agree great migration over night - best day Fwd: eBird Report - Wildwood Nature Center, Park Ridge, Oct 5, 2023

[ALAN ANDERSON]

Hope many of you can get out birding today, even for an hour or so.
As noted here and especially on the Birdchats on Discord, the wind change overnight brought in 'tons' of birds.

I only had a bit of time after scheduled flu shots, so went local to Wildwood Nature Center/Maine Park in Park Ridge ( https://www.prparks.org/Facilities/Wildwood-Nature-Center ).

It was definitely my best day of birding there ever. I'm sure I missed finding a number of birds, but ended up with 54 species for just under 2 hours.

My eBird checklist is below, but highlights included:
- 14 warbler species including a N. Parula, Pine and female Black-throated Blue Warber
- 4 thrush species, including a Wood Thrush out in the open feeding in the grass, and my first Hermit Thrush of the fall
- 3 wren species, including a Winter and Carolina Wren

Tomorrow and Saturday look to be great birding too! Get out and enjoy!

And as Tamima noted on Discord, a number of birds sadly have been found either hitting windows, and some have gotten stuck on burs at Montrose natural areas. Birders are helping them as they can, but if you find stunned or dead birds, please contact the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors at 773 988 1867 (for tips see https://www.birdmonitors.net/InjuredBird.php ). It's likely a very busy day for them unfortunately.

Alan Anderson
casre...@comcast.net Des Plaines, Cook Co.

> ---------- Original Message ----------
> From: do-not...@ebird.org
> To: casre...@comcast.net
> Date: 10/05/2023 1:37 PM CDT
> Subject: eBird Report - Wildwood Nature Center, Park Ridge, Oct 5, 2023
>
>
> Wildwood Nature Center, Park Ridge, Cook, Illinois, US
> Oct 5, 2023 10:45 AM - 12:26 PM
> Protocol: Transect
> 0.503 mile(s)
> Checklist Comments: very birdy, after wind change overnight; birds everywhere, especially first hour, with many palm warblers and robins on the play field grass by the west park on the way back to car; cloudy at first, with some lightening after 11am; 66-68 degrees, wind 4-5 mph wsw; one dragonfly and a number of chipmunks
> 54 species
>
> Canada Goose 12 east pond and on east grassy border
> Wood Duck 2 pair adults east pond by island
> Mallard 23 all east pond and on grassy residential shore
> Mourning Dove 1
> Cooper's Hawk 1 flew from south over island chasing a bird and continued north chasing out of park
> Belted Kingfisher 1 heard around east pond a few times, flew out and away
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 south of west pond in trees near border (called a number of times also) and one in southwest border trees
> Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
> Downy Woodpecker 1
> Hairy Woodpecker 1
> Northern Flicker 7 possibly more - flying around
> Blue Jay 6
> American Crow 1
> Black-capped Chickadee 1
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
> Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
> House Wren 1
> Winter Wren 1 east brush
> Carolina Wren 1 southeast
> European Starling 10 flock of 6 flew over main wetland and island and at least four in northeast corner residential trees
> Gray Catbird 6
> Brown Thrasher 1
> Swainson's Thrush 2 one northeast border trees and one southwest with white-throated sparrows
> Hermit Thrush 1 observed twice so possibly two; southwest
> Wood Thrush 1 feeding in the open grassy area northeast corner!
> American Robin 65 likely under count - all over, and many on west park grass
> Cedar Waxwing 3
> House Sparrow 50 most on west and southwest side of NC property - near south residential/conifer area and west of building on ground and in shrubs and trees; under count
> House Finch 1 heard only
> American Goldfinch 18 south and south east; likely undercount
> White-throated Sparrow 26 a few scattered northeast and southeast, and around pond, with larger numbers in southwest sections: on ground on grassy paths two areas; under count
> Song Sparrow 5
> Lincoln's Sparrow 1
> Swamp Sparrow 1
> Red-winged Blackbird 6 birds seen and heard; possibly more unseen; east side areas
> Common Grackle 10 some may also have been hidden
> Ovenbird 1 woodland walk in open
> Northern Waterthrush 1 east path edge between ponds
> Black-and-white Warbler 2
> Tennessee Warbler 1
> American Redstart 5 one male, one immature male and the others female or immature
> Northern Parula 1 likely first year female; Great views of yellow breast and greenish gray on back, two wing bars and pale line through eye; northeast trees
> Magnolia Warbler 7 Likely undercount. Late migration climate warm, with great migrant push overnight
> Bay-breasted Warbler 1
> Chestnut-sided Warbler 3
> Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Female in northeast tree and shrub
> Palm Warbler 53 at least 38 on the grass in the park on the west, and others though out the nature center area, especially south and west; likely under count of the park birds especially closer to playground (flushed by dog walker once)
> Pine Warbler 1 great looks at yellow breast and back, two white wing bars and yellow around eye; southwest trees and shrubs close to pines; observed feeding at least three times, once with a longish small worm
> Yellow-rumped Warbler 22 likely under count - all over
> Black-throated Green Warbler 2
> Northern Cardinal 12 three females and at least 9 males
> Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 female shrubs on east walk
> Indigo Bunting 1 called first from shrub on west side of west pond, then flew to island- male with mainly blue but some brown/gray on under breast and back- likely first summer male
>
> View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S151484680
>
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

[jnrachlin]

...and if you had a chance t look out over the lake this morning it was a stream of birds flying south that just went on and on. Up high, down low, close in and out over the lake, flocks, stragglers, tons of flickers (the only songbirds I could reliably identify), 6 swans, a peregrine falcon...Really amazing to actually see so many birds racing south and to think this was just a small fraction of them.