Washington Park Wanderings
Chicago, IL
Friday 1 May 2020
55 °F
Upon waking up, I saw that a Cerulean Warbler had been reported in Washington Park near the University of Chicago, so of course, I was soon in the car to track the bird down. This is an annually-occurring but extremely hard-to-find migrant in northeast Illinois so I have to jump at any opportunity I get to find this bird this spring, like I must do with several other warbler species such as Connecticut, Kentucky, and if I’m lucky, Prairie.
The first bird of note at Washington Park was this late FOX SPARROW. In fact, it is so late it came up as rare on eBird — cool!
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH proliferated:
This is how to differentiate this species from its look-alike cousin, the Louisiana: very fine streaking on its neck. It’s all in the details!
My first-of-the-year BLUE WINGED WARBLER — yay!!! Migration is really picking up.
BROWN THRASHER:
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER:
Many HOUSE WRENS were present, but with Jeff Skrenty’s help, I also picked out this WINTER WREN with its characteristic cocked tail:
BELTED KINGFISHER, female as can be told by its rufous breast stripe:
Herons were also present, like this GREEN:
And a nice BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT:
Another first-of-the-year warbler species: OVENBIRD!
PALM WARBLER:
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER:
HERMIT THRUSH. A Wood Thrush was also around but I could never find it. Another bird I missed there was an American Bittern which was apparently roosting on the island of the lagoon. Dang!
EASTERN TOWHEE:
WOOD DUCK pair:
Unfortunately, I whiffed on the Cerulean Warbler despite two hours of searching with other birders in the places where it was reported. Apparently, it was even hard to see by those who saw it; skulking in the grass and evading view. Hell, we could’ve walked right past the little devil!
Bird-of-the-day to the Blue-winged Warbler with runner-up to the Ovenbird. No awards for the missing Cerulean! My updated spring 2020 warbler list is attached below—
So, tomorrow will be my first truly intense sweep for migrant passerines: I will hit Jackson Park first thing in the morning and go from there — southerly winds are forecast tonight and, with a delayed migration so far, are expected to bring a horde of new arrivals. SO EXCITING!
Stay tuned and good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1114 Species
Spring 2020 warbler list:
1. Ovenbird: Washington Park, May 1
2. Worm-eating Warbler BONUS RARITY: North Pond, April 28
3. Louisiana Waterthrush: DuPage County, April 4
4. Northern Waterhthrush: North Pond, April 28
5. Golden-winged Warbler
6. Blue-winged Warbler: Washington Park, May 1
7. Black-and-White Warbler: North Pond, April 28
8. Prothonotary Warbler
9. Tennessee Warbler
10. Orange-crowned Warbler: Oak Park alley, April 24
11. Nashville Warbler: Hegewisch Marsh, April 27
12. Connecticut Warbler
13. Mourning Warbler
14. Kentucky Warbler
15. Common Yellowthroat: North Pond, April 28
16. Hooded Warbler
17. American Redstart
18. Cape May Warbler
19. Cerulean Warbler
20. Northern Parula
21. Magnolia Warbler
22. Bay-breasted Warbler
23. Blackburnian Warbler
24. Yellow Warbler
25. Chestnut-sided Warbler
26. Blackpoll Warbler
27. Black-throated Blue Warbler
28. Palm Warbler: Big Marsh, April 27
29. Pine Warbler: Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, April 18
30. Yellow-rumped Warbler: Thatcher Woods, April 4
31. Yellow-throated Warbler
32. Townsend’s Warbler BONUS RARITY: Deer Grove Forest Preserve, April 17
33. Black-throated Green Warbler: Gillson Park, April 28
34. Canada Warbler
35. Wilson’s Warbler
