Field Trip Report: Birding from Boats

Annette Anderson, Events and Canoe Program Manager, Friends of the Chicago River, explains how the Birding by Boat trip will work. Photo by Kris Hansen.

words by Kris Hansen

May 18, 2024

Thirty people gathered for May 18 for Birding from Boats, a trip jointly sponsored by the Friends of the Chicago River and the Chicago Ornithological Society. Equipped with binoculars and paddles, they learned the basics of handling a canoe, then climbed aboard in pairs. Half the participants headed south from the boat launch at Argyle and the river, and the rest of us headed north.

We were immediately treated to appearances by a Great Blue Heron as well as a Belted Kingfisher, one of a pair that escorted us to Devon Avenue and back. Both Mallards and Canada Geese herded ducklings and goslings, respectively, away from our canoes. Songs Sparrows did not seem to mind our approach, boldly observing from the river bank as canoes glided past.

Bank Swallows, many with nests well underway, greeted us under every bridge. They were joined by dozens of Tree Swallows and Chimney Swifts near the water aeration station at Devon, gobbling bugs perhaps stirred up by the bubbling water.

Great Blue Heron. Photo by Kris Hansen.

Two Black-crowned Night-Herons and a Green Heron gave fleeting looks, while several Great Blue Herons—or perhaps the same one who continued on ahead of us—posed for the paddlers. Warblers were mostly heard and not seen, although an American Redstart emerged to dine over the water. Baltimore Orioles sang in the trees and sometimes could be spotted.

The most unusual bird of the day, according to COS board member Vinod Babu, was an American Kestrel that banked over the water before disappearing inland.

American Kestrel. Northerly Island, January 6, 2023. Photo by Dustin Weidner.

All together we saw 38 species, compared to the 30 seen the year before. No one capsized, and fun was had by all!