COS Blog

Christine and I led a COS/Sierra Club group in Chicago's Burnham Park yesterday (Saturday, 12 Oct 2013).  We started at 39th Street and made our way up to about 31st Street and then head back south.  We had 41 species of birds, plus five butterfly species (one Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded/Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tailed-Blue, and Common Buckeye) and one dragonfly species (Common Green Darner).

A particularly good birding day at the North Pond on Wednesday October 3. Around the North Pond in Chicago's Lincoln Park: I forget to put Swainson's Thrush and Rusty Blackbird on the list, so the species count went up to 59 from the 57 I reported yesterday.

The COS North Pond Bird Walk Wednesday, 28 Aug 2013 at North Pond in Chicago's Lincoln Park  recorded 30 species of birds, three species of odes, two butterfly  species, and two mammal species. Highlights included four species of warblers (NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH,  BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, and AMERICAN REDSTART),  three LEAST FLYCATCHERS, and SWAINSON'S THRUSH. The birding was  really quite slow.

Chris and Geoff Williamson led the nature walk in Chicago"s Burnham Park on 24 August 2013. When all was said an done, we had observed 33 species of birds, two species of mammals (aside from human beings and domestic dogs), 10 butterfly species, and one dragonfly species. Lists of all these creatures along with the number observed are provided at the end of this report.

Twenty-two observers attended this joint Chicago Ornithological Society/Evanston North Shore Bird Club sponsored field trip to the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant in southeast Chicago on Sunday morning (18 August 2013). Like last year's trip, it was an absolutely gorgeous day for a field trip. We counted at least 186 individuals of ten shorebird species, compared with 318 individuals of ten shorebird species on the same trip last year. The main difference between this year's trip and last year's was the number of Least Sandpipers (135 last year, 40 this year), and Pectoral Sandpipers (80 last year, 5 this year).

A group of thirteen people joined me to bird the Paul Douglas Forest Preserve. The weather was perfect and despite a few ticks we had a very pleasant outing. We saw many of the targeted prairie birds, such as Savannah, Henslow's, and Grasshopper Sparrows, Bobolinks and Dickcissels. It was of particular interest the see the male Bobolinks in molt. Other birds of interest were a Yellow-breasted Chat we heard at the edge of the prairie, as well as a female Orchard Oriole feeding a Brown-headed Cowbird. We ended with 46 species.

Ten birders met for the COS field trip to Plum Grove. Kudos to Phil D, who came all the way from Rockford to join us.  Weather was pleasant and the wind kept most mosquitos away. We first birded the west side of Burnham Ave for field birds. We walked the perimeter of the wide field to minimize nest disturbance. Dickcissels were most numerous and I am sure we saw over 12. One obliged us with views at 20 feet kicking his head back as he sang.