Thrush slam & Cerulean twitch!
Cook County, IL
Monday 11 May 2020
47 °F
I woke up at a more humane hour, 7am, today, and immediately proceeded to GAR Woods to search for migrants. Migrants there were, and as expected, NASHVILLE WARBLERS led the pack:
Not to be outdone was this BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, one of the most cooperative individuals I have ever experienced:
OVENBIRD:
My first new warbler for the spring today was this WILSON’S with its cute cap. Awesome!
Sooo many warblers...NORTHERN PARULA:
MAGNOLIA:
BLACK-AND-WHITE:
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH:
img=https://photos.travellerspoint.com/631814/large_6845637E-3E02-45B6-A566-F43FD79CAD32.jpeg]
Another bird family extremely well-represented was the thrush family with a large number of GRAY-CHEEKED:
HERMIT:
WOOD:
VEERY:
Male EASTERN BLUEBIRD. I found a pair of these in GAR Woods along the telephone wire cut. It would be awesome if they stayed to nest!
SOLITARY SANDPIPER at the Des Plaines River.
WOOD DUCK at a possible nest site.
A beautiful RED-HEADED WOODPECKER is also a great bird to see for River Forest:
Next stop: Thatcher Woods where a gorgeous male RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD was at the Trailside Museum’s feeder:
And the final thrush needed for the second day in a row of an “Illinois thrush slam:” SWAINSON’S
Warblers also proliferated. #2 new warbler for the spring today was a GOLDEN-WINGED which unfortunately evaded photography. Rats! Luckily, this ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at a close range to provide consolation:
LEAST FLYCATCHER:
Female ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK:
A great surprise was this WINTER WREN which is getting quite late — so much so that it flagged the eBird rare bird alert.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW:
And yet another RED-HEADED WOODPECKER — awesome!
It was a great morning, but of course I wasn’t done: upon hearing about a Cerulean Warbler at Skokie Lagoons, I couldn’t help but chase it, especially since I knew other things would be around, as well. And of course, there were: BLUE-HEADED VIREO:
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER:
And my breath was taken away when I laid my eyes on a stunning PROTHONOTARY just a few meters away from me. Maybe this is a local bird — a pair or two always breed on the west side Skokie Lagoons north of Willow Rd every summer.
And in a little bit, I heard the CERULEAN WARBLER! It sang twice its rising, buzzy song but I failed to locate it...dang it! Once again!
BLACK-THROATED GREEN:
Male AMERICAN REDSTART:
SAVANNAH SPARROW:
But then, as I was scanning the trees on the island of the lagoon, my heart stopped when I found my target: the male CERULEAN WARBLER!!!! An incredible bird for Cook County!!!! I was also able to get two other birders on it, even better! 
Yet another amazing day in the field — I am loving all of this good luck! Bird-of-the-day to the Cerulean Warbler and runner-up to the Prothonotary. Just WOW!
Stay tuned: another trip to Jackson Park is due for tomorrow morning since the winds are looking good tonight.
Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1115 Species
