May 2015

This past week, which also happened to be my last week of school (!), I led three bird walks for kindergarten through second grade multiage classrooms in Whittier Elementary School in Oak Park. All three days I came in during mid-afternoon and taught a quick lesson about birds and then took the kids on a walk. The first walk's highlight was a male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, the second walk was quieter because of high temperatures, and the third walk's highlight was this beautiful male AMERICAN KESTREL (a type of small falcon), only the fourth time I have ever seen this species in Oak Park! It was also great working with the kids!

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 754 Species (no life birds recently)

This Memorial Day Weekend, my family and I had a short but very relaxing vacation at our lake cottage on the campground we own in southwest Michigan, Warner's Landing Campground: https://sites.google.com/site/warnerslandingcampground/

Before I write about the weekend, however, there were a few birds to break up my busy past week of schoolwork and choir.

Before I left for school on Monday, my dad spotted this GREAT BLUE HERON fly into a TREE in my backyard! This is very, very unusual because this is an aquatic species and we don't live near any large water bodies!

Tuesday was my BIRTHDAY, so that was fun! My best present was a green laser-flashlight that I will use to help point out birds on the Oak Park Bird Walks I lead.

Wednesday was late arrival at my high school at 9:45am, so I led an Oak Park Bird Walk for ten birders before school. 33 species of birds, including a total of 11 warbler species (surprising for this late in spring migration!), were identified on the walk. The most cooperative birds were this male BLACKPOLL WARBLER, my first of the year:

And this VERY late PINE SISKIN - they should have headed up north 2 or 3 months ago!

Here is the full avian species list for the bird walk on Wednesday.

33 species

Ring-billed Gull 4
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
American Crow 3
House Wren 1
Swainson's Thrush 2
American Robin 20
European Starling 5
Tennessee Warbler 3
Nashville Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
American Redstart 2
Cape May Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 2
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 10
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
House Finch 2
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 25

After school on Friday, my family and I drove to our cottage in Michigan. Some birding on the grounds yielded some nice, albeit common, species:

This female BALTIMORE ORIOLE on the water's edge was my first bird as soon as I got out of the car!

SONG SPARROW:

Female EASTERN BLUEBIRD:

Male YELLOW WARBLER:

Pair of BARN SWALLOWS:

Bird-of-the-day for Friday goes to the female BALTIMORE ORIOLE which was a nice greeting into Michigan, with runner-up going to the male YELLOW WARBLER. Below is the bird list for Friday.

59 avian species + 2 other taxa Friday:

Canada Goose
Swan sp.
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Sandpiper sp.
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
BARRED OWL
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
PILEATED WOODPECKER
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch

Yesterday, I woke up bright and early and my mom drove me to drop me off at the nearby Yankee Springs State Recreation Area so I could search for the fastest-declining songbird in America: the Cerulean Warbler.

We spotted this FAMILY of SANDHILL CRANES in a field along the drive, which was so cool because I have never seen crane chicks before:

At Yankee Springs, I was soon confronted with a wealth of bird activity. ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS, a very uncommon bird this far north in the country, proved to be so common along the trail that they could almost be considered a "trash bird" there! This is due to the large tracts of fantastic native deciduous and mixed woodland that is found at Yankee Springs.

Vireos, such as this RED-EYED VIREO, were also common:

After nearly an hour of birding and hiking, I arrived at the place where I had seen Cerulean Warblers before, but they were conspicuously absent and I didn't hear a single one singing!

Another half hour passed, and I soon entered an area of shorter, scrubbier forest where a wall of bird song hit me. To my pure delight, I soon had my #2 favorite bird singing on my left and my #1 favorite singing on my right!!! My target bird for the day, my second favorite bird, and a federally threatened species, the CERULEAN WARBLER, was piping away his buzzy, rising song on the left side of the trail. A male HOODED WARBLER, my absolute favorite bird and a Michigan state-endangered species, was chorusing his caroling, spirited warble on my right. The Hooded Warbler, although being overall a more common bird than the Cerulean, is considerably more uncommon in Michigan, because the greatest number of territorial male Hooded Warblers documented any single year in Michigan is 12! That means that this bird is one of at most 12 adult male Hooded Warblers in the entire state!!

Because it was my target bird for the day, I searched for the Cerulean first and soon found this tiny, sky-blue beauty flitting around in the bushes to the left of the trail, what a stunning bird:

Then, I pursued the Hooded Warbler and after quite a bit of searching through very thick clumps of trees and shrubs, I found this gorgeous bird:

Then, a massive, crow-sized PILEATED WOODPECKER flew in; always a most impressive species to see! This bird is a male due to its reddish mustache; the females have a black mustache.

The last bird to be cooperative for photos at Yankee Springs was this stunning male SCARLET TANAGER that always looks like it would belong more in Costa Rica than in central Michigan.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing, casually birding, and kayaking near my family's lake cottage. A couple birds were cooperative for photos:

EASTERN KINGBIRD:

GREAT BLUE HERON:

Liftoff!

Two fairly uncommon birds, a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, ended a fantastic day of birding.

Bird-of-the-day for yesterday goes to the male CERULEAN WARBLER, a federally threatened species, the fastest-declining songbird in America, and my #2 favorite bird of all time. Runner-up goes to the male HOODED WARBLER, a Michigan state-endangered species and my #1 favorite bird species of all time. Birding experience-of-the-year so far goes to having these two birds, my first and second all-time favorite species, singing alongside the trail at Yankee Springs simultaneously!

Here is the final avian list for yesterday, a whopping 74 species in total, including an impressive 16 warbler species, my personal best daily warbler total this year!

74 avian species today:
(16 warbler species)

Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Canada Goose
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Chimney Swift
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
PILEATED WOODPECKER
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER
Eastern Wood-Pewee
ACADIAN FLYCATCHER
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
WOOD THRUSH
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
HOODED WARBLER
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
CERULEAN WARBLER
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Pine Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
CANADA WARBLER
Scarlet Tanager
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Today I was feeling tired and rather lethargic from all of the walking I did on Saturday, so I stayed close to our cottage. It was also rainy outside, so I didn't bother taking any bird photographs. It was a nice, relaxing day however and I enjoyed spending time with my family and taking it easy.

Overall, a great week of birding despite spring migration coming to a close. Stay tuned for more birding adventures because this coming week is my final week of school and I will have much more time for birding with the onset of summer.

Have a happy, bird-filled Memorial Day!

Henry
World Life List: 754 Species (no recent life birds)

Red: Scarlet Tanager from yesterday

White: Eastern Kingbird from yesterday

Blue: Cerulean Warbler from yesterday

Despite a busy schedule this weekend, I managed to fit in some birding. On Friday I led a private bird walk for two people near their home in central Oak Park. Although only 12 species were seen due to it being during the heat of the afternoon, a few of the birds were good species such as this male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER:

LEAST FLYCATCHER:

Male MAGNOLIA WARBLER:

GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH:

Here is the full avian species list for Friday's walk, 12 species on total:

Ring-billed Gull 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin 5
European Starling 3
Nashville Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 1
House Sparrow 10

Today (Sunday, May 17th) I led an Oak Park Bird Walk in absolutely beautiful weather for a charismatic group of 9 birders. 34 bird species were seen in total, including this EASTERN-WOOD-PEWEE:

Male HOUSE WREN:

Female COOPER'S HAWK:

SWAINSON'S THRUSH:

Male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH:

Male WILSON'S WARBLER:

Female MALLARD:

Male BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, an uncommon species which obligingly perched five feet away from the group!

Male CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER:

Male CANADA WARBLER, the most uncommon bird species of the walk:

Here is the full list for today's Oak Park Bird Walk, 34 avian species in total:

Mallard 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Ring-billed Gull 3
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 10
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Least Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 3
House Wren 2
Veery 1
Swainson's Thrush 7
American Robin 20
European Starling 5
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
American Redstart 5
Magnolia Warbler 2
Bay-breasted Warbler 2
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Canada Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Scarlet Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 10
Red-winged Blackbird 4
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 15

Bird-of-the-day today will be shared by the two most uncommon birds today: the obliging male BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and the beautiful male CANADA WARBLER. Runner-up goes to an unpictured female SCARLET TANAGER, another great species for Oak Park.

Stay tuned because this week I will be trying to find two of some of the rarest warbler species in the world: Kirtland's Warbler @ Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary and Cerulean Warbler @ Yankee Springs State Park in Michigan. I am so excited!

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 754 Species (no life birds recently)

Taking advantage of my school's late-arrival Wednesday today at 9:45am, my dad and I went birding at the amazing Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary near the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago from 6:40am-9:00am.

Although it was very chilly (40's) and windy, there were some great birds that allowed for awesome, close-up views.

NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES were surprisingly common in the undergrowth:

I found six species of thrush today, including this WOOD THRUSH:

And this late HERMIT THRUSH; they should all be at more northerly locations by now.

The first bird to give "mouth-watering" looks was this uncommon male BLUE-WINGED WARBLER which soon attracted an entire crowd of bird photographers:

Then, I headed to the beach where I spied some DUNLIN, a species that was a life bird for me last Sunday:

Another birder showed me this tiny, state-endangered COMMON TERN within a flock of larger CASPIAN TERNS and RING-BILLED GULLS:

The next great view I got was of my life bird SANDERLING which came foraging at Lake Michigan's edge only six feet away from me:

Back in the Magic Hedge, I found this male ORCHARD ORIOLE:

Next, I had absolutely sublime looks at a threatened male GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER in a flowering shrub less than FIVE FEET AWAY!

Male BALTIMORE ORIOLE, much more common than the aforementioned Orchard Oriole:

Just as I was about to leave, my absolute FAVORITE bird - a male HOODED WARBLER, started foraging out in the open, allowing for the best looks I have ever had of my favorite avian species! What a stunning bird, and a great way to end an awesome birding session!

Bird-of-the-day to the male HOODED WARBLER for obvious reasons; being my favorite bird! Runner-up to my life bird SANDERLING, and honorable mention to the BLUE-WINGED and GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS, which both also gave spectacular views. The full avian species list for the morning is found below.

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 754 Species (1 life bird today: Sanderling)

59 species

Canada Goose 5
Mallard 2
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Killdeer 1
Sanderling 2
Dunlin 5
Ring-billed Gull 40
Herring Gull 2
Caspian Tern 25
Common Tern 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
Mourning Dove 2
Chimney Swift 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Least Flycatcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Warbling Vireo 3
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Purple Martin 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Veery 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush 2
Swainson's Thrush 3
Hermit Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 7
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 10
Ovenbird 3
Northern Waterthrush 3
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Golden-winged Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 15
Hooded Warbler 1
American Redstart 10
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 15
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 6
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 10

Today, Sunday, May 14, I led another Oak Park Bird Walk. The temperatures hovered in the lower to mid 40's during the walk and misty rain showers persisted throughout the morning, resulting in only five birders showing up for the walk. Although the weather conditions were miserable, some quality birds were seen, 35 species in total. Again, the highlight of the walk was seeing 13 species of warblers (I would add a CAPE MAY WARBLER later to have a total of 14 warbler species for the day!).

Some noteworthy non-pictured birds were GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, BAY-BREASTED & WILSON'S WARBLERS.

SWAINSON'S THRUSH. Later, my dad would hear the beautiful, rising, bubbly song of this bird species from our front yard.

VEERY, a thrush species I have identified in Oak Park very few times before:

Cooperative male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER that perched a few feet above the group's heads for this photo:

2 male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS:

Male BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, the most uncommon warbler species today:

Bird-of-the-day to the male BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and runners-up to the VEERY and male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. The full species list for the bird walk is found below.

35 species:

Ring-billed Gull 2
Mourning Dove 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Veery 2
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 5
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 1
European Starling 2
Northern Waterthrush 1
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Tennessee Warbler 5
Nashville Warbler 5
American Redstart 3
Northern Parula 1
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 7
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 10

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 753 Species (no life birds today)