Spring

53 Days, 1 Wedding, 1 Garden, 175 birds and 8000 miles

Part 1

It’s so nice to look back at E and J’s wedding and remember the fun we had. We enjoyed spending some time getting to know Jesse and Wendy and Matthew. I’m so glad everyone could be there. We’re still waiting for a gift selection. I know you have both been busy seeking public offices. Congratulations to E!!

The day after the wedding Dad and I went chasing a rare bird at nearby Goose Pond FWA in Greene County. The bird was a Whooper Swan. We missed it by a few days. But we did get a Whooping Crane which is a good bird anywhere! After we got home the migrating birds started coming in fast and furious. We were covering Lake County exclusively when a rare bird alert came in for a Garganey in Lake Mills WI. A Garganey is a small duck that wanders in to North America from Europe or Asia. The day we tried to see it was pouring rain. We thought that by the time we drove up to Lake Mills area maybe the rain would diminish. It seemed to actually increase. While in the parking lot we met a guy who had been there very early in the morning and had seen the bird. He had wanted to get photos but the rain prevented that. He told us where it was seen, (the Zeloski Marsh is a big area) and gave us other information. We did some searching but finally decided to call it quits and try again the next day. That evening we looked up the birders who had reported it that morning. We found out that the guy we had been talking to was a published bird illustrator, having contributed to the National Geographic Birds of North America and The Peterson Warbler Guide. Wow!! The next day we took our paper copies of these guides with us when we returned to the marsh, just in case we were to encounter him again and we could have him sign our copies. That Friday was beautiful weather but the Garganey and the artist were both no shows. We met some of the regular Lake County birders there and we got some Wisconsin birds.

From April 23rd, pm to May 22nd we remained in Lake County. As it happened the rare birds came to us. During this time all of the lakefront area had been experiencing a massive hatching of midges. They were creating thick clouds everywhere you went near the beach. The swallows and flycatchers were going crazy! We had a nice visit from Colette and Roger during this time. They did a walk on the beach and were surrounded by midges.

On a Wednesday morning after breakfast I decided to go up to the North Unit of Illinois Beach State Park. Nothing new had been seen lately so I thought it would be a nice quiet place for a walk. There’s not a lot of beach there but the waves had eroded an area north of the weather station and created a new stretch of sandy beach. I watched the newly made beach from a distance and saw about 10 medium sized birds near the water. They weren’t foraging like shorebirds do and I realized that they were all flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds to be specific. But one was different. It was very pale and had a hint of salmon coloring to the flanks and underwing. I did my best to take a picture without approaching the birds so as not to disturb them.

After careful observation I was sure of the ID-a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! This bird visits only occasionally from it’s usual range in southeast Texas. But it drew a lot of birders from Lake County and Cook County. Having a lot of good birders in one spot led to even more great sightings. One birder found a Blue Grosbeak in his photo of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Next a Swainson’s Hawk was seen. Then a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, even more rare than the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, was reported and also a King Rail. The Cook County birders were getting tired of having to drive up to Lake County continually.

The grassy areas all over the state parks had been very recently burned. The burned grass near the shrubs was of interest to the King Rail and he circled the shrubs hunting for insects. The blackened grass and stems made an interesting background for the reddish brown rail. I crouched down with my camera behind the restroom and he approached me as if I wasn’t there. Snap! I got the shot that would make it to the homepage of eBird!

Migration was in full force. The BirdCast website shows a radar image of birds migrating during the night. Millions of birds were heading our way.

And breeding season had begun. A Robin had built a nest at eye level right next to the parking area at the beach. There was a fair amount of traffic but she seemed to handle it OK.

The next three weeks we worked hard keeping up with warblers, shorebirds, and all the other birds that were arriving daily. By May 22 we were at about 244 year birds including Wisconsin and Indiana. My Lake County list was 239.

The Garden

Doug and Lisa visited for Mother’s Day. Lisa assured me that Doug would be happy to dig up some of the lawn in the back yard. I ordered flowers from a nursery that specializes in Illinois native plants. Unfortunately some of the delivery arrived while we were gone but now everything is planted. Some of the flowers were delivered as bare roots. I think these may have died from not being put in the ground right away. It doesn’t look like much now but I will continue to enlarge it. Thanks again Doug and Lisa for all the digging, for the information on native plants for shade, and the beautiful hanging plant.