Third time’s a charm?

Today I woke up and saw that the Smith’s Longspur was again seen at the Orland Grassland South preserve down in Tinley Park, so after my vocal coaching I hopped in the car with hopes for an afternoon of fruitful birding.

I decided to make some stops in the Palos Preserves prior to going all the way down to Orland Grassland in order to break up the drive and hopefully get some woodland species for the day. First stop was Spears Woods along LaGrange Road where a FOX SPARROW was there to greet me:

Woodpeckers were very abundant at this preserve today, led by the migrant YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS. Here is a drab (probably young female) individual.

And a more colorful but shyer specimen:

Female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER:

DOWNY:

RED-HEADED is always a great treat to see! They are all over the Palos area, but similar to Pileateds, they can be rather hit-or-miss.

Unphotographed woodpeckers at the preserve were NORTHERN FLICKER & HAIRY WOODPECKER. So, with all these woodpeckers under my belt for the day, I wanted to get a “woodpecker slam” which would only require a final species: Pileated. Now these guys can be tricky but I wanted to hit McClaughry Springs Woods and Cap Sauer Holding and between those two preserves, I should get at least one Pileated.

Other birds at Spears Woods included RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET:

A nice and hungry BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE:

EASTERN BLUEBIRD:

TUFTED TITMOUSE, a Palos speciality! These guys can only be found here and at Plum Creek Preserve in Cook County so it was nice to catch up with one in the county.

HERMIT THRUSH:

Next stop was McClaughry Springs Woods in hopes of Louisiana Waterthrush (which nest along the stream here) and Pileated Woodpecker. It was pretty quiet but there were a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS around:

Unfortunately, no Waterthrush, so it was off to Cap Sauer Holding Forest Preserve to try to “clean up” my miss: the Pileated Woodpecker. Across the street in Bergman Field was a VESPER SPARROW which went unphotographed and another beautiful EASTERN BLUEBIRD:

Unfortunately, once again, no Pileated. Dang! I was hoping to get a woodpecker slam today...anyway, it was off to Orland Grassland South in search of the “big ticket bird:” Smith’s Longspur.

Upon arrival, the usual waterfowl suspects were around in the form of BLUE-WINGED TEAL:

And GREEN-WINGED. Look at that color!

Sparrows were also around which gave me hopes for crossing paths with the Longspur. AMERICAN TREE:

SAVANNAH:

FIELD:

As expected, WILSON’S SNIPE are still moving through with a noticeable presence — a few squawks and a crazy, seemingly irritated flight when inadvertently flushed from marshy weeds in which they like to hide. They have such beautiful patterning!

CASPIAN TERNS — these migrants were probably chilly on this freezing January, uh, I mean April day (it snowed at times).

Beaver or muskrat? I couldn’t get a look at the tail.

Lovely RING-NECKED DUCKS:

The rear end of an AMERICAN KESTREL, another rather uncommon bird within the confines of Cook County:

Waders were present in the form of GREAT EGRETS:

And an elegant GREAT BLUE HERON:

I will never tire of the bill of the NORTHERN SHOVELER.

Unfortunately, there was no Smith’s Longspur in sight. ARGH! So frustrating — three misses! Anyway, I am still riding off of the high of the Say’s Phoebe on saturday, so it’s alright I guess...

I stopped at McGinnis Slough on the way home in hopes of finding a VIRGINIA RAIL which had been reported there recently, and although I didn’t see it, boy did I hear it!!! It was grunting away from the marsh right next to the parking lot. Cool! Yet another good bird for Cook County.

BLUE-WINGED TEAL were also present here:

As well as a new species for the day, GADWALL!

As I was driving back up LaGrange Road on the way home, I decided to make one more quick stop at Crooked Creek Woods to try for Pileated Woodpecker. As soon as I rolled down the car window, I heard one call and promptly saw the huge crow-sized form of a PILEATED WOODPECKER flapping away from me. AWESOME, woodpecker slam! All seven species were seen today: Pileated, Red-bellied, Red-headed, Downy, Hairy, N. Flicker, and YB Sapsucker. Too cool. Unfortunately, no photos of the Pileated.

I ended the day with 55 bird species, a pretty good total for just four hours of birding in mid-April (in the afternoon). Bird-of-the-day to the Tufted Titmouse with runner-up to the Red-headed Woodpecker. No awards to unphotographed birds, and especially not to missing ones!!

Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1112 Species

Full list for the day:
1. Canada Goose
2. Blue-winged Teal
3. Northern Shoveler
4. Gadwall
5. Mallard
6. Green-winged Teal
7. Ring-necked Duck
8. Feral Pigeon
9. Mourning Dove
10. VIRGINIA RAIL
11. American Coot
12. Killdeer
13. Wilson’s Snipe
14. Ring-billed Gull
15. Caspian Tern
16. Great Blue Heron
17. Great Egret
18. Turkey Vulture
19. Red-tailed Hawk
20. Belted Kingfisher
21. RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
22. Red-bellied Woodpecker
23. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
24. Downy Woodpecker
25. Hairy Woodpecker
26. Northern Flicker
27. PILEATED WOODPECKER
28. American Kestrel
29. Eastern Phoebe
30. Blue Jay
31. American Crow
32. Tree Swallow
33. Black-capped Chickadee
34. TUFTED TITMOUSE
35. White-breasted Nuthatch
36. Brown Creeper
37. CAROLINA WREN
38. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
39. Eastern Bluebird
40. Hermit Thrush
41. American Robin
42. European Starling
43. House Sparrow
44. Red-winged Blackbird
45. Brown-headed Cowbird
46. Common Grackle
47. Yellow-rumped Warbler
48. Northern Cardinal
49. Eastern Towhee
50. American Tree Sparrow
51. Field Sparrow
52. VESPER SPARROW
53. Savannah Sparrow
54. Fox Sparrow
55. Song Sparrow