Halloween at Goose Lake Prairie State Park in Grundy County, IL

On Halloween morning, I was on my way back from visiting a friend in Arlington Heights. I decided to stop at Goose Lake Prairie State Park in Grundy County for one to two hours to view the birds at the park. On the way in, I asked a park worker which trail would be best to take to view Waterfowl. He suggested I go off trail to the rock quarry. He said that if I could get on the fire lane from one of the trails, it would take me all the way. He also mentioned something about a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Four and a half hours later, I emerged from the prairie with several cuts and splinters on my hands, shoes and socks sopping wet with smelly marsh water, cramping leg muscles, and a thorn embedded in my leg. I added six species to my all-time list that day, but if I had known what I would have to endure, I'm not sure I would have stepped foot off of the trail.

As I started off on the trail behind the Visitor's Center, I saw several sparrows, goldfinches, and a couple of Downy Woodpeckers. This American Tree Sparrow was an all-time first for me.





I thought it was funny to see a woodpecker pecking on such a small trunk.



The fire lane that I found was nothing more than prairie with the grass pushed down so that you were actually walking on top of it instead of through it. The terrain was very rocky and hard on the ankles. Along the way, I flushed two Ring-necked Pheasants. I think this was more startling than the haunted house I had visited the night before.

I pressed on until I reached the first pond. I had difficulty approaching the Waterfowl here without flushing them and difficulty seeing them with the sun ahead. What I could see was mostly Mallards and Canada Geese. I worked my way around to the other side of the pond, catching a glimpse of some Swamp Sparrows on the way.



I continued to a large hill with ponds on either side. As I reached the top, the ducks quickly noticed me and flew away. At this point I had come a long way and seen little to make my efforts worthwhile. I remembered the park worker saying something about heading toward the power lines. So I turned and began walking toward them. I found another "fire lane, " which led me by another pond. There, I saw a small variety of Waterfowl and found that I could stand in the middle of the reeds without being noticed when I put the hood of my tan sweatshirt over my head.

While observing, my first American Wigeons, I noticed an American White Pelican flying over the pond. I would later count a total of nine of them in the water.





A few minutes later, while photographing the Wigeons, I heard a loud, unique call I was not familiar with. The call was so loud that I began looking on the ground for something in front of me. Suddenly, I looked up and saw three Sandhill Cranes flying back and forth over the pond. One of them appeared to be a juvenile. Although they flew magnificently, their beautiful call was even more impressive to hear than watching them in flight.







After photographing Pelicans by the water and several Waterfowl with difficulty due to distance and a surplus of light, I began my long trek back to my car. Somehow, I had more trouble finding my way back, often ending up in the middle of swamp water or briars and thorn bushes. After viewing my first Hooded Merganser and Northern Harriers, I finally arrived back at my car, where I removed my pungent shoes and socks. I am thankful that I was able to see what I saw, but I'm not sure I would recommend this journey to anyone. I'm sure there are much easier ways to see the birds that I saw. Below is a list of everything I was able to identify.







Canada Goose 50
American Wigeon 8
Mallard 200
Northern Shoveler 10
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 2
Hooded Merganser 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 2
Pie-billed Grebe 4
American White Pelican 9
Great Blue Heron 1
Northern Harrier 2
American Coot 25
Sandhill Crane 3
Downy Woodpecker 3
American Tree Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 11
White-crowned Sparrow 2
American Goldfinch 15

Written and published on November 3, 2010