Once January came to a close, I knew I'd be in for a slow couple of months. March isn't exactly a prime birding month here in Chicago. As a matter of fact, it's a pretty awkward transition period in terms of birding; most of the wintering species are departing while the majority of spring migrants have yet to arrive. It's probably my least favorite time of year for birding, though the subtle signs of spring approaching are something I look forward to at the end of a long winter. Despite the fact that March may not be a special month, it has so far been by far my most successful. As usual I birded very hard, resulting in a month total of 101 species. Unlike January and February, I also added a few new species that I won't see again this year. Two out of the three of these great birds were actually my first year birds of the month! On the morning of March 1st, I started the day out at Montrose. As I was on my way to the beach, the local passerines caught my attention. I followed the sound of the scolding chickadees only to find 6 species of birds, all acting just as stressed, gathered around the same bush. Behavior like this typically indicates there's a predator or some other source of disturbance nearby. With all of the birds gathered on that one small bush, I couldn't help but think there was a real possibility a Northern Saw Whet Owl was perched somewhere right there. I started looking around, and within the matter of a minute I spotted it. A roosting NORTHERN SAW WHET OWL! It felt extremely relieving to find this bird as it's one of the hardest regularly occurring birds to find in Cook County; as a matter of fact, one could call this bird a serious pain in the ass to track down. I must have struck out at least 7 times at their only "reliable" wintering spot and had already given up on finding one until next fall. This bird was more than likely a migrant on it's way back to it's breeding grounds in the Boreal Forest. The month couldn't have gotten of to a better start!

#102. Northern Saw Whet Owl

3/4) During the middle of the school day, I received a message that a Ross's Goose had just showed up at Lake Glenview. A hell of a tough bird in Cook County, and a species that didn't even show up at all last year. Getting an RBA during school is always the worst because it raises the question of whether the bird will stick around until the end of the day. Luckily, this one did! Here is the single photo I snapped of the goose before my camera died:

#103. Ross's Goose

A quick loop around the lake yielded:

#104. Horned Grebe

With the sun setting, Tom Lally and I decided to head to Air Station Prairie to watch for displaying Woodcocks. Just as we were about to give up, an American Woodcock gave its classic "peent!" call from across the prairie. It's always a treat to watch Woodcocks display in early spring. 

#105. American Woodcock

(3/7) Despite the fact that there wasn't much around, I felt the urge to be out birding. I went to Park 566 where I added:

#106. Eastern Meadowlark

(3/8) On Sunday the 8th, Chicago experienced its first real influx of spring migrants. I had about 40 species at Montrose, significantly more than the rather weak totals of 15-20 species we were seeing all winter. Between the hordes of red wings and grackles I picked out my first Rusty Blackbirds of the year, a sure sign that Spring migration is underway!

#107. Rusty Blackbird

Similarly to Montrose, McGinnis Slough was extremely productive. The highlight among my 18 species of waterfowl were a group of 21 Tundra Swans, a fairly uncommon find in Cook County. Here's a digiscope of one of the swans.

A flyover Turkey Vulture and a Wilson's Snipe were two more additions to top off a solid day:

#108. Turkey Vulture
#109. Wilson's Snipe

(3/12) After school I chased a continuing Black Scoter off the end of fishhook pier at Montrose. I had already tried twice for it with no luck, making this my 3rd attempt. Shortly after I arrived, Josh Engel did the same and eventually picked out the Black Scoter with the scaup far out on the lake. Scoters are tough to come by in the Spring so cleaning up all 3 species by March was unexpected. Thanks Josh!

#110. Fox Sparrow
#111. Black Scoter

If there's one bird that should represent the month of March, it's without a doubt the Greater White Fronted Goose. Typically, us Chicago birders consider ourselves lucky when a bird or two drops into a local park with a group of Canada Geese. You may not remember, but I actually drove an hour to get my year bird in early January; believe it or not, it was one of the highlights of the month. For whatever reason, I saw a truly unprecedented number of this species throughout the county in March. I stumbled across this bird on 7 different occasions within the first two weeks of the month, my numbers soaring past 1,000. Ironically, despite multiple hardcore searches, I failed to find a Snow Goose this season, a hole that will likely remain on my list until next winter. I even managed to find a leucistic Greater White Fronted Goose this month- pretty awesome, but at the same time a huge letdown considering it wasn't the much needed Snow Goose I was expecting it to be. That's my nemesis for now. The photos here are just a tiny fraction of the Greater White Fronted Geese I found withing this 2 week period. It was quite a spectacle!

​(3/16) I visited McGinnis Slough again and racked up another impressive list of waterfowl. Between the hundreds Ring Necked Ducks, American Coots, and many others, I picked out my first Blue Winged Teal of the year. At my next stop, I added Common Loon, the first one to show up in the county this spring.

#112. Blue Winged Teal
#113. Common Loon

(3/20) On March 20th, we got another large push of migrants, so of course that meant Montrose in the morning. I only added 1 year bird, but I had no complains as I witnessed what was arguably one of the strongest waterfowl movements I'd ever seen. While being soaked by waves and struggling to hold my scope still, I counted thousands of ducks making their way north past the end of Fishhook Pier. The unfortunate reality of lakewatching is that it's almost always associated with bad weather, but at the same time almost always worth it. Here's a few of the photos I took that morning of the waterfowl:

#114. Eastern Phoebe

​Green Winged Teal:

Northern Pintail:

Lesser Scaup:

Common Loon:

Northern Shoveler:

(3/24) On March 24, local birder Tamima Itani told me she had word of an Eastern Screech Owl not far from my home in Evanston. An easy bird, but one that's constantly eluded me for the past 3 months. This bird was a piece of cake though, because I had Tamima there to point it out to me. This was only my second ever visual at a red morph Eastern Screech Owl. Thanks Tamima!

#115. Eastern Screech Owl

(3/26) Another good migrant day at Montrose was under way. Things were starting to heat up along the lakefront. Huge numbers of sparrows and blackbirds were everywhere. During my visit, I added:

#116. Tree Swallow
#117. Brown Thrasher

Little did I know at the time, this would be my last trip to Montrose for awhile. The entire Chicago lakefront, Montrose included, were promptly shut down later in the day due to COVID-19. More on that later...

After Montrose, I headed all the way up to the north western most corner of the county to Bakers Lake. It was extremely active, and within my first 10 minutes of scanning from the overlook I already ticked over 30 species. My year bird Great Egrets were back in numbers on the rookery and a pair of Ospreys had returned to their regular nesting platform!

#118. Great Egret
#119. Osprey

(3/28) After not gaining any uncommon or rare year birds after the start of March, things began to turn around at the end of the month. On the 28th, my friend Vlad found a Red Throated Loon at Northwestern. Another tough bird in the spring, and it was in my patch! I headed over and quickly got the loon. It was easily the best look I've ever had at the species.

#120. Red Throated Loon
​

(3/29) I woke up to a text from Ben Sanders saying a Wild Turkey had been seen in southern Cook County. I'd already searched this area multiple times for turkeys with no luck, but with nothing better to do I figured I might as well take my chances. Wild Turkey is an extremely hard bird to find in the county because it's become so heavily urbanized, which is the opposite of their preferred habitat. I'd already spent the majority of the month in the far southernmost part of the county, constantly scouring the remote farmfields and woodlands of the area hoping one day I might be lucky enough to stumble upon one. This specific turkey was reported feeding along a roadside by itself, so I really wasn't at all expecting to find anything. There was no way it would still be around, right? Well, I couldn't be more happy to report that I was wrong. In my car from about a half mile away, I could see a massive game bird crossing the street ahead of me. No way... that was it! My Cook County year bird WILD TURKEY!!! Not only did I get the bird, but I found 3 other turkeys along with it! My best bird yet this year.

At that moment, I reached the high point of my big year- I was overcome with a huge sense of happiness and relief. From day 1, the thought of tracking down a turkey this year was associated with stress, uncertainty, and doubt to be honest. I had to sit in my car and wait 10 minutes for my adrenaline rush to calm down. The turkeys stayed 2 days for many other lucky birders to see.

​#121. Wild Turkey

]
To add onto my luck, I was greeted by a Field Sparrow in my backard when I got home to top of a good day!

#122. Field Sparrow

And there we have it. March is over, and spring is here. The best time for birding in Chicago is slowly creeping upon us. But before I conclude this post, there is something very important that I need to address.

As I had stated above, the entire Chicago lakefront, Montrose included, have been shut down completely to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. With peak birding just around the corner, this is extremely unfortunate for the Chicago birding community. The main migrant traps will more than likely not be accessible for the peak of spring migration in May. As a result, many people have been asking me how this will effect my big year and whether I plan on continuing. In short, my answer is yes, I will continue my big year. No matter the setbacks I face, I will absolutely not back down. This is a dream of mine, and I won't be able to do it again anytime soon since this is my last full year here before college. This disadvantage has already motivated me to push myself even harder.

​So how will this effect the year? I am going to miss some birds, and I've accepted that. Missing regular spring migrants aren't my main concern, it's missing rarities. As you all know, the lakefront tends to host an impressive amount of rare birds each spring. There is a lot of potential for annually occurring rarities in the spring that may not show up in other places this year. To name a few possible examples, birds like Laughing Gull, Lark Sparrow, and Prairie Warbler that I would hope to show up this year may not happen at all. Because of this, I am expecting some pretty big holes in my list until the fall. My shorebird list will probably remain short until August. I probably won't see easy birds like Ruddy Turnstone, Short Billed Dowitcher, or Willet until then. However, looking on the bright side of things, school is likely cancelled for the entire year. This gives me the opportunity to bird every day in April and May, and I hope to turn up some extra birds with my extra time. So far I've already done that in the first week of April. This is also a great excuse to explore some under birded areas that have the potential to harbor any rarities or other interesting finds. 

So overall, I have been put at a disadvantage for this year. I'll  continue to bird as hard as possible as long as I'm not putting myself and others at risk. I am still hoping to break 270 species which would put me on the top 5 for Cook County big years. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this months plays out. My April goal will be 170.  For now, fingers crossed that the lakefront opens for at least some of May. April has already gotten off to a killer start, and I hope my good luck continues throughout the rest of the month. Until next time, please stay safe and healthy!

Good birding,
​Isoo

Hi everyone, It's crazy to think that two whole months have gone by already. Winter birding is beginning to wrap up around here as the first spring migrants are beginning to trickle into the Chicago area. From this point until summer, basically all of my new additions will be spring migrants- it's exciting to know that peak birding season (May) isn't all that far away! Anyways, let's talk February. February was overall a pretty uneventful month, I didn't add anything too unexpected though I had some really good days. By the end of the month I was at 101 species, just surpassing my goal of 100 which I knew would be challenging to reach. I started the month off strong in southern Cook County where the majority of the month's focus was. I was hoping if I made enough trips I'd stumble upon a Wild Turkey or a Ring Necked Pheasant, but unfortunately that never happened. On our first day off Simon and I went to Plum Creek where I added my first new bird of the month:

(2/2)

87. Eastern Bluebird

While cruising the road listening for anything of interest, I heard a Yellow Rumped Warbler chip so I pulled over, and that's when I heard the high pitched honking of Greater White Fronted Geese overhead! We looked up to see a flock of about 100 birds heading east. Surprisingly not a new bird, but definitely an exciting sight! Photo by Simon.

We spent the rest of the morning checking some agricultural areas around Matteson looking for pheasants and Lapland Longspurs. As I'd expected we found no pheasants, but lucked out with Lapland Longspurs finding a total of 150+ birds distributed between 3 different flocks!

88. Lapland Longspur

Our last stop of the day was the owl roost at Bartel Grassland where I added:

89. Great Horned Owl

(2/3) During the school day I got word of a Snowy Owl at 31st Street beach- a bird I knew I definitely had to go get. Steve Huggins confirmed the bird was still there late afternoon, so I sped over there after school. I got it almost instantly. It felt really relieving to get this bird as I was slightly worried none would show up on the lakefront this year. What a bird!
​
90. Snowy Owl

(2/7) On Friday after school I went to River Park and got a nice pair of Pied Billed Grebes.

​91. Pied Billed Grebe

(2/8) While birding in the morning I got word of a Northern Saw Whet Owl in palos that had been calling actively that morning. Saw whet is arguably Cook County's toughest regularly occurring wintering bird, and one that has definitely given me much trouble in the past. So of course, the Tolzmann's and I went down to palos that night also hoping to add Eastern Screech Owl and Barred Owl to our year lists. We started out owling in some other locations before trying for the saw whet, which tends to only call in the dead of night. After multiple uneventful stops, we finally got a few hoots out of a Barred Owl at Maple Lake!

92. Barred Owl

Saw whet time. Unlike my many other attempts, this one was filled with hope- I had actually just learned that this location was much more reliable than the previous places I'd been trying. However, despite my high hopes, I once again failed to get Northern Saw Whet Owl... frustrating! I'm sure the Great Horned Owl calling nearby definitely wasn't helping us.

(2/15) I took my first break from Cook County birding for the year to attend the IOS Gull Frolic, one of my favorite birding events of all time! As usual, we were awarded with crushing looks at uncommon wintering gulls and the opportunity to catch up with many people from the birding community. 

Adult and 2nd cycle Herring Gulls:

Adult Lesser Black Backed Gull:

(2/16) I decided to hit some south side hotspots to fill a few holes in my list. I started out by checking 4 historical roosting locations for Long Eared Owl, all to which held nothing. Next I went to Park 566 to look for Savannah Sparrow, a common bird but one of the very few year birds around that would be new for me. While searching, I spotted two big dark ducks flying past me and I realized they were either Surf or Black Scoters- they were Surf! An awesome bird and bonus for the month, and surprisingly my first time ever seeing Surf Scoters on Lake Michigan in the Spring. The birds touched down briefly before continuing north.

93. Surf Scoter

94. Savannah Sparrow

After that I went to Turning Basin #5 along the Calumet River hoping to see the continuing juvenile Lesser Black Backed Gull that's been hanging around, the only wintering gull missing from my list. When I got there things were looking pretty dismal; all the gulls were really far and there were hundreds of juveniles to pick through. But in the end, all went well because Amar Ayyash pulled up with a pickup truck full of bread and we chummed the gull in in no time. Thanks Amar!

95. Lesser Black Backed Gull

(2/20) After school I went to Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie to look for the resident Red Breasted Nuthatches. Never found them, but I still got my year bird dosage in for the day.

96. Common Grackle

(2/22) I made my first trip to Montrose this year hoping to catch a glimpse of some early spring migrants, but more importantly, I was holding out for the possibility that I might have a shot at my nemesis bird for the year, Long Eared Owl. Bob Hughes found one early the previous morning, and by the time I made it there after school the bird wasn't where he had it. Although it would be unlikely, I knew it definitely wasn't out of the question for the bird to come back to the same roost the next day. And that's exactly what happened!!! After 13 attempts at this bird, victory had never felt so sweet. Nemesis conquered. Huge thanks to Bob for getting me on it. Long Eared Owl!

​97. Long Eared Owl

With the SSW winds set up perfectly for goose migration, I went to Orland Grasslands in the southernmost part of the county where I hoped I could get lucky with some flyover Snow or Ross's Geese. To my surprise very few geese were moving and I got nothing of note besides a flyby Killdeer.

98. Killdeer

A stop at Cap Sauers in Palos yielded my year bird Pileated Woodpecker, which promply flew away before I got any photos. On the other hand, this Red Headed Woodpecker nearby was much more cooperative! A treat to see these two uncommon woodpecker species just a few trees apart.

99. Pileated Woodpecker

​Red Headed Woodpecker:

(2/23) I went to Wolf Lake in the morning, where it was clear that waterfowl migration was definitely under way! My trip was highlighted by singing Red Winged Blackbirds, 5 flyover Greater White Fronted Geese, and my first of the year Northern Shovelers! Nothing is more exciting then when you start to notice the first signs of spring! This is a photo of 4 different shovelers I had at Northwestern later in the afternoon:

​100. Northern Shoveler

(2/29) Another trip to Memorial Park Cemetery for the Red Breasted Nuthatches. This time, things were different. I got the bird pretty easily and it even sat still for me for over a minute!

And that's it for February! Like I said, nothing super spectacular happened, but March has already gotten off to an amazing start with birds #102 and #103 being my most exciting yet! Birds of the month go to Long Eared Owl and Snowy Owl; it really did feel amazing to finally get the Long Eared after so much work. See you in a month!

Good birding,
​Isoo

Hi all! So as I'm sure many of you have already heard, I decided that in 2020 I'll be doing a Cook County bi​g year! Before we get into things, allow me to briefly introduce myself and explain my goal:

My name is Isoo O'Brien and I'm a 16 year old birder from Evanston, Illinois. I've been birding for almost 7 years now, but more intensely for the last 3. I've always had an interest in hardcore birding and listing, and that interest has intensified in the more recent half of my birding career as I've grown old enough to seek further birding opportunities, and as of last fall, finally get my driver's license! In 2018 I made my first valiant effort at a Cook County year list, ending with a total of 261 species. As respectable of a total that may be, I know I can push myself much further. Now that I can drive, this is the year where I truly test my limits. So, as a result, this year I will be going for 275 species! The current record is 281 which was set by Aaron Gyllenhaal in 2013, a truly incredible total- without a good year for migration and vagrants it may even be impossible to break. However, that won't stop me from chasing the record, and I know my persistence won't waver. Without further ado, join me on this crazy and incredible birding adventure!
​

I decided that I'll be posting long monthly recaps of my adventures- I'd love to post more, but the demands of Junior year and almost daily birding are already pretty demanding! I also would like to apologize in advance for the amount of crappy photos in this post; I hadn't originally planned on blogging so doc shots were my priority, but that will change for future posts!

This year has been an unusually warm winter here in Chicago, which has its advantages and disadvantages. Species that are usually scarce here in the winter become easier to find due to the warmer temperatures, which adds some interesting ticks to my list I might not have expected to add this early in the year. However, the disadvantages may outweigh the advantages; without consistent cold temps and ice, already difficult species become harder, and birds like ducks and gulls disperse as opposed to being concentrated in the few areas of open water. Birds don't rely on feeders like they usually do. The excellent cone crop in Canada doesn't help either, making it one of the worst irruptions for winter finches in several years. I probably won't add generally easy species like Pine Siskin, Red Breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch or Common Redpoll until next winter, but it will be nice to have that cushion to hopefully carry me through to a strong finish when the time comes. Anyway that's enough said, lets jump into the action!

(1/1) I awoke to the sound of my alarm at 6:00 AM, adrenaline pumping through my body as I got ready to head to my first destination of the year, Chicago Botanic Garden. On the way there I picked up my first bird of the year:

1. Rock Pigeon :(

Although January may be one of the slowest times of the year for birding, it's one of the most fun times too, especially if you're doing a big year! The year list has reset, and no matter how common the species is it's always exciting to add it to your year list for the first time. Within my few minutes at CBG, I got:

2. Canada Goose
3. American Robin
4. Downy Woodpecker
5. House Sparrow 
6. Cedar Waxwing
7. Black Capped Chickadee
8. American Goldfinch
9. White Throated Sparrow
10. Ring Billed Gull
11. Northern Cardinal
12. Dark Eyed Junco
13. House Finch
14. Mourning Dove
15. Mallard
16. Golden Crowned Kinglet

By now I met up with the Tolzmanns and we started looking for the wintering Northern Shrike that's been hanging out around Dixon Prairie. Not even a minute into the search I spotted the shrike fly into a tree. This is a great wintering bird that I didn't see at all last year, so naturally it felt good to add it to the list on day 1!

17: European Starling
18. Northern Shrike

​19. Herring Gull
20. Red Breasted Merganser
21. Common Goldeneye
22. Red Tailed Hawk
23. White Breasted Nuthatch

We then went to a preserve just east of CBG where I knew a family of Red Headed Woodpeckers was hanging out, another uncommon bird in Cook County. We got it almost instantly!

24. Red Headed Woodpecker

​Heading south, we made some stops along Forestway Drive at Skokie Lagoons where I hoped to add Bald Eagle and some other common waterfowl species. During a brief panic where I was tearing the car apart Iooking for my lost my car keys, (I found them eventually, phew!) we added our targets:

25. Hooded Merganser
26. Common Merganser
27. Red Bellied Woodpecker
28. Bald Eagle
​
A stop at Skokie Lagoons south of Willow Rd. yielded my first woodland birding of the year. Right off the bat the "chip" of a Yellow Rumped Warbler alerted me to its presence, quickly followed by a flyover Sharp Shinned Hawk and 3 calling Hermit Thrushes. The benefits of this year's warm winter were definitely on our side here! These 3 species are fairly uncommon winter residents which become much easier to find in early Spring.

29. Yellow Rumped Warbler
30. Sharp Shinned Hawk
31. Blue Jay
32. Hermit Thrush

We stopped at some of my local patches in Evanston to search for a Winter Wren I found on the CBC a few days prior, as well as a Cackling Goose wintering in a cemetery a few blocks from my house. Continuing our good luck for the day, we got both!

33. Winter Wren
34. Hairy Woodpecker
35. American Crow
36. Bufflehead
​37 Cackling Goose

Heading south into the city we decided to stop at the Lincoln Park Zoo's duck pond and  Diversey Turning Basin along the Chicago River. The river's warm water inflow makes it a great place to look for uncommon wintering ducks, which is exactly what we found!

38. American Coot
39. Green Winged Teal
40. Northern Pintail
41. American Black Duck
42. Wood Duck

We then tried for a roosting Long Eared Owl and some other owls in the Palos area, but unfortunately to no avail due to unexpected strong winds. However, a pair of Short Eared Owls and multiple Northern Harriers graced the darkening sky at Bartel Grassland to conclude an overall great first day.

43. Northern Harrier
44. Short Eared Owl

I had until the 6th before I had to head back to school, so I continued to bird hard for the rest of the week. By the end of break I had over 70 species, which is the vast majority of our winter residents. 

(1/2) The next day I covered all of southern Cook County with my friend visiting from Indianapolis. We started in Calumet and made our way to Palos in the afternoon, ending with a total of 50 species! The warm weather definitely helped diversity our waterfowl list:

45: Ruddy Duck
46. Greater Scaup
47. Monk Parakeet
48. Northern Flicker
49. American Tree Sparrow
50. Lesser Scaup
51. Ring Necked Duck
52. Redhead
53. Canvasback
54. Gadwall
55. Mute Swan
​56. Double Crested Cormorant
57. Great Blue Heron
58. Tufted Titmouse
59. Cooper's Hawk
60. Song Sparrow
61. Brown Creeper
62. Trumpeter Swan

(1/3) I decided to chase some targets closer to home. I started at the North Shore Channel around the Evanston/Chicago border, adding Swamp Sparrow and Black Crowned Night Heron to the list.

63. Swamp Sparrow
64. Black Crowned Night Heron

Tom Lally was counting up to as many as 6 Merlins in St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, so that was my next stop. I only had 1, but it was nice to get suck great looks at this otherwise uncommon wintering falcon.

65. Merlin

​A quick stop at Chevalier Woods near O'Hare Airport got me an unexpected Carolina Wren! This is a tough bird in Cook County, only frequenting one area where it is already really tough to pin down.

66. Carolina Wren

​(1/4) Simon and I tried for another Long Eared Owl at Deer Grove. We looked around in the snow for over 3 hours to no avail, it honestly was a pretty miserable experience. My only addition that was an American Kestrel, but at least I avoided a 0 day.

67. American Kestrel

(1/5)

I decided to go back to Calumet with hopes of finding some of my missed targets and added:

68. Red Shouldered Hawk

​69. Iceland Gull
70. American Wigeon

I was under 10  minutes from home when Jeff Skrentny texted me saying he had a Greater White Fronted Goose at O'Brien Lock and Dam, just 5 minutes from where I was birding in Calumet earlier. Greater White Fronted Goose is a regular but very uncommon bird in the county, so of course I had to turn back around to make the near hour drive to O'Brien. I would probably have another shot at this species in the future, but on a big year one should never assume of second chances. If a rare/very uncommon bird is present then you should go, enough said. So glad I got the bird and didn't turn all the way back around for nothing, a strong way to end winter break!

71. Greater White Fronted Goose

​(1/12) After not gaining any new birds during the week, this weekend treated me well. Our first burst of extreme cold had run its course the day before, and I was hoping that finally some gulls were pushed south with the colder temps. They were. I was on my way to the south side to check when I got a message saying there was a LeConte's Sparrow at Rainbow Beach! This small and elusive sparrow is a fairly uncommon migrant during spring and fall, but to have one in the dead of winter is way cool! When I first got to Rainbow I immediately noticed the amount of gulls on the beach. An adult Great Black Backed Gull caught my attention, followed by a first cycle Glaucous Gull and multiple Iceland Gulls! When it comes to birding, weather is everything and will often determine the quality of your day, especially during migration. On top of that, I successfully got the LeConte's Sparrow, probably my most unexpected and out of season bird this month.

72. Great Black Backed Gull
73. Glaucous Gull

​74. LeConte's Sparrow

Saying the middle of January kicked my ass would be an understatement. From the 12th to the 25th I only added 2 birds despite all my effort. The most frustrating thing without a doubt has been Long Eared Owl. Within the last month I've gone for 3 different Long Eared Owls a total of 9 times (all of which have been 40 or more minutes away) and have never been successful despite frequent other sightings in between my several attempts. To further piss me off, my dad and I got back at 1:30 AM from a whole night of owling in Palos with NOT A SINGLE OWL despite perfect owling conditions. I've also gone for local screech and Great Horned Owl 3 times with no luck. You probably think I'm a terrible birder now. Anyway, birding wouldn't be fun if you got everything, right? I'll go for the damn Long Eared Owl every day until I get it, that's fine. On the bright side, my 2 additions during this time period were some pretty quality birds. Tundra Swan definitely ranks among one of my best birds this month.

75. Long Tailed Duck

​76. Tundra Swan

​(1/25-26)
Don't worry, my luck turned around and I had a crushing weekend to finish the month. On Saturday I added:

77. Belted Kingfisher
78. Eurasian Collared Dove

On Sunday morning during one of my attempts at the Long Eared Owl a Eurasian Tree Sparrow was found at Park 566- the first rarity of the year! I sprinted back to the car and made it to 566 as fast as I could. The bird was reported to be hanging out with a big flock of American Tree Sparrows on the North end, and when I arrived I immediately began to pick through them. However, due to the presence of multiple raptors in the area much of the flock had dispersed upon my arrival. I looked for an hour, and no Eurasian Tree Sparrow was to be found. I probably missed it by 5 minutes, which was disappointing. Despite this, I had an overall great day and had luck with almost every other target:

79: Peregrine Falcon
80. Sandhill Crane

​81. White Winged Scoter
82. Rough Legged Hawk

​83. Red Winged Blackbird
84. White Crowned Sparrow

​85. Brown Headed Cowbird
86. Horned Lark

And that was it for January! 86 is a January month record for Cook County, not to shabby, especially with no winter finches around! As for February, my priorities are going to be owls. When I'm not looking for owls I plan to be spending all my time in southern Cook County (starting tomorrow morning) looking for Ring Necked Pheasants, Wild Turkeys, and hopefully some white geese. These birds are extremely hard to find so it might be a total crap shoot, but the success of my year will depend on how many hard/rare birds end up on my list, so of course I'm gonna give it my best effort. Hopefully a much needed winter rarity will make an appearance this month as well! Making it my goal right now to be at 100 by the end of February. It will be hard, but I know I'll make it happen somehow, persistence is key.

See you in a month,
Good birding!

     On June first, Eddie Kasper, Henry Griffin, Ethan Ellis, and myself took on one of birding's greatest challenges; the Big Day! For those who may not be familiar with the term, a big day is a fast-paced hardcore day of birding in which participants try to find as many species as possible within a single day. Big days always take place within a specific geographic area, and in our case it was Cook County. As the birder who was most familiar with the area, I put together most of the schedule. Our route had us starting at 2:19 AM in the southwest suburbs, down to the southeastern most corner of the county, back up northwest, southeast again closer to the lake, up the lakefront from near Indiana to the north side of the city,  to the west side of the city, and finally back down to the southwest part of the county with much necessary zigzagging and backtracking in between. We set our goal at 110-115 species. At the end of the day we covered over 300 miles hitting 24 locations in 21.5 hours, and had one hell of a good day. Get ready for a long post!

      We awoke to the ringing of our alarms at the early hour of 1:56 AM, adrenaline pumping through our bodies despite running on 2 hours of sleep (Ethan going on none). First stop, Wolf Road Prairie. Two singing SEDGE WRENs and it's close relative the MARSH WREN were our first two birds of the day. After some effort, Miller Meadow produced a trilling EASTERN SCREECH OWL for us, a bird that has always proved to be reliable here on past big days. Moving south, we made a quick stop along Ford Rd at Cap Sauers for Barred Owl to no avail. We finished our nocturnal morning hours strong at Buttonbush Slough in Palos, with a grunting VIRGINIA RAIL, and to our surprise, a calling LEAST BITTERN! Our hopes were held high as the day was quickly approaching.

With first light quickly starting to brighten the sky and morning chorus picking up, we hit the ground running at Plum Creek Forest Preserve at 4:45 AM. Pulling off at the prairie area, we briefly glimpsed an AMERICAN WOODCOCK flying by, while the short "Tsi-lick" of numerous HENSLOW'S SPARROWs and descending song of FIELD SPARROWs echoed across the prairie. A few GRASSHOPPER SPARROWs and EASTERN MEADOWLARKs gave into the chorus, and a single DICKISSEL followed by a far off BOBOLINK completed our list for all expected grassland species. Continuing on into the woods, a male ORCHARD ORIOLE and a ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK belched out their beautiful songs right in the parking lot, and Eddie's sharp eye got us all on a flyby BLACK BILLED CUCKOO! Our fast paced walk though the woods yielded the expected WOOD THRUSH, TUFTED TITMOUSE and ACADIAN FLYCATHER, followed by calling RED HEADED and PILEATED WOODPECKERs! Now that was a relief, considering the fact that these two woodpeckers are pretty unpredictable and not particularly easy at any location in Cook County. We wrapped up Plum Creek with a singing ALDER FLYCATHER and an extremely far off BLUE WINGED WARBLER, putting us at just over 60 species at 6 AM. Plum Creek is known for its spectacular variety of high quality breeding birds, and our list really reflected that. Moving on, a 7 minute stop at the Orland Grassland South parking lot had us a flyby BALD EAGLE and a BLUE WINGED TEAL on the pond. We considered the eagle a bonus, as we had no location for this species at any point in the day. Now in the Palos area again, we were back at Cap Sauers by 6:55. We picked up the OSPREY on it's nesting platform at Bergman Slough, followed by a singing SCARLET TANAGER and a YELLOW BILLED CUCKOO in the canopy. Unfortunately, we missed the expected Veery and Yellow Throated Vireo here as well as the Summer Tanager Eddie found while scouting a few days before. Thankfully, Swallow Cliff proved to be an excellent stop. Almost dismissed as one of the many singing CHIPPING SPARROWs in the parking lot, a pair a PINE WARBLERs started singing from the pines! Pine Warbler hasn't been recorded breeding in Cook County many years prior to this, so this was a really awesome pickup for our day. Within moments of heading into the woods, a VEERY gave it's namesake " veer-u veer-u veer-u" song and an extremely distant SUMMER TANAGER sang a few notes. Heading up the mud trail, the annually returning KENTUCKY WARBLER sang once for us as well as a YELLOW THROATED VIREO, clearing up all of our misses at Cap Sauers. We were on a roll, and if there was anything within sight and earshot we were getting on it. A quick stop at Pulaski Woods came up empty for Hooded Warbler, but we picked up our only BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER for the day. A few minutes at Little Red Schoolhouse added GREEN HERON, COOPER'S HAWK and a few other common birds to our list. We rolled out of the Palos area at 9:15 with just under 90 species. 

With the day warming up, things started to slow down as we rolled into Big Marsh in the Calumet area. For some reason, water levels were extremely high and the habitat had unfortunately come back unexpectedly poor this year. Despite our efforts, we amazingly failed to kick up a Sora, and missed American Coot and Pied Billed Grebe. We never got a Swamp Sparrow or Common Gallinule to call from the back of the marsh. However, multiple WILLOW FLYCATHERs sang "fitz-bew" and a MUTE SWAN flew over, one we were relying on here. With all our misses at Big Marsh, we decided that a quick stop at Hedgewisch Marsh would be worth it. On our way out, we played Sora out the window at Indian Ridge and finally got a response. Hedgewish provided a COMMON GALLINULE for us, but we came up empty again for the coot and grebe. We had to keep moving. We drove under the skyway on our way to Steelworker's Park, picking up MONK PARAKEET. Pulling up to the abandoned power station just west of the park, Ethan picked out an AMERICAN KESTREL, and the BELL'S VIREO was singing from his usual spot. The "che-beck" of a LEAST FLYCATHER yielded bird #100. We checked Rainbow Beach for RED BREASTED MERGANSER before departing the south side, and sure enough we found them! We left for the north side at 104 species.

Our next stop was North Avenue Turning Basin along the Chicago River, where we instantly picked up the continuing GREATER SCAUP, and even got lucky with a flyover PEREGRINE FALCON! This meant we wouldn't have to stop for this species later in the day, therefore we could use that time elsewhere. We high tailed it to Lincoln Park, where a fastwalk around the lilypool got us a CANADA WARBLER and a sprint through the zoo got us the long-staying AMERICAN WIGEON. Next stop, Montrose Point, where we hoped to add some lingering migrants to our day list. Let's just say we got more than a few. Basically jogging the entire way though Montrose, we started by picking up SANDERLING, DUNLIN, and a flock of more than 20 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS on the beach. Despite the date and heat of mid-day, the hedge was still hopping with warblers. Within our short 10 minute loop around the hedge, we picked up 12 species of warblers, including BLACK AND WHITE, CANADA, MOURNING, and BLACKPOLL. Upon departure, Eddie found us a amazing YELLOW BREASTED CHAT and the chip a of seriously late NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH alerted me to it's presence in the foliage. In an hour at Montrose we had 55 species, more than anyone else had that morning. Our 13 new additions at this location put us at 122, and it was only 3:50!

After stopping to eat at for the first time all day, we decided to change our plans. The current schedule had us going north for Prothonotary Warbler, Brown Creeper, Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagle and Red Headed Woodpecker, but since we were having such a successful day we had all but 2 of those. Instead of going far out of the way for only 2 birds, we decided making a stop west near i94 would be a better use of time, and also get us back down south faster. The feeders we planned on stopping at were the only reliable place for Eurasian Collared Dove in the county. We also still needed House Finch, which would be a devastating miss. As if things couldn't get any easier, a EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE was the first bird we saw at the feeders, and a pair of HOUSE FINCHES were soon to follow. We headed south. Now amazingly ahead of schedule (this never happens on big days), we made a quick stop at Bemis Woods for another attempt at Hooded Warbler, but again, to no avail. We quickly picked up the YELLOW THROATED WARBLER in residential Westchester, and decided the smartest move would be to check Eggers Grove. There was a decent chance the pond may hold a grebe or a coot, and the Great Horned Owl chicks that just recently fledged should still be around. Storms began to form around us, and we were hit with heavy rainfall as we pulled up to Eggers. Scanning the pond for anything of interest, suddenly two juvenille GREAT HORNED OWLS flew in and landed right in front of us! Not only that, but we scoped out a PIED BILLED GREBE and BELTED KINGFISHER chattered from across the pond. 3 more birds in the bag baby! 

Grateful that the rain had let up, our ears filled with the last sounds of marsh and grassland birdsong as we watched the sun set over Bartel Grassland. The melodic trill of a SWAMP SPARROW was a nice surprise, making up for our miss at Big Marsh earlier. As light continued to fade, we decided to try for Wilson's Snipe. During breeding season snipes are pretty tough to find in Cook County, but if there was any place where one would be, it would be here. For about 20 minutes we played different recordings on and off, trying everything we could to get a response out of a bird. We were about to leave when we heard a "pik pik pik" come from across the grassland, and sure enough a WILSON'S SNIPE flew right over our heads! Bird #131, and another awesome addition for our day! At this point, the only two birds we could possibly get were Barred Owl and Common Nighthawk, so it was back to Cap Sauers for the third time. Eddie and Henry got a few hoots out of a BARRED OWL, but unfortunately Ethan and I missed it, making it our 2nd dirty bird for the day. A final stop for Common Nighthawk near Eddie's house came up with nothing. And with that, we decided to call it quits. It was almost 11 o'clock, and we were exhausted from and incredible day of birding. In total, we finished with 132 species, a total we had never even dreamed of getting. 132 is now the 2nd highest June county big day total for the state, Lake County's total being only 3 higher than ours with several more breeding birds. Huge thanks to Eddie's family for graciously hosting us. June 1st, 2019 was a day to remember, and I can't wait to see what next year's June big day will bring!


For the birds,

Isoo O'Brien

For the first time since my trip around the world in 2015, I left the country. My family and I went on a nine day trip to Mexico visiting 3 cities, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca. I somehow managed to go on 5 birding trips, the most I have ever gone on during a vacation. With more experience and more  birding opportunities, I picked up 135 species on my trip, more than than I did in Panama in 2015. We started off our trip with 2 nights in Mexico City and I was very lucky to be staying in a hotel next to a good park for birding, Bosque de Chapultepec. Here are some photos of the birds I saw...

 A bird that can also commonly be found in ​Illinois, NORTHERN SHOVELER:

Juvenile HERMIT WARBLER:

A HERMIT THRUSH taking a drink:

My favorite part of birding this park was seeing large numbers of warblers. Warblers are the most colorful family of birds in North America, and one of my favorite. Most of North America's warblers pass through Illinois every spring on their way to their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern U.S. After breeding in the summer, the warblers pass back through Illinois in the fall to escape the cold and spend the winter in the southern U.S, Mexico and Central America. So for me, seeing these warblers was extra special because not only are they beautiful, but they remind me of spring and warmer weather. In Mexico City we found many species of warblers, including Wilson's, Black Throated Green, Hermit, Townsend's, Yellow Rumped, Nashville, Orange Crowned, Black and White and my first ever BLACK THROATED GRAY WARBLER. This was my favorite bird I saw in Mexico City.

After 2 days in the city, we drove 3 hours north to the small mountain town of San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel de Allende has a population of about 60,000 people and is a popular tourist and retirement destination for Americans. I would say overall I enjoyed my experience here more than anywhere else in Mexico. I have always preferred small cities where I can get all of my resources yet still be close to nature; San Miguel de Allende was prefect for this because I really enjoyed the city and there were great birds. I did two birding trips here in very different habitats which provided a greater species variation. On our 2nd morning here I birded around Rio Laja, a lake surrounded by great bird habitat just outside the city. In just a little over an hour my dad and I managed to see 34 species. Here are some of the highlights from our morning:

My first ever CURVE BILLED THRASHER:

The only shorebirds I saw on the trip, LEAST SANDPIPERS:

 Probably the most common bird in San Miguel de Allende, the WHITE WINGED DOVE:​

This bird has one of the weirdest ways of killing its prey; this peculiar songbird feeds on lizards, small mammals and even other birds. How does it kill them? Sharing a similar diet to raptors but lacking a raptor's powerful talons, The LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE kills its prey by skewering it on sharp objects such as thorn bushes and barbed wire. Sadly we did not get to watch it feed, but we were awarded with great views.

Later in the afternoon we visited another birding spot, El Charco Botancio. El Charco is not your typical botanic garden, as it contains little to no trees and is almost all entirely cactus and scrub habitat  (basically like a desert) surrounding a large lake. I had not birded in this type of habitat before so I was fortunate enough to pick up several lifers. As soon as I walked in, I sportted this uncommon GRAY FLYCATCHER:

The most abundant bird here was this CLAY COLORED SPARROW, which is also a bird that passes through Illinois during migration:

This male VERMILLION FLYCATHCHER is on of the most common birds in Mexico and one of the most astonishing birds I have ever seen:

My lifer BROAD BILLED HUMMINGBIRD:

Another life bird of the trip for me was this WHITE COLLARED SEEDEATER:

Luckily for the 2nd time now, our hotel was in close to a local park that produced a few nice birds for me, some of which were lifers, including...
​
PLUMBEOUS VIREO:

VIOLET CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD:

During our stay here we spent the majority of our time walking around, here are some pictures I took during our long walks:

sOne night when we were walking to dinner I heard a loud and unmistakable shrill screech of a Barn Owl. Unfortunately I never found the bird, but it has one of the most bizarre calls I have ever heard. After I began walking again, 2 more birds called from a different direction. Even though I didn't see the bird it was still one of the coolest birding experiences I've ever had!

Oaxaca was the highlight of my birding experience in Mexico. In the 3 full days I had here, I saw over 100 species of birds and I gained over 30 lifers. We visited Monte Alban, one of the most famous archaeological sites of Mexico. Monte Alban is an ancient city (now ruins) built by the Zapotec and was believed to have been built in 600 BC. This was by far the coolest site we visited during our trip!

Not only was Monte Alban super cool, but it is one of Oaxaca's top birding locations. I feel like out of all places I visited in Mexico this spot had the most beautiful birds. Here are some photos:\

LADDER BACKED WOODPECKER:

ELEGANT EUPHONIA, a bird on my bucket list for this trip:

BEWICK'S WREN singing:

 Beautiful male SCOTT'S ORIOLE:

My sister and my mom left a day early to return to Chicago to see Hamilton, which meant me and my dad got an extra day in Oaxaca to bird with our fantastic guide, Roque Antonio Martinez.

I had set myself a goal for the day of 100 species, mainly because I have tried for 100 twice before and had fallen short both times, seeing only 98 species. I was truly hoping to break 100 on this day!

Our plan was to visit a variety of habitats, starting out in the thorn forest valley, followed by birding wetlands and highlands. My #1 target for the trip was the Mexican endemic the Red Warbler. Wish me luck!

Roque had an incredibly sharp eye and ear, and as soon as we stepped out of the car he spotted this BRIDLED SPARROW:

GRAY BREASTED WOODPECKER:

BOUCARD'S WREN:

BLACK VENTED ORIOLE:

NUTTING'S FLYCATCHER

WHITE TAILED KITE:

We then walked to a small lake picking up several species of ducks and other water birds. Highlights included large numbers of Blue Winged Teal, Northern Pintail and a very uncommon CINNAMON TEAL. We were also fortunate to pick up many of these LEAST GREBES, the worlds smallest grebe.

With the day warming up and the morning hours disappearing, we moved upward in elevation to a reservoir. Roque spotted an uncommon TUFTED FLYCATCHER, a lifer for me. As we were on our way out, this beautiful ROCK WREN sat right along the side of the road and I was able to capture a nice shot, probably my favorite pics from our trip:

​We then moved on to the highlands with 70 species on our day list. Because the mountains have different birds, we had a good chance at obtaining 100 species. Once again our list began to grow, and we ticked off beautiful birds such as this SLATE THROATED REDSTART:

GRAY SILKY FLYCATCHERS:

After a quick stop in the village of Benito Juarez for lunch, we continued up the mountain where we found a large variety of new species. We picked out both Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, GRAY BARRED WREN and even my first ever CRESCENT CHESTED WARBLER! Sadly, it was at this spot when I missed two very good birds (one of which was the rarest of the day). But it was at that moment when I caught a flash of red among the treetops, and I knew there was only one possibility; the RED WARBLER! A few moments later, the bird emerged from the foilage and showed off its white cheek patches and long down-curved bill, setting it apart from any other warbler.

After adding BLACK HEADED GROSBEAK and RUFOUS CAPPED BRUSHFINCH to out list, we headed back down the mountain toward the city when I realized we were only at 94 species. I was heartbroken.

After saying our goodbyes to Roque, I realized we still had a chance. There was a local botanic garden down the street, but we were only allowed to enter with a tour guide, and thank god there was a tour about to begin. There was one small problem, however; since a group tour was mandatory, we couldn't exactly run off and find birds. To make things worse, there was a guy named Alfonso who's job was to "monitor" the group and make sure everyone stayed together. Anytime we started to trail behind Alfonso, herded us back to the pack. Still, we had added a few more good birds to our list.

Shortly after we arrived, a Rufous Backed Robin sat atop a tree, and a YELLOW HEADED PARROT flew over. At one point, I thought I saw what could have potentially been an Orchard Oriole, so when Alfonso wasn't looking I attempted to make a mad dash towards the bird only to be dragged back in the opposite direction. A PEREGRINE FALCON darted overhead. It was about 30 minutes before dark, and we were at 97 species. Our last species of the day was a male BALTIMORE ORIOLE that I could just barely make out in the last moments of daylight. Once again, I had ended a big day at just 98 species! If only I had turned around a second sooner in the mountains, I would have seen the Band Tailed Pigeons and Chestnut Sided Shrike Vireo (which both my dad and Roque saw!) and reached my goal. Despite that, we had an incredible day of birding. Roque was a fantastic birding guide!

The travel day home was probably the worst travel day I have ever had. My dad and I experienced nearly 8 hours of being delayed (5 hours of which was waiting in lines) followed by a 4 hour layover in Houston. With time to kill in the Oaxaca airport, my dad and I birded around a little outside picking up ORCHARD ORIOLE and MONK PARAKEET, two species we had not seen during the trip bring our final total up to 135. This is the most successful I have ever been when it comes to birding in a foreign county, and I gained over 50 lifers from this one trip!

Life List: 875

* indicates lifer

Full Species List:

Blue Winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green Winged Teal
Ring Necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Least Grebe 
Pied Billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black Crowned Night Heron
Yellow Crowned Night Heron*
White Faced Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
White Tailed Kite*
Cooper's Hawk
Red Tailed Hawk
American Coot
Black Necked Stilt
American Avocet
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring Billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
Inca Dove
White Winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Vaux's Swift*
Mexican Violetear*
Blue Throated Hummingbird*
Broad Billed Hummingbird*
Berylline Hummingbird*
Violet Crowned Hummingbird*
White Eared Hummingbird*
​Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher*
Gray Breasted Woodpecker*
Golden Fronted Woodpecker
Red Naped Sapsucker*
Ladder Backed Woodpecker*
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Crested Caracara*
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Yellow Headed Parrot*
Tufted Flycather*
Greater Pewee*
Least Flycather
Gray Flycather*
Dusky Flycather*
PIne Flycather*
Black Pheobe
Say's Pheobe
Vermillion Flycatcher
Ash Thoated Flycather*
Nutting's Flycather*
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Cassin's Kingbird*
Rose Throated Becard
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Headed Vireo 
Plumbeous Vireo*
Steller's Jay
Northern Rough Winged Swallow
Violet Green Swallow
Brown Creeper
Rock Wren*
Canyon Wren*
Bewick's Wren*
Gray Barred Wren*
Boucard's Wren*
Gray Breasted Wood Wren*
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
Brown Backed Solitare*   HO
Hermit Thrush
Rufous Backed Robin*
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Curve Billed Thrasher*
Northern Mockingbird
American Pipit
Gray Silky Flycather*
Black and White Warbler
Crescent Chested Warbler*
Orange Crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Black Throated Gray Warbler*
Townsend's Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Black Throated Green Warbler
Rufous Capped Warbler*
Wilson's Warbler
Red Warbler*
Slate Throated Redstart*
White Collared Seedeater*
Bridled Sparrow*
Grasshopper Sparrow
Clay Colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Canyon Towhee*
White Throated Towhee*
Collared Towhee*
Rufous Capped Brushfinch*
Hepatic Tanager*
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Black Headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Black Vented Oriole*
Orchard Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
Scott's Oriole*
Baltimore Oriole
Great Tailed Grackle
Elegant Euphonia* 
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow.

​135 total
​51 lifers total

ABA's Camp Colorado was definitely one of the best birding experiences I have ever had. In total we saw 125 species and I made several new friends and many memories along the way. Below is a highlights video of our experience, so I am going to make the writing in this post brief. On July 16, I flew out to Denver and was picked up camp director Jennie Duberstein at the gate, where I met the rest of the campers. Soon after, we piled into the van and headed to The YMCA Of The Rockies in Estes Park, where we would stay for the next week. Our daily schedule looked a lot like this:

• Wake up before sunrise for a full morning of birding usually from around 6 AM to mid-afternoon
• Breakfast in the field
• Arrive back at the Y for lunch and/or free time, where we did things like more birding, play outside, or socializing
• Workshop (learning about things to make us better birders) or bird banding
• Dinner
• Owling and/or evening program given by a camp counselor

We visited a new habitat each of the 5 days in search of new birds. Here are the places we went and what habitats they offered:

• Day 1. Wild Basin (moutain birding in Rocky Mountain National Park)
• Day 2. Pawnee National Grassland and Fossil Creek Reservoir 
• Day 3. Upper Beaver Meadows and Hidden Valley (more mountain birding)
• Day 4. Medicine Bow Curve (looking for birds of the tundra at 12,000 ft)
• Day 5. Rabbit Mountain (foothills birding)

In total, I gained 14 life birds putting my life list at 816. I loved this experience. It was one of the few times where I am able to meet others my age who share the uncommon interest of birding because few of my friends understand it. Usually, I end up birding on my own or with my dad who is not so much of a birder as someone who enjoys being outside; so, the highlight for me was being around others like me with the same interest and being able to bird with them. Anyway, please enjoy this video I put together consisting of the highlights of camp!

Earlier this month I went on the Illinois Young Birders weekend trip to Dixon Waterfowl Refuge in central Illinois. These weekend trips with the Illinois Young Birders are my favorite of all the ILYB field trips because we get to do great birding for 2 days and be social in between outings.

After we arrived and settled into the bunkhouse, we began our walk deep into the wetlands in search of grassland species. Despite it being over 90 degrees, we were still able to pick up several birds, which included my first ORCHARD ORIOLE of the year; this was the highlight of the walk for me. We started off the walk with good views of common species such as INDIGO BUNTING, NORTHERN ROUGH WINGED SWALLOW, EASTERN WOOD PEWEE and BALTIMORE ORIOLE. As we got deeper in to the wetlands, we found some lesser common species like this DICKCISSEL:

We also saw this HENSLOW'S SPARROW, which is the most elusive sparrow that can be found within these grasslands. These birds often stay hidden in the grass low to the ground, so I was lucky to get shots of him sitting up singing! 

On the way back, we decided to stop at an abandoned barn to check for Barn Owl (and I'm pretty sure you can tell how the bird got its name). Although we never found the owl, we did find a Barn Owl feather as well as owl pellets and a parts of a goose's wing, telling us that there were certainly owls in the barn recently. Upon further inspection of the pellets, we found out that they were Great Horned Owl pellets. All birds fear the Great Horned Owl (even other owls) and they are at the top of the food chain. In the end, we came to the conclusion that the Barn Owl that was previously in here was likely eaten by the Great Horned :( 

Since it was sweltering hot outside and the birds were quieting down, we went back and had lunch, then played home run derby and even drove to the nearby town of Peru to play some Pokemon Go while the adults had a siesta. Here is a view of the grasslands from the bunkhouse in which we all stayed.

After it cooled down a bit more, we headed out birding again. We drove past the observation tower to the boat launch. We arrived to find this Painted Turtle in the parking lot:

We walked 2 miles and saw no new birds at all, and we were all getting discouraged. It wasn't until we were nearly back at the parking lot when things started to get interesting. We had incredible views of a YELLOW BREASTED CHAT which was awesome because they are really hard to find in Northeastern Illinois. 

This was followed by a RUBY THROATED HUMMINGBIRD sitting on its delicate nest, which is something none of us, including our leader Mathew Cvetas, have ever seen!

Here's a YELLOW WARBLER bringing lunch back to its chicks:

LARK SPARROW:

We came home and had a nice spaghetti dinner then headed out to try to find a few more bird before the sun went down. As we pulled into the turn off to the observation tower every car in the line screeched to a stop. The crew in the lead car got out and began taking pictures. We knew something was up so we all quickly hopped out and there, just sitting on the side of the road, was a BARRED OWL! Unfortunately, the Grackles and Black Birds in the area were not fans and chased him off before I got a picture. Nonetheless, it was just a random surprise because Matthew actually spotted the bird fly over his car! After that, we climbed to the top of the observation deck to scan for waterfowl. Here's a picture of the sun setting over Dixon Waterfowl Refuge with the observation tower in the forefront. 

Although we did not get too lucky with the waterfowl, we did see a RED HEADED WOODPECKER pop its head out of its nest hole.

Now that is was dark, we moved on to Putnam County Conservation Area where we topped the night off with a calling EASTERN WHIP POOR WILL! Although that was the end of our birding for the day, but not the end of our adventure.

We came back to the bunkhouse that night to find a car parked in the lot and the lights in the house on. Something wasn't right here. Matthew was the first one to step into the house, and I followed. We walked into the living room to find two big guys lying on the couches, and they did not look very friendly. Matthew began telling them that the house we had rented the house for the weekend, and that they had to leave, but they didn't seem to be responding.  I turned around and told all the people entering the house to go back outside, that there were two possibly dangerous men crashing on our couches. All of the dad's walked in to deal with them, including Eddie's dad who was holding the metal bat we were playing baseball with earlier. I remember seeing these men come into the parking lot earlier when we were leaving after dinner, though I guess I didn't really put much thought into it. But still, what kind of people see a parking lot with 6 cars in it and then see a house that was obviously being used and think its fine to just walk in? After giving it some more thought I decided they fell into one of the following categories:

1. Mental
2. Druggies (my guess)
3. Just didn't give a crap

They were not leaving  and they were trying to feel us out by making conversation and asking questions. If it were an honest mistake (which it wasn't) they would be like "I'm so sorry, we'll leave immediately."

After about 20 minutes, the dads eventually got em out. The men climbed into their jeep and pulled out of the parking lot, only to stop their car behind the barn so we couldn't see them. What were they doing? Loading their shotguns so they could come back and shoot us? After several long minutes, they finally made it to the main road only to TURN BACK AROUND and drive back to the bunkhouse. Me and the other young birders found it slightly amusing at first, but seeing how the parents reacted, we quickly scattered and hid behind the cars. It turns out, one of the men just forgot his pillow. Nonetheless it was a weird situation, and I'm pretty sure we all slept restlessly that night.

We woke up bright and early the next morning with in the hope of finding more waterfowl, unlike the night before. This day we had much more luck! We were able to see AMERICAN COOT, RUDDY DUCK, BLACK NECKED STILT, and 7 COMMON GALLINULE (although they aren't common)!  I was determined to leave with some nice photographs, and managed to snap a few nice pics of this COMMON YELLOWTHROAT!

After a nice breakfast back at the bunkhouse, we set out do do some birding outside of the refuge at Miller Anderson Woods. Although birding was tough because the birds were hard to see, we were able to hear PILEATED WOODPECKER, AMERICAN REDSTART, and YELLOW THROATED VIREO. I also got nice views of ACADIAN FLYCATCHER and my first YELLOW BILLED CUCKOO of the year! Miller Anderson was also full of cool moths and butterflies.

As soon as we got back, we found a baby RED WINGED BLACKBIRD on the ground that got lost from its parents. I was even able to pick him up! I'm certainly hope that his parents ended up finding him in the end. 

Sadly, the weekend was coming to a close and we had one last game of home run derby and one last lunch together before we left. It was an amazing weekend and we saw nearly 80 species. Big thanks to Matthew Cvetas for organizing the trip. I can't wait until next year!

Life List: 802 (added American Woodcock earlier in June)       To see more of my photography, look me up                                                                                                     at birder03 on Instagram!

I know a lot of you birders like to read my blog, but there is also a large amount of non-birders who follow this blog as well. Since I felt like switching things up a bit this week, I decided to make a video dedicated to all the non-birders out there. In this video I break down the basics of birding, from how to identify a bird to how weather patterns play an important role in where to bird. Overall, I did this video for non-birders to get a better understanding of birding!

May migration is finally here! I look forward to it every day and it's the most exciting time of the year for me. During the whole month of May, birds are migrating north back to their breeding grounds after summering  in the south, and they all come right through Illinois! One of the most exciting birding days of the whole year is Spring Bird Count (often referred to as SBC) in Evanston. Migration is all about the winds and the weather. Winds coming from the north deter birds from migrating, while south winds provide a tailwind for them, pushing them north to their final destinations in the Northern U.S. and Canada. Unfortunately, all of the north winds and rain discouraged most birds from moving up through Illinois this past Saturday, so SBC was incredibly slow with just 66 species in total, much less then last year's 98. Although we saw far fewer species, we did see a few quality birds. Ornithologist Josh Engel, his friend Amanda, and I went to The Lakefill on Northwestern University's campus for a lake watch. Although we did not see much, the sunrise was still beautiful.

Although the lake watch only resulted in 13 species, we did see this nice COMMON LOON:

We decided to call it quits with lake watching and set off to find other migrants. My favorite spot to look for passerines (warblers, vireos, sparrows, etc.) is the vegetable garden, where a nice LINCOLN'S SPARROW was the highlight. Just then, Josh heard the call of the YELLOW THROATED WARBLER. We set off to find it, and although we had already spotted it the previous weekend, it was nice to see again, and the only one ever seen on the Evanston SBC!

More walking led us to this pair of COOPER'S HAWKS, which were nesting here. It will be exciting to see the young ones once they leave the nest!

Northwestern's beach:

Since there wasn't much else on campus, we decided to move on to Perkins Woods. Perkins Woods is a tiny woods about a half a block long located in the middle of one of Evanston's most residential neighborhoods. Despite its small size, it's still be a good place for migrants. As odd as it may seem, we saw this MALLARD here:

AMERICAN ROBIN:

Just then, Josh spotted my FOY (first of the year) LEAST FLYCATCHER, followed by this beautiful male ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK!

After a morning of slow birding, we decided to make one more stop to Memorial Park Cemetery before wrapping up. The highlight was a calling SORA and this CHIPPING SPARROW.

For the first time ever, the highlight wasn't the birds! We found this coyote's den right where we parked, and there were 9 cubs coming in and out of it. We were able to get photos and videos from just 10 feet away!

Although it wasn't the most productive SBC, it was still great to see a few nice birds and enjoy birding at my local patches! Big thanks to Josh Engel for letting me tag along!

Later in the weekend, I visited my favorite spot again - Montrose Point. This time I was joined by my friends Jake Cvetas, Oliver Burrus and Eddie Kasper. To me, birding is always much more fun with friends. During our visit, this female (and also my first ever) HOODED WARBLER completely stole the show! He was very photogenic, and dozens of photographers lined up to get pictures. 

After walking around for awhile, another birder informed me that the same Yellow Breasted Chat I missed last weekend was seen in the southeast corner of the point. I rushed down there immediately.  When I arrived, the bird was not being seen, but thanks to Eddie's sharp eyes we were able to locate the elusive bird. Unfortunately, he flew down into the foliage before I was able to get a photo. Not only was the Hooded Warbler photogenic, but so was this tiny BLUE GRAY GNATCATCHER, one of the most common migrants:

Since we still had over an hour to bird, Mrs Kasper drove us to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which may seem like a good spot to see captive birds, but can be great for wild ones, too! We were hoping to find some warblers there. The first bird we came across was this GREEN HERON:

All at the same time, we yelled "NORTHERN PARULA" when the bird gave its buzzy "bzzzzzip" from a nearby tree. It was definitely surprising and also one of the highlights of the weekend for me! We topped the day with more walking around the zoo and delicious donuts courtesy of Mrs Kasper. Although the conditions did not provide for great birding, all that means is that more excitement awaits. Despite the lack of birds, it was great catching up with my friends and seeing my first Hooded Warbler. Stay tuned, by now all the birds have arrived and the greatest weekend of birding of the year for me lies just ahead!



Life List 801 (+1 Hooded Warbler)                                       To see more of my photography, click this link:
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Last weekend, my grandparents came in for a visit from Salt Lake City, UT, which made for an especially exciting weekend for me! Not only are we in the midst of Spring migration, but my grandparents are the ones who introduced me to birding. The last time they came to Chicago was almost 4 years ago when I first took interest in birds. It all started on the 11th of May 2013. We were sitting on the back porch and my grandparents were pointing out birds to me (I remember seeing a female cowbird and a chickadee). Then, they took me to Montrose Point and North Park Village Nature Center where I was able to see many more birds through their binoculars. A few that I vividly remember were the Great Crested Flycatcher, White Crowned Sparrow, White Throated Sparrow, Magnolia Warbler, and Rose Breasted Grosbeak. Shortly after they left, a field guide and binoculars showed up in my mailbox. I started keeping a life list and began recording all the birds I saw on iBird (a popular app that gives information on all North American bird species.) I became incessant about flipping through the field guide and looking up birds on iBird, until I could identify practically every bird I saw. Since my grandparents were the ones that got me started on birding, I would like to dedicate this post in honor of them. Please enjoy our birding adventures!
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I had just come home from school when my grandparents arrived. After catching up for a little bit, we immediately started birding. Since we only had 1 hour before our dinner reservation, we quickly went to one of my local spots, Harbert Park. Unfortunately, since it was late in the day, we only saw a few birds, but highlights included 2 EASTERN PHEOBE, a flyover PEREGRINE FALCON, and 2 close-up BLUE GRAY GNATCHATCHERS. We topped the night off with a nice dinner and more catching up at a local restaurant called Campagnola.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It was my grandma and grandpa calling me to see if I was up for a quick outing of birding. Of course I was! I got my stuff ready and we headed to the spot where I bird every weekend; Northwestern campus. Overall, we had a fairly unproductive morning, but we did see some swallows, the NORTHERN ROUGH WINGED SWALLOW being most abundant:

 After a quiet walk around the libraries, we were headed back to the car when I ran into the Evanston North Shore Bird Club on campus. I knew a few people in the group and went up to say hello. That's when the field trip leader Josh Engel pointed out a rare YELLOW THROATED WARBLER actively feeding on the side of a building! This bird is found in more southerly forests throughout the U.S. Although the bird would have been easy to find in Southern Illinois, Chicago is just north of its range, so it was quite a treat to see one! We also came across more birds in that area including PALM WARBLER, YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and a RED BREASTED NUTHATCH. The Yellow Throated Warbler is now one of the best birds I've had in all of my time birding there!

​​Later in the day, I played in my soccer game, and we followed that up with a Vietnamese lunch and then games back at our house. 

Despite the rain, cold temperatures and strong winds, we decided we should go birding anyway. My grandparents picked me up at 6:25, and we went to the famous Montrose Point, the first place I ever went birding. Walking around Montrose again with my grandparents brought back all kinds of memories from my first birding trip. This was where my grandparents taught me how to bird and now 4 years later, I was back with them to show them the knowledge I had gained. I did not take many pictures because of the rain, but we still had a total of 40 species which included the following: my first VEERY of the year!

We also saw this uncommon BLUE WINGED WARBLER which was a real highlight because my grandparents have never seen one; this is also my favorite bird! 

A walk through the dunes along the lake hit us with brutal winds, so my grandparents stayed back while I did a quick check on the beach. Not too many shorebirds, but I did see both LESSER YELLOWLEGS and GREATER YELLOWLEGS! The Greater Yellowlegs is the bird below:

Now here we have the Lesser Yellowlegs. You're probably thinking the birds look exactly the same. As similar as they appear, if you look closely you will notice that the greater has a longer, slightly upturned bill, and overall is just bigger in size.

Aside from the weather, it was a successful morning of birding, though luckily it wasn't over yet! We had scheduled brunch at North Pond restaurant which overlooks North Pond (wonder where the place got its name from :) ). Anyway, North Pond is a very popular birding spot and can hold large numbers of migrants so I was more looking forward to the walk we planned to take afterward than the food. Overall, the food was great and so were the birds. As soon a I stepped out of the restaurant I had a flock of about 40 PALM WARBLER, a bright male YELLOW WARBLER followed by GREEN and BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERONS!

Since I don't get to see my grandparents often my mom and dad let me skip school Monday morning in order to squeeze in one more birding trip. This morning proved to be the best morning Montrose has had all year! I had 59 species and the point was hopping with birds. As soon as I got out of the car I heard a BLACK THROATED GREEN WARBLER calling. When I located it, there also happened to be 5 species of warblers in that tree, including PINE WARBLER and NASHVILLE WARBLER followed by a WARBLING VIREO. We also saw several of theses common, but still beautiful YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER:

As usual, AMERICAN ROBINS were very common throughout the day.

COMMON YELLOWTHROATS such as this male here are warblers but unlike most of them this bird can be seen here all summer while others summer further north in the Northern U.S or Canada.

Since it was not as cold and windy, we decided to spend more time exploring the dunes area looking for grassland species. The one and only shorebird there was this SPOTTED SANDPIPER:

 SWAMP SPARROW:

My grandma birding:

When we got back from the dunes, we walked right into the most productive spot in the point. This ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK brought back memories of when I saw my first one with my grandparents 4 years ago. 

  A BALTIMORE ORIOLE, which added a splash of color to our day!

Just then, a birder approached me and told me she had just seen a Yellow Breasted Chat, and that it took off north. This, being a very elusive and uncommon bird attracted the attention of many birders. Game on! Just about every other birder there and I went in search of the Chat. While looking, I saw this awesome GRAY CHEEKED THRUSH:

We also saw this similar SWAINSON'S THRUSH. It is much more common and can be distinguished from the Gray Cheeked by its distinct eye ring. Another new year bird for me!

YELLOW WARBLER:

NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH:

Although we never found the Chat, we did see and uncommon CLAY COLORED SPARROW which made up for it a little bit. Overall, I had great birding and great company! I would say it ranked as the best birding day I have had all year!

May migration is on! Big thanks to my grandparents for coming out for a fun weekend and taking me to all of these birding spots. Hope to see you again soon! Stay tuned for more epic spring migration birding adventures and my Spring Bird Count post!


Life List 800 (no new life birds)                                          To see more of my photography, look me up at                                                                                                 birder03 on instagram!