An Afternoon at the Morton Arboretum

Saturday 28 June 2014 90 °F

This afternoon I birded the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL while my dad played his concert there. I saw many amazing birds, 56 species in all, including the ones pictured below:

EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE:

TREE SWALLOW:

Male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, the only warbler of the day:

At one point while I was walking through a certain field, I found seven HENSLOW'S SPARROWS--a state endangered and federally threatened species. They are beautiful, rare birds, so it was amazing to get this shot of one especially obliging individual:

The Morton Arboretum has a very successful bluebird nest box program, and this year more than ever, EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, a declining species in this area of Illinois, are abundant at the arboretum. I took this photo of a male today:

At one point I found a strange KILLDEER family that had chosen to nest, of all places, in a narrow strip of vegetation between a busy parking lot and a large building. And keep in mind that this is a shorebird!

The second-best bird of the day was this male ORCHARD ORIOLE, a species that I haven't seen for two years:

Male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH:

Male GRAY CATBIRD:

Male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK:

Male INDIGO BUNTING:

It was a fantastic outing, and it has to have been the best birding I have done since I saw the rare Curve-billed Thrasher last Sunday. The full bird list for today is included below my signature.

Good birding!
Henry

56 species:

Mallard 3
Canada Goose 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 5
Ring-billed Gull 2
Rock Dove X
Mourning Dove 2
Chimney Swift X
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 2
PILEATED WOODPECKER 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Eastern Wood-pewee 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO 1
Warbling Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 5
Tree Swallow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee 5
TUFTED TITMOUSE 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 6
House Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 20
American Robin X
Gray Catbird 4
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 20
Common Yellowthroat 20
Eastern Towhee 3
Chipping Sparrow 3
Field Sparrow 4
VESPER SPARROW X
HENSLOW'S SPARROW 7
Song Sparrow 3
SCARLET TANAGER 2
Northern Cardinal 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 4
Indigo Bunting 40 (so many of them at the arb!)
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
Baltimore Oriole X
ORCHARD ORIOLE 3
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow X