Eight men and women with binoculars in front of long grasses with Lake Michigan in the distance

by Vinod Babu, COS board member

Eight birders braved Chicago marathon road closures and a major cold front to check out Rainbow Beach on the city's south side on Oct. 13. In particular, we were interested in what we could find in the water channel between the breakwater and the water treatment plant at Rainbow Beach. We started with a stroll through the dunes at Rainbow Beach, occasionally catching a glimpse of a Swamp Sparrow and looking at the flowers of Showy Goldenrod and the fruits of Prairie Rose and Prickly Pear. The overcast light and wind gusts made it hard to spot any sparrows at length.

When we got to the end of the path, we scanned the water, taking in a big raft of American Coot and Double-crested Cormorants that lined the rocks of the breakwater. Among the coots was a Greater Scaup, its white face and frequent dives providing an ID challenge against the white frontal shields of the coots. A male Redhead joined the raft, while a few gulls chased a passerine bird across the water, trying to catch it before it could make it to land.

Small bird with pink bill, black running from the crown of its head down its face to its chest, white belly and tawny cheeks, in long grasses — Harris’ Sparrow on the right, Savannah Sparrow on the left. *Photo by Dustin Weidner, Montrose Point, OCt. 23, 2023.*

We walked back along the beach to the parking lot looking for sparrows, but had little luck. We continued our birding at the southern section of Rainbow beach and were immediately rewarded with sparrows and American Robins feeding on the grassy verge along the road. Amongst the White-crowned and Savannah sparrows was a Harris' Sparrow, set apart by its large stature, long tail, black bib and fawn face. After studying this rare visitor, we birded within this section of the park, finding lots of Song and Swamp sparrows and two more Redhead on the water.

Large brown duck, dark grey bill and feet, black eye, on rock next to water. — Female Redhead. *Photo by Walter, Marcisz, Big Marsh, Aug. 24, 2022*

At the conclusion of the Rainbow Beach visit, most of us weren't done birding, so we continued at the nearby Park 566. Here sparrows were even more plentiful, and we observed a few flocks at close quarters. We had our fill of White-crowned and Field Sparrows here, and also Lincoln's and White-throated sparrows and a Gray Catbird. A Merlin zipped by, causing the sparrows to freeze momentarily.

Having had an extensive sparrow experience, we returned to our cars and disbanded! We had 27 species at Rainbow Beach and 20 species at Park 566 for a total of 33 species for the day, with the highlight being the Harris' Sparrow for most.

Field Trip: Rainbow Beach