This morning there were three groups at Ewing Park: JWP Audubon Society, a group from Illinois Wesleyan University, and the Master Naturalist class. Carrie and her brother Daniel Freburg rode with me, and we were all there for the JWP Audubon Society's Ewing Walk. Wes Kolb, who was also came as part of the JWP Audubon Society, was the one who found the Townsend's Warbler, while some of us were looking at a Kentucky Warbler. He called me on my phone, and I found him trying to relocate the bird. He asked me to help him find it so we could gets some evidence. My mind went back to a Black-throated Green Warbler I thought I had seen earlier in the same spot that just did not sit right with me at the time. The word Townsend's entered my mind, but I had dismissed it because it seemed so unlikely. As I searched, I wondered if that had been the Townsend's. Had I missed it? After a few minutes of searching, I relocated the bird, and Jeanna Powell, Wes, and I began frantically trying to get photographs while my wife Carrie, brother-in-law Dan Freburg, and Marty Greenberg looked on. Then Wes found the group, and Les Allen brought them over. I think just about everyone that was there got great looks at the bird as it fed up in the canopy. Then as I started trying to send texts to let others know, I lost it. Here is the best photo I was able to get. Jeanna had a better photo of the face. Wes took some good photos as well. The crown was dark black though you cannot tell from the photo above. Here are a couple more . . .
There were at least two and maybe three Kentucky Warblers and a Hooded Warbler. Here is one of the Kentuckies.
Before Wes found the Townsend's, we had some nice birds in Ewing III, up on the hill North of the football field and creek, including Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Phoebe, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, a flyover Peregrine Falcon, a Pine Warbler, and a Northern Mockingbird. Here is the mockingbird, a good bird for McLean County . . .
Other birds present included Orange-crowned, Tennessee, Black-and-white, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Nashville, and Yellow Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Blue-headed Vireo, Winter Wren, and at least seven Broad-winged Hawks. Carrie had seven lifers--Blue-headed Vireo, Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Pine Warbler, and Townsend's Warbler. Townsend's Warbler was a lifer for me, and most of the birds Daniel saw were new for him.
Carrie and Daniel were ready to leave and left before I did. Les Allen, Wes Kolb, Wayne Hostetler, Paula Aschim, Tim Garvey, and I left around noon and went to Angler's Pond, also in Bloomington. We had Green Heron, Purple Finch, White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Marsh Wren, and Solitary Sandpiper. Birds that some of the others saw that I missed included Lincoln's Sparrow, Bay-breasted Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, and Sora. We were looking for the Clay-colored Sparrow, Prothonotary Warbler, and Worm-eating Warbler that Les Allen had seen a couple of days earlier, but we were unable to find them. Well, actually, I now remember that Wayne did see the Clay-colored. Here is the Northern Waterthrush and the Blue-headed Vireo.
I went back to Ewing this afternoon and ran into Colin Dobson, Tony Ward, Josh Engel, Keith McMullen, Jim Mountjoy, Mike Baum, and Mike Wille. None of us were able to relocate the Townsend's, but we did see the Hooded Warbler along the creek.
Jim, Mike, and I saw this Kentucky together . . .
and I later found this Blue-headed Vireo . . .
I thought I saw a warbler with a black throat West of where it had last been seen in the trees along the South edge of the park between Hedge Apple Woods and the baseball field, but I just had a glimpse before it disappeared. Although I was sorry that the bird was not relocated, it was great to see and meet so many birders from other parts of the state and have a few minutes to talk and get to know them better. Greg, thanks for posting this.
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