature
Henslow's Sparrow - 3
Savannah Sparrow - Lots, too many to count
Bobolink - ~40, everywhere
Yellow-headed Blackbird - 3 males

After Rollins I walked the beach at the South Unit of Illinois Beach 
State Park. Highlights include:

Willet - 1
Brewer's Blackbird - 8

At North Point Marina:

Herring Gull - 100s
Thayer's Gull - 5, 4 adults and 1 first year
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2, 1 first year and 1 probably second year
Caspian Tern - Lots

Waukegan Beach was my last stop. Highlights include:

Ruddy Turnstone - 1
Black-legged Kittiwake - 1 first year
Thayer's Gull - 1 first year
Thayer's/Iceland Gull - 1 first year
Forster's Tern - +
Common Tern - +
Caspian Tern - Lots

I posted a photo of the Waukegan Thayer's Gull on the Surfbirds Web 
site. It's right above the photo of the kittiwake.

Robert D. Hughes
Chicago, Illinois 
Subject: IBET harris' sparrow-north pond yellow crowned - montrose
From: Grant Simon <gsimon1694 AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 16:21:21 -0700 (PDT)
I went to montrose and north pond today and I found the yellow crowned night 
heron and harris' sparrow respectively. The yellow crown was in the same tree 
as the giant snapping turtle on the north east side of the golf course. The 
harris' sparrow was under the pines in the sw corner of the pond with many 
white crowned sparrows. Also on m. beach 2 forster's terns were flying around. 



 
____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. 
http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ 

Subject: IBET Palos area (SW Cook County) May 10
From: "Craig & Barb Thayer" <bncthay AT aol.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 22:54:59 -0000
For the date bird numbers in the Palos area(McClaughery Spring Woods, 
Palos Park Woods and Paddock Woods) for today's spring count were 
disappointing for the area we surveyed. We tallied 18 species of 
warblers but that number is deceptive since for many species only 1 
individual was observed (highest totals were 20 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS  
and 18 PALM WARBLERS).Other warblers included 4 BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS, 
1 CERULEAN WARBLER and 2 LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES. Other notable(?) 
totals included 1 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, 17 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, 8 
SCARLET TANAGERS and 25 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS.

Craig & Barb Thayer   Chicago
Subject: IBET Montrose Harbour correction
From: "toffeeman26" <neil.blackledge AT sjc.ox.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 22:45:55 -0000
That should have read North East side of the golf course pond!
Subject: IBET Labagh Woods and Montrose Harbour
From: "toffeeman26" <neil.blackledge AT sjc.ox.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 22:38:23 -0000
Labagh Woods was quite birdy this afternoon.  In a couple of hours, my 
wife and I managed to see a number of warbler species, including Golden-
Winged (female) and Black-Throated Blue, as well as Yellow-Throated 
Vireo.  We then called at Montrose and immediately found the Yellow-
Crowned Night Heron.  It was sat in the trees at the north-west side of 
the golf course pond (4pm).

Neil Blackledge
Evanston, Cook County  
Subject: IBET wooded isle jackson park chicago Il
From: Paul Doughty <paul AT pkdog.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 17:27:00 -0500
This morning I took out a small group of kids from Suder Montessori  
Magnet School.

Location:     Wooded Island's Paul Douglas NP
Observation date:     5/10/08
Notes:     Our group consisted of 7 children and 7 parents from Suder  
Montessori Magnet school ranging in age from 2-70 years young.  Happy  
spring bird count!
Number of species:     61

Canada Goose     12
Wood Duck     2
Mallard     6
Pied-billed Grebe     1
Double-crested Cormorant     9
Great Blue Heron     1
Green Heron     3
Black-crowned Night-Heron     5
Killdeer     1
Ring-billed Gull     22
Caspian Tern     3
Rock Pigeon     3
Mourning Dove     3
Monk Parakeet     5
Chimney Swift     12
Belted Kingfisher     1
Hairy Woodpecker     1
Olive-sided Flycatcher     1
Least Flycatcher     2
Eastern Phoebe     2
Warbling Vireo     1
Blue Jay     5
American Crow     5
Purple Martin     16
Tree Swallow     7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     8
Barn Swallow     12
House Wren     1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     1
Veery     1
Hermit Thrush     2
American Robin     X
Gray Catbird     9
European Starling     X
Tennessee Warbler     1
Yellow Warbler     3
Chestnut-sided Warbler     1
Magnolia Warbler     1
Cape May Warbler     1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     11
Palm Warbler     12
Ovenbird     1
Northern Waterthrush     5
Common Yellowthroat     6
Eastern Towhee     1
Chipping Sparrow     2
Field Sparrow     1
Savannah Sparrow     1
Song Sparrow     2
Lincoln's Sparrow     1
Swamp Sparrow     3
White-throated Sparrow     26
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)     7
Northern Cardinal     5
Red-winged Blackbird     13
Common Grackle     X
Brown-headed Cowbird     2
Baltimore Oriole     9
American Goldfinch     11
House Sparrow     3

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)




Paul Doughty
(773) 320 5119c


Picture yourself in a boat on a river...
John Lennon






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Subject: IBET Waukegan Black-legged Kittiwake, 5/10 p.m.
From: Robert Hughes <rhughes.enteract AT rcn.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 16:56:44 -0500
Thanks to Bruce Heimer for posting the Black-legged Kittiwake. The 
bird was resting on the bathing beach at Waukegan at about 2:30. I 
posted a photo on the Surfbirds Web site, URL below.

http://surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery20

Robert D. Hughes
Chicago, Illinois 
Subject: IBET Sora Rail Video Wilkinson-Renwick Marsh Nature Preserve, Dekalb County
From: "Bill" <meier_b AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 21:24:07 -0000
About 50 seconds of Sora Rail video from today's visit to Wilkinson-
Renwick Marsh Nature Preserve. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/basicbill/2481500108/

The visit was much less productive than last Tuesday... a few of those 
clips shown here. (1 minute 17 seconds)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/basicbill/2474207519/

Thanks to Tim Vanseghi for identifying the Sora rail from that video. 
Finally today I ended up at Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, site of the 
probable recent Whip-poor-will siting. I wouldn't know a Whip-poor-will 
if it bit me, and I don't think this is it, but there was a bird 
singing that I couldn't place. Long range, silhouetted video only, but 
if someone can help identify it by the voice, I'd appreciate it. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/basicbill/2481510776/ (1 minute 26 seconds)

Bill Meier
St. Charles, IL
Kane

Subject: IBET Black-legged Kittiwake Waukegan beach
From: "bruceheimer" <bruceheimer AT sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 19:46:25 -0000
Bob Hughes just called to report a Black-legged Kittiwake on the main 
beach in Waukegan. The bird was still there.

Bruce Heimer
Elmhurst,IL
Subject: IBET Lost Cell Phone @ Montrose Bird Sanctuary
From: "marshallbsegal" <MarshBruce AT aol.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 19:32:02 -0000
I lost my Motorola "candybar" style black cell phone 773 710 3777  AT  
Montrose Bird Sanctuary on Tues 5/6 or Wed 5/7/08.   If you found it, 
please contact me at 773 327 0777.  Thank you.
 
Marshall Segal
Subject: IBET Lost Motorola cell phone @ Montrose
From: MarshBruce AT aol.com
Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 15:27:04 EDT
I lost my Motorola "candybar" style black cell phone 773 710 3777  AT   Montrose 
Bird Sanctuary on Tues 5/6 or Wed 5/7/08.   If you found it,  please contact 
me at 773 327 0777.  Thank you.
 
Marshall Segal



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