Lunch Break Big Year: January

Numbers at a glance: species count // checklists // # of birds
Edward & team Shedd — 18 // 9 // 504

Don’t forget to submit your lunch break observations checklists to blog@chicagobirder.org to be included in our monthly tallies!

And we’re off! The first month of the Lunch Break Big Year has passed and it was… well, uneventful. Not that surprising, really. It’s January and there’s not a whole lot of birds hanging around. The moderately-wooded museum campus this time of year generally isn’t going to see a lot of terrestrial birds other than the most common suspects like crows, goldfinches, and chickadees. That said, they have been a welcome splash of color in what’s been an exceedingly grey month.

Anticipating this, I was really hoping what would buoy my list right out of the 2020 gate was the water birds. Perched right on the lake and overlooking Monroe Harbor, I’m lucky to be at a workplace where all I have to do is glance out the café window to spy some ducks and gulls. However, that plan kind of requires inland water bodies like ponds and rivers to freeze up and drive the birds out to the usually unfrozen lake. It’s been a cold winter, but not cold enough. In 2019, there were some days when I would see up to a thousand birds bobbing nonchalantly among the waves. This year, I’ve barely reached over a hundred. Sigh, not even a Black-backed Gull to show for those frigid strolls.

At least the goldeneyes have been well represented.

In the end, two things really stood out to me this month. First, a Hermit Thrush! I was not expecting that one at all at this time of year, but was more than happy to spend several minutes observing it preen. Second, my co-workers have been delightfully supportive, with a few even joining me to count ducks! All in all, it’s been a slow start but a very warm and positive beginning. I hope your big year has been off to a good start as well and you’ve found time to enjoy our avian friends.

One of these days, I’m gonna find a an owl in those spruces…

Running Species List:
Canada Goose
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Meganser
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal