Thatcher Woods Walk

Wednesday 29 April 2015 51 °F

Taking advantage of my late-start Wednesday today (school starting at 9:45am), I decided to take a walk in the nearby Thatcher Woods Forest Preserve with Ellen and Dave H.

Before I give the trip report on our walk, however, here are some photos from yesterday:

Male HOUSE FINCH:

MOURNING DOVE:

Male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH:

Seen but not photographed yesterday was a BROWN THRASHER and my FOY (first of the year) CHIMMEY SWIFT.

We were on the trail in Thatcher by 7:15am, and were soon seeing some quality birds, including this NORTHERN FLICKER:

This male WOOD DUCK with its beautiful facial pattern:

HERMIT THRUSH was a common species throughout the walk, a nice early migration specialty:

As well as WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS:

There were even YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS about, including this individual which was almost directly above us!

Heard but not seen was a BLUE-HEADED VIREO, the most uncommon bird today, as well as a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.

Overall it was a pleasant early migration walk! Stay tuned, because I have some nice birding activities planned such as visiting Volo Bog in Lake County tomorrow for a school field trip (in which I will surreptitiously sneak in some birding), possibly visiting Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary after my choir rehearsal on Saturday, and leading an Oak Park Bird Walk next Wednesday. Migration is definitely accelerating!

***ADULT BIRD WALKS FOR SPRING 2015 ARE COMPLETELY BOOKED - THE ONLY BIRD WALK REMAINING IS AN OAK PARK KID'S BIRD WALK ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14***

I hope to see you and your kids there! Email me to reserve a space at the kids walk at: [email protected]

For more information, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/opbirdwalks/home

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 751 Species (no recent life birds)

26 species on the walk in Thatcher Woods:

Canada Goose 6
Wood Duck 6
Mallard 3
Ring-billed Gull 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Hermit Thrush 10
American Robin 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1