Field Trip: Coral Woods McHenry County
Black-and-white Warbler. Photo by Dustin Weidner, Big Marsh Park, May 13, 2023.
words by Sammy Cabindol, trip leader
On the morning of September 23, two enthusiastic birders gathered at Coral Woods Conservation Area in Marengo, IL. Coral Woods is an 800-acre site managed by the McHenry County Conservation District that boasts rich habitats, including oak woodland, savanna, sedge meadow, and the country’s largest 80- to 100-year-old sugar maple grove.
The morning’s brisk 55°F temperatures were accompanied by the calls of numerous Blue Jays. In the parking lot, we stumbled across our first bird sighting—a small, flitty, twitchy bird with a crest. It stumped us for a bit until it sang, peter-peter-peter. It was a Tufted Titmouse! If you’re looking for sites with lots of Tufted Titmice, Coral Woods is one of my go-to spots in McHenry County to spot these cute birds.
Palm Warbler. Photo by Carl Giometti, Northerly Island, May 19, 2024.
Walking into the woodlands, it was eerily quiet. We were expecting more action, but were only met with distant calls of Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches. Coming out of the woods and into the savanna, the goldenrods’ signature yellow-gold colors complimented the sunrise. Several Field Sparrows darted back and forth at eye level over the trail. This is when we noticed small movements in a small nearby tree—they were our first warblers of the day, a Palm Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler!
Scratchy-sounding calls echoed from the woods from whence we came, so we looked back to observe dozens of Common Grackles gathered on the treetops. Continuing on the savanna trail, the silhouette of a medium-sized bird in undulating flight caught our attention—our eyes watched it land on the trunk of a tree. It was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker! We watched them fly over our heads again until they landed in another tree where we noticed two other sapsuckers occupying the same tree. It was truly a remarkable sight!
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Photo by Jeff Bilsky, Canal Shores, April 17, 2020.
Then, whoosh, a Cooper’s Hawk emerged from the woods! Before we knew it, a wave of warblers crossed our path, drawing our eyes to several dogwood and sumac patches. We caught the faintest glimpse of a Black-throated Blue Warbler, which invigorated us to find out what other warblers were in store in this flock. Out popped a couple Northern Parulas, a Magnolia Warbler, and a Nashville Warbler along with the soft chuck calls of a Common Yellowthroat.
A peculiar sound piqed our interest. This call sounded like a high-pitched squeak of a sneaker on a basketball court—it was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak! Going back into the woods, we were optimistic in finding various flycatchers but only ended up adding additional numbers of woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees. Just as we were approaching the parking lot, an Ovenbird stood tall on a fallen log, which was a great bird to end our walk. Little did we know that we would acquire several more species in the parking lot, including a Black-and-white Warbler and a Black-throated Green Warbler. At the true end of our walk, we celebrated our First-of-Fall birds and tallied 45 total species.