Guess who’s back!

[Suzanne Coleman]

Today was actually the first day in a while that I haven’t checked the top of my tall green spruce tree on the way home in the evening. But when I got into the driveway I did check and guess what! At the very tippy top of the tallest part of the tree was a bird. It was almost dark out but I was pretty sure who it was. I got my binoculars out and I still couldn’t be 100% sure so I parked the car and then got out and I still couldn’t be a hundred percent sure lol because it was so dark! But then as I was trying to get a better position it did a hop skip and a jump dive curve out and falcon sliced through the air and flew in the same direction it always goes! My Merlin is back. Finally!! (And I’d like to hear if they did have some successful nesting activity this year in our area.)

I was also excited to see a red headed woodpecker in a new location along the Des Plaines River; they seem to be doing well as they require these river overflow/wetland areas or so it seems as these are the areas they breed in.

Also heard and then found a mixed group of blackbirds going for the acorns in a tall old oak tree which was cool and also maybe for the first time I was able to hear tons of acorns, or maybe caps but probably acorns, that they were dropping down to the first floor around me so I quickly moved back because I didn’t want to get an acorn in my eye! And then as I was in another spot I saw them flock out and fly over into the dead trees in the wetland area. There was redwings grackles and starlings. I can never really be sure if I’m hearing Rustys mixed in or not but it sounded like there might’ve been but I didn’t see any. Other than that robins, I can’t think of much else I saw today, nothing too exciting. I do think I might’ve had a palm warbler actually as well on the way out which flew in front of my car.

Oh yeah and the other exciting thing that did happen today was I saw a turkey vulture circling as it took off from a dead tree which I saw it perched in a couple days ago in the same spot. When I was driving by I was like what the hell is that! Because it was huge and dark when
perched and I was in the car so I did pull over and open had no binoculars and was like looking at it and tilting my head in different directions to try to get a better angle on it, you know like an owl lol, and I decided I’m pretty sure it’s a vulture. Its head was a little smaller than you would expect for a hawk or a bald eagle and it did seem to be all dark, though the light wasn’t great. But today it must’ve just taken out of the tree because it was pretty low and coming up and then went higher and as it was flying there was a smaller bird near it and I this time had my binoculars and that was a Nighthawks so that was cool too! Funny how small it looked when yesterday compared to the bat it was huge lol! Also saw a bat out in the preserves? a little brown bat I’m pretty sure because it was pretty small.

Suzanne Coleman

Cook County
Park Ridge