Early Migrants at Ewing Park in McLean County

The time of the year during which Ewing Park in Bloomington, IL is great for birding has come. I saw my first Ewing Park Fox Sparrows on March 4, and I took this shot on March 6.



Last year the plants in the park had grown thick so that it was difficult to walk the trails without rubbing up against all manner of plants. So I was glad to see that during the Winter they cut a lot of the under growth out of the park and trimmed things up nicely. Furthermore, what they did does not seem to discourage the birds, except perhaps American Woodcocks, which I have not yet seen there nor anywhere else in the county this year. I went to Angler's Pond looking for woodcocks after photographing the above Fox Sparrow at Ewing on March 6, but other than another Fox Sparrow and a pair of shovelers, I only found typical Winter birds and this muskrat.





Yesterday on March 12, Carrie wanted to take our dog Bobby for a walk with me after I got home from work. I suggested Ewing Park and she agreed. There were a lot of people in Hedge Apple Woods, and I did not see much until we got to the grassy area. While Carrie and I were looking at our first of the year Eastern Phoebe with a very yellow belly, I saw Les Allen walking toward us. He told us to keep an eye out for Golden-crowned Kinglets and that there was a Red-tailed Hawk sitting in a low tree branch over the trail across the creek. He said people were walking under it on the trail, and it was still sitting there as if it did not mind. While we were talking, the three of us heard and saw a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets.



After Carrie and I said goodbye to Les and continued on our walk, we had 5-6 Fox Sparrows. This bird was a lifer for Carrie. She got great looks at a pair of them high up in a tree and on the ground. While she was sitting on one of the park benches, waiting for them to come out of the swale, I walked around the other side and spotted my first of the year Hermit Thrush. We also encountered another Eastern Phoebe, while searching for Fox Sparrows. After Carrie got good looks at the Fox Sparrows, we walked across the bridge to the other side of the creek to find the Red-tailed Hawk that Les told us about. When I saw how low it was and that people were walking underneath it oblivious to its presence, I was amazed.







Notice the blood on the bird's talons and mouth and on the branch on which it is perched--blood from a recent kill no doubt. Perhaps that was why the bird did not want to move. It had just finished a meal.



As we headed back toward the car, we saw more Golden-crowned Kinglets, bringing the total to six, more Fox Sparrows, and this Eastern Phoebe below.



After we got to the car, Carrie and I drove to White Oak Park where we took another walk with Bobby and saw a lot of geese, coots, Red-winged Blackbirds, and robins. It was such a beautiful evening and so nice to have an extra hour of light. I look forward to more walks with my wife and my dog and to more migrants at Ewing Park.

Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Goshawk at Moraine View State Park

Last year, I would have said that in McLean County, IL, your chances of seeing a Pileated Woodpecker are not much better than your chances of seeing an Ivory-billed, but perhaps this is not true anymore. Until recently, the only sightings I had heard of were all at Funks Grove, but several of my friends had looked for Pileated there and come up short. Angela Funk reported a sighting at Funks Grove last year, and the bird was also thought to be heard on Spring bird count. Finding a Pileated at Funks seems to be a matter of luck.

In the Summer of 2011, I was talking to Mary at the visitor's center at Moraine View State Park, and she showed me a photo of a Pileated Woodpecker that a visitor had taken in April--a Pileated in McLean County located somewhere other than Funks! I checked out the area where the bird had been seen, but to no avail. Then in December, Angelo Capparella and Given Harper heard a Pileated calling from 800 Rd. on the South edge of Moraine during a raptor survey. The bird was calling near Area 7 of the park. Les Allen needed this bird for his 2011 McLean County Big Year, and I needed Pileated as a state bird so we went looking for it in December, but came up short the first time. The next time, we went with Angelo on December 31st. We had not been out of the car but for a few minutes when we heard the bird calling and then saw a pair of them land in the trees in front of us and then fly across the trail, not far from the Area 7 parking space. Unfortunately, the light was bad, and I was too amazed to take a photo. I posted a map to the location below.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.399406,-88.72402&ll=40.399406,-88.72402

I wanted to relocate these birds this year, hoping to document them with a photo, but I was delayed in January by pheasant and squirrel season. On February 19, however, I was able to return and relocated the Pileated pair. I started out hiking the trail that ran Northeast of the small Area 7 parking area. I got lost on the trail and did not see or hear either of the birds. When I finally made my way back to the car, I head them calling West of the parking area. There is a trail that runs West of the parking area, but I did not know this and started out bushwacking, until I eventually ended up on the trail. This made sense. When we had seen the birds in December, they had flown in from the West and then headed Northeast. By following their calls, I finally caught up with the pair and photographed one of them as it was heading back to the East. The photo I took is at the top of this post. A couple of days later, Matt Fraker, went to find them and added Pileated to his McLean County list. He found them hiking the trail running Northeast. As Fraker said, these birds seem much more reliable than the ones at Funks Grove. So if you need Pileated Woodpecker in McLean County, Moraine View State Park might be your best shot. I recommend hiking all directions from Area 7 until you find them. These birds move around a lot. They have quite a range, but they are in those woods.

I also had Tufted Titmouse and Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers during my hike. I missed Northern Flicker, but I had that bird at Moraine View earlier this year. Of course it was a little early for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, but if you go in April, you might be able to see five out of the six woodpeckers that we have in McLean County. I have never seen a Red-headed Woodpecker there, and the habitat does not seem right for it there. Also, you have a good chance of seeing Barred Owl in Area 7, and Les and Angelo had Great Horned there as well.

Before I headed home, I drove into the park, and to the East of 900 Rd., I saw this Northern Goshawk, which was ABA #278, IL #226, and McLean County #211 for me.





Written and published on March 10, 2012

Greenwood Cemetery and Shabonna Lake State Park

Inspired by John Longhenry's reports and photos of White-winged Crossbills and a Merlin on Illinois Birder's Forum, Les Allen and I left at 6:00 a.m. to drive to Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, IL on February 18. We arrived before 9:00 to the loud call of Pine Siskins, but we did not see any crossbills.



Within minutes of our arrival, at least three Red-breasted Nuthatches were calling, "yank, yank," and feeding on the trees. Below are some shots of both a female and a male Red-breasted Nuthatch that were at the cemetery.





Not long after we had arrived, John Longhenry himself showed up. As we were talking, he spotted a crossbill at the top of a tree. Then three of them landed in a tree in front of us, but some clouds had rolled in and the light was poor. These birds did not stay in the tree for long. After they flew away, John mentioned that the numbers had been thinning, and we thought this might have been all that was left of the flock.





About an hour later, we had our light back when a small raptor flew over our heads and landed in a tree nearby. We followed, and I photographed what we all thought was the Merlin at the time. When I was later examining my photos at home, I realized I had photographed a Sharp-shinned Hawk rather than a Merlin.







We never did see the Merlin, but at the time we enjoyed thinking we had. Of course, after I realized our error, I was still happy to have taken photos of a raptor I had never before photographed. Before John left, he showed us the grave markers that the crossbills had been drinking from after feeding. The water in the markers was almost gone so I added some water I had brought with me to both of them.

Not long after John had left, Les and I heard crossbills chattering, and Les saw White-winged Crossbills feeding on the cones on the ground underneath one of the hemlocks. There were at least eleven crossbills, and a few of the Pine Siskins were feeding on the ground with them. This continued for about 30 minutes, while we watched.







After the crossbills had fed for over 20 minutes, they flew over to the grave markers, which were now holding fresh water, and drank by turning their heads sideways and lowering them to the water.







After drinking, they returned to feeding on the cones.



Some of them had one last drink before flying away.



Les and I celebrated our awesome looks at White-winged Crossbills and what we thought to have been a Merlin by eating lunch at Beefaroo's. Then we headed South on I-39 for Shabonna Lake State Park, hoping to find a Common Redpoll and some waterfowl. We missed the exit on the interstate, which probably set us back 30 to 40 minutes. I told Les that this probably happened so that we could see a bird that we would not have seen if we had arrived at Shabonna Lake earlier. Once we did arrive, we noticed a nice variety of waterfowl on the lake including eight Tundra Swans.





Notice the characteristic yellow lores on this adult.





The juvenile Tundra Swans have darker heads and napes.



While Les was watching the swans and I was taking pictures, we met Daniel Leifheit, who was also photographing them. Daniel told Les about a Northern Shrike he had seen on the Tomahawk Trail just a few hundred yards from where we were watching the swans. As we had both tried and failed to locate the Northern Shrike that Matthew Winks and Ted Hartzler had seen in Woodford County, we decided to try to get a look at this bird. We walked down the trail past the area where Daniel had seen the shrike, but we did not see it. On the way back, however, we did see the bird on top of a tree beside the trail. At first it was backlit, but then it flew to the tree behind us, and we were able to look at the bird in great light. Les pointed out the fine streaking and the blood stain on the bird's belly, most likely from its recent prey.





If we had not missed the exit on the interstate, we would not have run into Daniel and would not have found out about the Northern Shrike. Although we thought we had made a mistake, it worked out to our benefit. I thank God for demonstrating his purpose and kindness even through this little bird. Les and I had an enjoyable trip, and I added two lifers to my list--White-winged Crossbill and Northern Shrike. Below is a complete list of the birds we saw at Shabonna Lake State Park.

Greater White-fronted Goose 6
Cackling Goose 100
Canada Goose 300
Tundra Swan 8
American Wigeon 3
Mallard 35
Canvasback 8
Redhead 5
Lesser Scaup 15
Common Goldeneye 7
Common Merganser 6
Ruddy Duck 3
American Coot X
Northern Shrike 1
Red-winged Blackbird 8

Written and published on March 7, 2012

Of Snow Geese and a Snowy Owl

Late Saturday afternoon, February 11, I checked the pond by Heartland Community College on Raab Rd. and found eight Canvasbacks. This prompted me to check White Oak Park and the Martin Luther King Dr. Gravel Pit for Waterfowl the following day. Les Allen joined me, and we began at White Oak, where there were around 300 Cackling Geese mixed in with the Canada Geese. The light was great so I took some pictures.







Also present was one Ross's Goose and at least two Greater White-fronted Geese. Notice the similarity in size between the Cackling Goose and Ross's Goose shown below.



On February 12, I checked the Constitution Trail behind Colleen Hoose Elementary School in Normal, hoping to see the Merlins that Given Harper saw earlier this year. I did not see the Merlins, but I photographed this Northern Cardinal.



On February 14, I was on my way to stop by my wife's office before going home, but I was side-tracked by a Belted Kingfisher on a power line beside Veteran's Pkwy in Bloomington. There is a small creek between the Bridgestone Tire building and Veteran's and this bird above it. This seemed to me such an odd place to see a kingfisher.



While I was checking out the kingfisher, I also saw this Red-tailed Hawk.



The next day, late in the afternoon, I decided to take one of the boys at the ranch with me to look for the Snowy Owl Tim Lindenbaum had found near Lexington. On the way there, however, I thought I saw Snow Geese at the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds from the Road. When I drove in to check, there were indeed approximately 700 Snow Geese, with at least one Ross's Goose. There were probably more, but I was only able to pick one out of the flock.



Not long after I had pulled in, a worker drove by, and flushed over half of the flock. These birds flew overhead for several minutes, while the others continued to stand on the frozen pond.





The worker, who was very friendly and did not mind that I was there, approached me and asked me to leave so that he could lock the gate as he usually does in the evening. Unfortunately, as I drove out, the rest of the geese took off.



We continued through Lexington and were able to locate the Snowy Owl, very close to where it had been most recently reported.







On February 16, I returned to Lexington. The Snowy was way out in the field. After I set the scope on it, Matt Fraker pulled up and took a look at the bird through the scope. On the way home, I drove around Evergreen Lake, and saw a Barred Owl by the dam. Then I stopped by Comlara Park and saw a small flock of Common Goldeneyes take flight.



The following day, I returned to Lexington again after work, hoping to see the Snowy Owl up close in better light. When I arrived, a friendly couple was watching the bird in almost the exact spot it had been the previous night, but perhaps a little closer to the road. Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names though they told me several times. I should have written this post sooner. I set up the scope so that we could all get better looks. Not long after this couple left, Sherrie Snyder and Mary Jo Adams arrived. We watched the the Snowy in the field until it flew up to the nearest telephone pole at around 5:20 p.m., just before dusk, which seemed to be its habit based on the other reports I had read. Part of the fun of seeing this bird was running into other birders and sharing the experience with them.





Written and published on March 6, 2012