Field Trip Report: Humboldt Park

words by Chris Holden

May 23, 2024

Six of us gathered the evening of May 23 at Humboldt Park’s boat house. It was a pleasantly warm and sunny 77 degrees to start with minimal wind. As we began our meandering orbit of the lagoon, an early highlight was a Caspian Tern that was actively diving for fish, sometimes with spectacular success, which was met with cheers by our group. Soon after a nearby Warbling Vireo was heard and then located, giving great looks of him singing his charismatic song, in contrast to its subdued but still handsome appearance. 

Caspian Tern. Big Marsh Park, April 10, 2023. Photo by Dustin Weidner.

Several Barn Swallows in need of a break from their frenetic hunting perched on a nearby tree, giving us very nice views. A skulking Gray Catbird shared some of his musical repertoire with us, but he elected to taunt us with only brief glimpses. We then found a Cedar Waxwing perched mid-height in a tree, and after observing them for several moments, we realized the bird had two companions. We got to observe all three for some time before they all flew off together.

We observed Black-Crowned Night Herons on several occasions, but can only confidently conclude that there were at minimum two of them. We were suspicious that they were deliberately trying to make their numbers appear greater than they were, but to what end, only the Black-Crowned Night Herons know! 

Black-crowned Night Heron. Jackson Park, April 14, 2022. Photo by Emily Tallo.

At one point an Eastern Kingbird and a Baltimore Oriole were perched in trees for a long stretch in opposite directions from us, so the group members individually pivoted back and forth, taking in the spectacular looks of both birds. We left the lagoon to patrol the marshy area and the beach west of Humboldt Drive before completing our trip back at the boat house, having seen a total of 26 species.