May: Buckle Your Seatbelts, It's Time For Takeoff

 Well here we are, the time of year that every birder waits for... May! This special time marks the peak of spring migration for the majority of the country, and Chicago is without a doubt one of the best places to experience this incredible natural phenomenon. This May was certainly far from normal. Given our current situation with COVID-19, I had to continue being creative with my birding this month. The lakefront parks, home to Cook County's hottest migrant traps, remained inaccessible for the entirety of the month. We'll never know what great rarities we missed at Montrose. This also meant that shorebird habitat was few and far between, as Lake Michigan's shoreline is the home to the vast majority of what Cook County has to offer in terms of it's shorebirds. The peak of migration this year was short and sweet -- for the majority of early May, northern Illinois was blasted with north winds, cold fronts, rain, and few migrants with the exception of a handful of good birds. Come the third week, conditions suddenly switched in our favor for the rest of the month, delivering some off the charts days followed by what felt like an abrupt end before the month was even over. 

Due to the pandemic, eLearning gave me the flexibility to bird to my heart's content. This month was without a question the biggest month of birding I've ever had. I ended up making it out 30/31 days, set a new Cook County big month record of 201 species, and drove roughly 5,000 miles just in the pursuit of year birds. I spent most days in the field for multiple hours on end, covering as much ground as possible, often coming home having ticked off over 100 species of birds. This post will certainly be long and exciting, I hope you'll stay along for the ride!

(5/1) I decided to try and start May off with a bang and chased one of my rarest target birds for the year, an annually returning (or I should say supposedly returning) Yellow Headed Blackbird at Paul Douglas Forest Preserve. But when I arrived the gate to the preserve was closed...ughhh. However, all was fine because shorty thereafter Jacob Drucker found a Cerulean Warbler at Washington Park, which meant regardless of the situation, I was out of there. By the time I arrived, the bird hadn't been re-found since the initial sighting, so things were looking dismal. Just a few minutes into my search, a flash of electric blue caught my eye as it darted into the shrubbery...the CERULEAN WARBLER! The craziest part was that this was actually an extremely overdue lifer for me! I couldn't have asked for a better way to get this bird because it then proceeded to feed on the ground for over 10 minutes literally 6 feet away. This is truly incredible and unheard of behavior for this typically canopy dwelling species. What a way to kick off the month!

#174. Swainson's Thrush
#175. Ovenbird
#176. Rose Breasted Grosbeak
#177. Gray Catbird
#178. Cerulean Warbler

After a successful rarity chase, I headed over to Washington Park's next door neighbor, Jackson Park. A very overdue Pine Warbler was a nice get.

#179. Pine Warbler
#180. Common Yellowthroat

(5/2) May 2nd was a very exciting day because it was our first huge push of warblers and other passerine migrants this spring, which is what May is all about! Team Cvetas, Fran Morel, and I did our version of an "Evanston Big Day," something all 3 of us have wanted to do for awhile as residents of Evanston. Because of the naturally fast paced atmosphere of a big day, no photos were taken, but we got some great birds. Kicking off our morning with a lake watch from the Northwestern University's Lakefill, we had some great pickups for the day including a late Horned Grebe, a few migrating Forster's Terns, a perched Merlin at The Point, and a flyby American Pipit. Warbler diversity was impressive for the date, and our visit was highlighted by Blackburnian, Bay Breasted, and Wilson's warblers, all birds typically expected later in migration. And of course, the year birds were coming in thick. Among our nearly 80 species at Northwestern, I added:

#181. American Pipit
#182. Indigo Bunting
#183. Least Flycather
#184. Blackburnian Warbler
#185. Wilson's Warbler
#186. Bay Breasted Warbler
#187. Magnolia Warbler
#188. Nashville Warbler
#189. Northern Parula
#190. American Redstart
#191. Warbling Vireo

Next stop, Perkins Woods and Gillson Park. Gillson is technically in Wilmette, but for whatever reason Evanston birders like to glump Gillson into our Evanston lists, so we decided to make it a stop on our big day. We added another handful of migrants between these two stops, highlighted by a Canada Warbler.

#192. Black and White Warbler
#193. Canada Warbler
#194. Chestnut Sided Warbler
#195. Orchard Oriole
#196. Scarlet Tanager
#197. Eastern Kingbird

During our time at Gillson, I got a notification from our local Cook County Notables group saying that a White Faced Ibis had showed up at Orland Grasslands, all the way on the other side of the county. A hell of a bird for Cook, and I knew immediately that I had to go. But there was a problem, and I was worried this would happen. Under official big day rules, 95% of the birds on the list must have been seen by all members of the party. If I left, assuming I would miss stuff, I would put our entire big day in jeopardy and likely cause us to miss birds. However, thanks to my very understanding team, they let me chase the ibis. I was worried that on top of leaving I would also miss the bird, but thankfully when I arrived there were already a dozen birders looking at it. Super stoked to pick up this bonus because it's without a doubt one of my best birds in Cook this year!

​#198. White Faced Ibis

Luckily I somehow only missed a single bird for our big day, so my chasing the ibis had no effect on our total! We ended a successful day with 105 species. Not too shabby for Evanston, and still so early on in migration!

#199. Wood Thrush
​#200. Blackpoll Warbler

(5/3) A Kentucky Warbler was reported at Burnham Prairie, a pretty uncommon find here in Chicago, so I headed down to check it out. I just so happened to have my eyes in the right place to see this particularly skulky individual, which after watching it's behavior for a bit, I realized could have instead taken hours to find.

#201. Gray Cheeked Thrush
​#202. Kentucky Warbler

(5/4) With early may being the peak time to look for this bird, my friend Henry Griffin and I decided to try for Eastern Whip-Poor-Will at Plum Creek Forest Preserve, another super tough bird to get in Cook. There had never actually been a sighting here, but we both agreed the habitat looked perfect, so we gave it a go. Despite a bitterly cold evening coupled with strong north winds, our instincts prevailed as an Eastern Whip-Poor-Will gave it's characteristic "whip poor will" song continuously just 20 feet away from us! Without a doubt, in my opinion, one of the best bird songs in existence. 

#203. Eastern Whip-Poor-Will

(5/6) I found myself back at Burnham Prairie after Dan Lory messaged me saying he had just found a Snowy Egret, a very good bird for Cook County...the only catch is, it had actually flown away. However, Burnham Prairie is just one preserve located in an area of rich wetland habitat (what we call the Calumet area), so I had a feeling the bird was still hanging out somewhere nearby. Henry Griffin and I met up at Burnham to see if there was any chance the bird may have returned. We gave it our best effort, but found nothing when all of a sudden the Snowy Egret was back at the entrance pond on our way out!

#204. Snowy Egret

(5/9) One of my fluddles in southern Cook finally delivered it's first gift, a Black Bellied Plover! Ridegeland really pulled through with these guys this spring, as this was my first of three here.

#205. Veery
#206. Black Bellied Plover

(5/10)  I met up with my friend Lucas Rot and birded around my patch at Northwestern University. On a normal year, I'd be birding here on a weekly basis, but my current goal has caused me to neglect my patch and focus on other areas, making today's visit feel all the more enjoyable. We had a respectable 74 species, and with it came a handful of new year birds:

#207. Bank Swallow
#208. Common Tern
#209. Cape May Warbler
#210. Tennessee Warbler

Some stops in southern Cook after Northwestern yielded:

#211. Philadelphia Vireo
#212. Bobolink

Later in the day, Ridgeland pulled through with another great shorebird, this time an American Golden Plover! A tough bird to pin down in Cook that I was certainly worried about missing altogether. My year bird was a bit far for photos, but luckily I found a second American Golden Plover here later in the month, which gave some better photo ops.

​#213. American Golden Plover

(5/11) After a very quiet morning of birding at LaBagh Woods, I got a report saying there had just been a Yellow Crowned Night Heron seen at North Pond, which then flew south towards the huge Black Crowned Night Heron rookery at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Assuming it was hanging out there, I rushed over to go look for the bird. The only issue was that the Zoo was closed, and I wasn't able to see the entire rookery from the outside. And alas, after over an hour of picking though hundreds of Black Crowned Night Herons, I was unable to find the Yellow Crowned. Assuming it was gone or just not visible, I headed home. Later, while sitting on the couch scrolling through my Facebook feed, a picture of a Yellow Crowned Night Heron popped up...it was at the LPZ heron rookery! Racing to beat sunset, I rushed back to the zoo and sure enough I found the Yellow Crowned Night Heron roosting in the pines among the hundreds of other herons...finally success! I was in such a rush out the door that I left my camera at home, but managed to snap a crappy pic with my iPhone. Three birding trips in one day!

#214. Black Throated Blue Warbler
#215. Red Eyed Vireo
#216. Prothonotary Warbler
#217. Yellow Crowned Night Heron

(5/12) With migrant activity still far behind schedule, I chased a few birds  I was hoping to add to my list at some nearby spots. My first bird was a Least Bittern in the tiny marsh at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, where the bird called nonstop but refused to show itself; typical Least Bittern behavior. On the other hand, the flock of Short Billed Dowitchers at Lake Glenview, another target for the day, were a lot more cooperative and photogenic.

#218. Least Bittern
#219. Short Billed Dowitcher

​(5/13) Another long morning of birding, and another day with few migrants. I finally added a few long overdue migrants in Palos and southern Cook County.

#220. Golden Winged Warbler
#221. Blue Winged Warbler
#222. Grasshopper Sparrow
#223. Least Sandpiper

(5/14) I didn't plan on doing much birding due to the heavy downpour occuring all morning, but then I had to change my mind when Jacob Druker reported 150 Short Billed Dowitchers and a bunch of other shorebirds on the flooded ballfields at Washington Park! So as usual, I decided to hit Ridgeland Avenue and could immediately see there were TONS of shorebirds around. Among them, I immediately picked out 22 Short Billed Dowtichers, followed by a handful of White Rumped Sandpipers! I was extremely scared of missing this bird for the year due to the unpredictability of when or if the lakefront would reopen for shorebird migration this fall. I estimated well over a hundred shorebirds at the fluddle, and with them a nice showing of species diversity. It was my best day there this spring.

#224. Semipalmated Sandpiper
#225. Semipalmated Plover
#226. White Rumped Sandpiper

On my way home, I got a phone call from my friend Eddie Kasper. "Hey, did you see that report of a Yellow Headed Blackbird up by you in Evanston?" I opened up the eBird report to find a picture of an adult male Yellow Headed Blackbird just hanging out on someone's from lawn -- not exactly typical Yellow Headed Blackbird behavior! Of course, I went to go check it out. I was expecting somewhat of a suspenseful search for this bird, but there was no need for that because it was right there waiting for me when I pulled up! What a truly random place for this bird.

​#227. Yellow Headed Blackbird

 (5/15) If you couldn't already tell, migration was off to a slow start this year. But, after days of cold, rain, north winds, and birds backed up to the south of us, the gates had finally opened -- and oh man, was the birding good. On the 15th of May (which like clockwork, seems to be one of the best days every year) I experienced what was the closet to what I would consider a true bird fallout. I started the morning off at Northwestern, and noticed incredible numbers of birds. It was a perfect example of one of those most overcast mornings where passerines are dripping off the trees, if you know what I mean. I ended up with a fairly regular mid-migration species total of 78, but the numbers were off the charts. Eric Walters, who was also there that morning, took a much greater effort to obtain accurate counts for each species. Here are some of the notable counts from his eBird checklist:

Gray Catbird: 74
Veery: 79
Gray Cheeked Thrush: 74
Swainson's Thrush: 49
Lincoln's Sparrow: 51
White Crowned Sparrow: 103
Ovenbird: 47
Northern Waterthrush: 20
Golden Winged Warbler: 7
​Common Yellowthroat: 77 (I felt I had well over 100)
Rose Breasted Grosbeak: 19

Mid way through my visit, I made a quick run over to the Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary, Northwestern's next door neighbor, and picked up this young male Blue Grosbeak! Talk about an awfully convenient chase.

#228. Blue Grosbeak

I added 2 new year birds on the remainder of my walk, and was particularly thrilled about the Yellow Breasted Chat, a new site bird for me!

#229. Yellow Throated Vireo
#230. Yellow Breasted Chat

After Northwestern, I made an afternoon trip to Helmick in south Cook. I wasn't coming here to look for any particular targets, but was mostly just looking for anything out of the ordinary in general. I've adopted Helmick as one of my regular patches this year because it's a location untouched by birders that I thought had a huge potential for rarities. Today being the great day that it was, I decided it was worth making the hour drive -- and I was right. Immediately after parking, my eyes laid on a group of birds in mixed in with the geese in the empty field parallel to the bike trail. The birds were far off, and upon first glance, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But as soon as I raised my bins, my heart started pounding and my hands started to shake. I realized I had stumbled across something special.

6 BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS!

Perhaps the most rewarding, and certainly exciting part of birding is finding a true self-found rarity. Black Bellied Whistling Ducks are extremely rare in Cook County, making this just the 7th county record. Interestingly, this species has seen an incredible influx northward in the past few years, with sightings across Illinois and the surrounding states becoming more and more frequent. I look forward to seeing the distribution changes of this species in the years to come, and imagine they will become increasingly easier to find in Cook County. But for now, a very rare bird, and a huge addition to my total. Possibly the highlight of my entire month. Gotta love the peak of spring migration!

#231. Black Bellied Whistling Duck

 -#232. Great Crested Flycatcher

​My day wasn't over just yet- when I got home, I did a quick hour loop through my yard and neighborhood, tallying over 50 species and adding 3 more year birds! Adding year birds in your yard, on any year, feels special. But when you've been running around the county like a madman for the last 5 and a half months looking for them, it almost feels comforting. The perfect way to top off a 100+ species day, probably my best day so far this year.

#233. Olive Sided Flycatcher

#234. Eastern Wood Pewee
​#235. Common Nighthawk

(5/16) Not much of a birding day for me, though I did add to my streak of year birds found in the yard!

#236. Ruby Throated Hummingbird

(5/17) I wasn't expecting to have to chase this species this year, but given the curveball I was thrown this spring, I drove all the way to Rainbow Beach to add this bird to my year list.

#237. Ruddy Turnstone

(5/18) I woke up to a group-me alert saying that a Prairie Warbler had been found at Grant Park in downtown Chicago. I rushed over there as soon as I could, and found a group of disappointed birders, who were unable to re-locate the warbler. This certainly decreased out hopes, but my friend Henry and I put our best effort into searching. The whole area was full of warblers, which made our search a bit more challenging. After splitting up and then reconvening an hour later, we still hadn't found the bird. But that's when Henry said "Hey, did you hear that? I think that might have been it!" We walked towards the direction in which Henry heard the song, and then I too heard a distinctive series of rising buzzes -- definitely the Prairie Warbler! We were treated to killer looks at this bird for about a minute, then watched it fly east across Lake Shore Drive, and disappear in the restricted area subject to the lakefront closure. I felt so incredibly lucky to see this bird, and just so happened to be in the right place at the right time. Props go to Henry for this one -- if it weren't for his amazing ear, there's a good chance I would have missed this bird completely. 

#238. Prairie Warbler. 

(5/19) Another huge push of migrants, and another great day of birding. On this morning, I tallied a whopping 25 species of warblers at Jackson Park, my most ever at a single location. With them came two new year birds, a male Mourning Warbler and a long overdue Hooded Warbler.

#239. Mourning Warbler
#240. Hooded Warbler

(5/22) I met my friend Eddie Kasper for another visit to Jackson Park. Once again, we were quite successful and had over 80 species of birds.

#241. Yellow Bellied Flycatcher
#242. Willow Flycatcher

After Jackson, Eddie and I parted ways and I headed to Graceland Cemetery. With the lakefront closure, Graceland Cemetery has attracted a ton of attention from birders, serving as a nearby alternative migrant trap to Montrose. As a result, some great birds have been seen here throughout the month, and today was no exception. I was hoping to see a White Eyed Vireo that had been hanging around here for the past few days, and thanks to some friendly birders, I got on it right away!

#243. White Eyed Vireo

Shortly after, I was treated to my best ever view of a Connecticut Warbler walking on the cemetery lawn. These guys are famously secretive birds, so seeing one walking on the lawn feet away is no ordinary experience, plus they are also quite an uncommon bird!

#244. Connecticut Warbler

(5/23) I went to go check and see if the Bell's Vireo on 87th and LSD had returned, which would make it the 4th summer in a row the bird has come back. I was a bit worried since I don't think the bird has ever successfully found a mate, but it was back singing its heart out in it's usual spot! I hope this bird successfully breeds here at some point, Bell's Vireos are just so hard to come by in Cook County.

​#245. Bell's Vireo

Next stop, Big Marsh in the Calumet area for another target bird, the Common Gallinule. Interestingly, Common Gallinules are another species that have seen a huge expansion northward in recent years. In 2013, Aaron Gyllenhall (who holds the Cook County big year record)  missed Common Gallinule on his big year. But now, with a little bit of effort, you can find them reliably breeding here in the Calumet area. As expected, the birds were acting very secretive, but it was a successful search. Normally I wouldn't post such horrible photos, but part of this blog is making sure I have everything documented as well as possible.

#246. Alder Flycatcher
#247. Common Gallinule

(5/24) I once again found myself in deep southern Cook County at one of my favorite birding locations, Plum Creek Forest Preserve. As I was driving in, I was shocked to find a Wild Turkey foraging alongside the road. Historically, Wild Turkeys have been absent in Cook County, but this was one of a few sightings we've had this year. Back in March, I was ecstatic to have found a group of them at another nearby forest preserve. But what I came to Plum Creek today for were uncommon breeding birds I still needed, such as Acadian Flycatcher and Black Billed Cuckoo. I managed to successfully track down a singing Acadian Flycatcher, along with a handful of other great breeders including all 6 woodpeckers, Carolina Wren, Blue Winged Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, and 3 Barred Owls!

#248. Acadian Flycatcher

Later in the day I added a long overdue year bird, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, at Perkins Woods near my home in Evanston.

#249. Yellow Billed Cuckoo

With only a few possible targets remaining for me for the remainder of the month, I headed to the Palos Preserves to look for Black Billed Cuckoos and Summer Tanagers. I was expecting to strike out on both of them, but lucked out with this Black Billed Cuckoo at Cap Sauers. I can't believe I hit 250 before the end of May with the lakefront closure.

#250. Black Billed Cuckoo

#251. Dickcissel

(5/30) My friend Josh Engel gave me intel that he had found a King Rail in the Calumet area, which is an incredibly hard bird in Cook County, and in Illinois in general. I met up with Illinois big year birders Nathan Goldberg, Steve Huggins, and Glenn Giacinto, and together we were all treated to amazing looks at the Rail, which came out into the open. Congrats to Steve for hitting his 300th bird in Illinois this year!

#252. King Rail

As soon as we were wrapping things up in Calumet, Matthew Cvetas told me he had a Summer Tanager in Palos, the last expected breeder of my needs list. The birds were calling and easy to locate. I believe this is the only the second time I've had this species in Cook County.

​#253. Summer Tanager

(5/31) In the final moments of May, I found myself standing in the dark at Perkins Woods, listening to the eerie trill of an Eastern Screech Owl. The owl marked my 201st bird this May, a new Cook County big month record. The rush of spring migration was over, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to put an end the most exciting and important part my big year. As for now, I hope that like my month, my year will also be the biggest. Catch you next month! 

Good birding,
Isoo OBrien



Number of species seen this month: 201
Number of year birds gained this month: 80