Field Trip Report: River Park Bird Walk

words by Vinod Babu

May 18, 2024

Ten participants enjoyed a sunny riverside stroll starting at River Park, walking along the eastern bank of the North Shore Channel. We took a quick loop south of Argyle Street, where we briefly saw a Gray-cheeked Thrush, but most birds were hard to spot there. As we walked north, we were treated to an amazing sight—a Belted Kingfisher flew abreast of us and hovered a few times before diving like a dart into the river. Throughout our walk, we were treated to occasional flybys of a male and female kingfisher—it never got old.

Belted Kingfisher. Burnham Prairie, August 16, 2020. Photo by Walter Marcisz.

Also patrolling the river were scores of Barn Swallows, several starting to nest under the bridges at Foster and Bryn Mawr. As we got to Foster, we enjoyed the sight and song of a Baltimore Oriole in a cottonwood. Two of the participants realized that this was the unidentified bird they had seen and wondered about earlier.

We also saw a pair of Black-crowned Night Herons flush and fly down the river. We scanned the bridge swallows for Cliff Swallows but didn't find any. As we turned back and headed to our starting point, one of the participants noticed a circling American Kestrel being bothered by swallows.

Barn Swallow. Northerly Island, May 21, 2022. Photo by Carl Giometti.

We had a total of 41 species, with the highlight being the Belted Kingfishers.