Townsend’s Solitaire at Moraine Hills

[Joe Lill]

A Townsend’s Solitaire was found on Thursday by Chuck Fields at Moraine Hills State Park in McHenry County. I saw it yesterday with the help of Carolyn and Chuck Fields, at the Whitetail Prairie area. The parking area is well-marked; you’ll drive in for quite a bit before you reach it. We had the bird in the large trees next to the bathrooms. They , and others, also had it in that general area, flying down to the bushes.

Joe Lill
Chicago, Cook County

[Marjorie Pries]

Congrats to Joe and others for spotting the Townsend's Solitaire. Back in Feb of 2012  I found one at Bong Recreation Area in Wisconsin but there was a certain amount of skepticism since no other reports could confirm it. Good to know they sometimes show up in northern Illinois.

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[Rachel Brenner]

Marjorie, I know there was at least one in Northern Illinois before - I remember my father taking me to look for it - and seeing it - when I was up there at Christmas. I can't remember what year (about to go search ebird to see if I can figure it out!) but was definitely before 2012.

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[Sheryl DeVore]

Hello friends. I remember seeing a Townsend's Solitaire at Lyons Woods in Lake County  many years ago. Lots of people came to see it. We also saw one  in Kane County fairly recently.  I believe there have been quite a few records for Illinois. Another one is at the Lost Mount Christmas Bird Count that my husband found.  Most records, I believe are from northern Illinois -- with few if any for central/southern Illinois. I can look at back issues of Meadowlark, which I edited for 25 years, to get all the records if anyone is interested.

Best,

Sheryl DeVore

Lake County Illinois  

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[Alex Bloss]

I saw a Townsend Solitaire at Montrose Point on October 31, 2008 according to my records.

Alex Bloss

Chicago

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From: ilb...@googlegroups.com <ilb...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Rachel Brenner <rabr...@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 8, 2022 11:29 AM
To: Joe Lill' via IBET - Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts <ilb...@googlegroups.com>; Marjorie Pries <mhp...@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [IBET] Townsend’s Solitaire at Moraine Hills

 

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[Rachel Brenner]

I saw this one listed on ebird for 1995 and it was there at Christmas so I suspect that's the one I saw (and my father had it on his Illinois list before 1996 - I have his IL list as of 1996 and then an updated one that went through when he stopped birding).  I was pretty sure we drove north from Lincolnwood to see it but he was driving and I was looking up Townsend's Solitaire in the bird books so wasn't paying attention to where we went.  I didn't remember it being that long ago, but that seems to happen with a lot of things lately :)

[DAVID JOHNSON]

9 Jan 2022

Fellow Ibeters--

RE:  Townsend's Solitaire

It's interesting!  I looked up my first sighting and lifer Townsend's Solitaire--and it was nearly 45! years ago (20 Nov 1977) at Navy Pier at the Water Filtration Plant in Chicago in a washington hawthorne tree.  Michael Mlodinow found it on 19 Nov 1977 and it remained through 24 Nov 1977 (Mlodinow 1984).  I took a photograph (22 Nov 1977) back in the day when we still had SLR cameras with at best a 400mm lens and slide film.  The photo of the solitaire complete with berries appears in an IAS bulletin No. 184, Spring 1978, p. 50.  It's even more amazing I remember this!

There is a current record of Townsend's Solitare for Garden of the Gods Recreation Area in southern Illinois discovered by Stephanie Beilke on 31 Dec 2021 and still present, seen and photographed by many, at least through 4 Jan 2022--check eBird for current updates.

Mlodinow, S.  1984.  Chicago Area Birds.  Chicago Review Press.  Chicago, IL 60610

Good Birding!

David B. Johnson

NE IL

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[Laurel Ross]

great looks at 10 am Sunday. 

laurel

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[biss...@juno.com]

When I was running the Chicago Rare Bird Alert years ago, I had updated my Mlodinow Chicago Area birds book, and I added these sitings to it.  

 

Jim Landing, Alice Haack and I saw one in Lincoln Park on Oct 22, 1985.  It was near the Chicago Academy of Science building eating some berries.   I think Alice found it, who called Jim and I met him there.

There was one at Lyons woods seen by many people from Nov 1995- Jan 1996

One in Glencoe Jan 30, 1995 - reported by Lois Zemel

One at West Beach Indiana - Nov 24, 1995 - 1996

I remember the one at Navy Pier in Nov 1997

 

Richard Biss

 

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: DAVID JOHNSON <djoh...@comcast.net>
To: Sheryl DeVore <sheryldev...@gmail.com>, Rachel Brenner <rabr...@bellsouth.net>
Cc: Joe Lill' via IBET - Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts <ilb...@googlegroups.com>, Marjorie Pries <mhp...@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [IBET] Townsend’s Solitaire at Moraine Hills

Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2022 08:09:58 -0600 (CST)

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[Gerald Batsford]

For us old timers, back when Dave Johnson found his in 1977…..and I found mine at Crabtree Nature Center on a Xmas bird count in 1986(?)….Townsend Solitaires were seemingly truly rare to be seen.  With the explosion in the number of birders over the years, the many more eyes are finding them in Illinois every year…and in multiple places. I think the number of consecutive years sightings would prove this out.

 

Gerry Batsford

Lincolnshire, Lake County

 

From: ilb...@googlegroups.com <ilb...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of DAVID JOHNSON
Sent: Sunday, January 9, 2022 8:10 AM
To: Sheryl DeVore <sheryldev...@gmail.com>; Rachel Brenner <rabr...@bellsouth.net>
Cc: Joe Lill' via IBET - Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts <ilb...@googlegroups.com>; Marjorie Pries <mhp...@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [IBET] Townsend’s Solitaire at Moraine Hills

 

9 Jan 2022

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[Karen Lund]

I unless I missed it, I don't think anyone has mentioned the townsend solitaire from January 2014 at Jon Duerr Forest Preserve in Kane County. That was my state bird.

Karen Lund

Genoa, DeKalb County

catbir...@gmail.com

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[jean harlow]

Thank you for sharing this history 😊


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

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[Mike Sweeney]

I’ve got a record of a Townsend’s Solitaire at Lyons Woods January 7, 1996.  Some of my old records from that time period can be suspect as to dates, because I was manually transferring entries from my old software to eBird, but as Richard said several other people had sightings of it there in that time frame.

 

 

Mike Sweeney

556 W. Roscoe

Chicago, IL 60657

mike.swe...@comcast.net

(c) 312-404-0928

(h) 773-281-7249

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[Daniel & Barbara Williams]

More TOSO records...

There were sightings in back-to-back years at Klehm Arboretum in Rockford.  The first was in November 17, 1995 which stayed through January 11, 1996 (but was not found on the Kishwaukee CBC); The following year, one was found in the Arboretum on the Kishwaukee CBC, December 28, 1996.  It stayed until March 3, 1997.

Dan Williams

Rockford

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[Daniel & Barbara Williams]

I should also mention another TOSO found over Thanksgiving weekend, 25 Nov 2016 at Rock Cut State Park.  It was seen through 2 Jan 2017 (including on the Rock Cut SBC but apparently omitted from the CBC report) & relocated on 2 Feb 2017.

Dan Williams

Rockford

[DAVID JOHNSON]

On 01/09/2022 1:32 PM Mike Sweeney <mike.swe...@comcast.net> wrote:

Mike,

9 Jan 2022

Mike--

Your Townsend's Solitaire record occurred 12 Nov 1995 - 21 Jan 1996 as you state at Lyon's Woods FP (MJIB 5(3), p117).  Dan Williams also notes in a previous IBET thread a Winnebago Co. solitaire at Klehm Arboretum during the same winter, 17 Nov 1995 - 11 Jan 1996.  Walters (1996) lists a date of 25 Nov 1995 as his first noted date which isn't apparently the first date the solitaire was actually noted. However, a nice seasonal highlight of this record and others is noted for Illinois.  A very fine pen and ink  of the Townsend's Solitaireby Denis Kania graces the cover of the Meadowlark journal.

Walters, E. 1996.  Townsend's Solitaire Winters Near Waukegan.  Meadowlark, A Journal of Illinois Birds.  Vol.5, No.3 p109.

Good Birding!

David Johnson

NE IL

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