Field Trip Report: Douglass Park

Photo by Bruce Unruh

Words by Joann Umeki

On Sunday, February 2, Sammy Cabindol led a group of 18 birders on a walk around the north side of Douglass (Anna and Frederick) Park in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. It was a mild, overcast day, and the walk began near the beautiful fieldhouse. Its frozen pond was topped by Canada Geese, Mallards, and Herring Gulls.

The group made its way around the south end of the lagoon on the paved trail, where we passed Tree Swallow boxes that had recently been installed. The park was still, but finally, two Northern Cardinals were spotted in a shrub just off the trail.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilling holes. Photo by Geoff Williamson, Montrose Point, April 20, 2013.

For a lack of birds, the group found other things of interest to admire, including two Baltimore Oriole nests, squirrel nests, a paper wasp nest, and a tree encircled by Yellow-bellied Sapsucker holes.

An opossum was glimpsed near the south bridge of the lagoon, but as we tried to creep in for a closer look, it disappeared under the bridge. Subsequently, interesting opossum facts were shared by Sammy and the group, including that they are North America's only marsupial, they rarely contract rabies because of their low body temperature, the bony crest of their skulls is an indicator of serious muscle anchoring and hence strong bite force, and they are biofluorescent (pink)!

As we walked on, Black-capped Chickadees were heard, and we trailed their song. While the chickadees hid in the far trees, a leucistic gray squirrel was spotted with other squirrels frolicking in the trees. It was a “lifer” on the mammal list for many.

Black-capped Chickadee. Photo by Randy Shonkwiler, Jackson Park, Nov. 18, 2023.

The quiet continued as we walked on, and as we crossed the stone bridge at the north end of the lagoon, Sammy shared that it is one of his favorite places for spotting warblers. Because of the height of the bridge, they can be seen in the low trees at eye level. No warbler neck here!

Some of the other species he's observed in the lagoon are Double-crested Cormorants, Osprey, Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, and Wood Ducks.

The loop around the lagoon nearly completed, we were heading back to the parking lot when a large grey bird was spotted on top of the large field house chimney.  Could it be a Peregrine Falcon? No, it was a lone Rock Pigeon. Although our final tally was limited to eight species, a good time was had by all, and a new birding spot had been discovered by many.