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Out of Vermont, the Bennington Banner carries this article covering almost everything you wanted to know about Chimney Swifts.

The marriage of supercomputing power and sightings reported to eBird could lead to "bird forecasts" sometime in our future. Nature.com has the story.

If you missed Dick Untch, Geneva's Director of Community Development, in his presentation on Prairie Green Wetland at our February meeting this year, an article in the Daily Herald summarizes the project.

Using newly-developed, ultra-lightweight tracking devices, scientists are discovering that the migration of some birds is far more remarkable than originally thought. And in the process, the birds that are making those journeys are achieving physiological limits that are nearly double that of world-class athletes. The New York Times has the amazing story.

Ron Dickenson captured this pair of Bald Eagles along the Fox River in Batavia in 2008.

Bald Eagles have been consistently reported over the last couple of years with most sightings along the lower Fox, from Batavia to Montgomery. This year a pair have set up housekeeping in Mooseheart and have been successful in producing two eaglets. These are the first eagle chicks in modern Kane County history! Monitor the eaglets' progress on the sightings page.

Kane County police have posted "emergency stopping only" signs along Randall Road near the eagle nest and are ticketing violators. If you want to view the eagles, please don't park on Randall Road.  And, obviously, don't trespass on the Mooseheart property. It is private property. Please view the eagles from Hawk's Bluff Park. Here's a map to the park.

For additional information about Bald Eagles, please consider these links to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the non-profit American Eagle Foundation, and the Bald Eagle Info website.

More interesting environmental reading comes from Valerie Blaine who has a story in the Daily Herald about the havoc wreaked across the county by invasive species.

Sandhill Crane photo courtesy Mark Bowman

Roger Hotham has compiled the Kane County portion of the 2010 Midwest Crane Count. In the early morning hours of April 17^th, eighteen volunteers surveyed 12 potential Sandhill Crane breeding territories. Those volunteers counted 32 total birds with 9 confirmed breeding pairs. More info on the Crane Count is available here.

Remember from a few years back the big hoopla over the sighting of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology launched an ambitious campaign to find a bird many thought extinct. They've now called off that effort. Discovery News has more.

A film crew from Channel 11, WTTW, came to Batavia on Tuesday, March 30^th, to cover the story of the pelicans' return to Nelson Lake. Kane County Audubon's Jon Duerr, the retired director of the Kane County Forest Preserve District, and Drew Ullberg, KCFPD's director of natural resources, supplied the answers to a wide range of questions from the crew. Here's the resulting "Chicago Tonight" segment.

Pelicans and Duerr star on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight"

American White Pelican at Nelson Lake in 2008.  Photo courtesy Dennis Walz.

The American White Pelicans once again returned this spring to Nelson Lake. American White Pelicans are truly awesome birds, both for their graceful, seemingly effortless flight and their enormous size.

Compared to other large birds commonly seen in our area, these birds are HUGE. From tip of the bill to end of the tail, American White Pelicans are twice the size of Bald Eagles and are more than two feet larger measured wingtip to wingtip.

The following table gives a snapshot comparison of these pelicans (Brown Pelicans are smaller and not normally seen in our area) to other birds whose size we frequently marvel at.

The pelican's arrival on Wednesday, March 18^th,  put them at 3 days later than their earliest arrival date which was set last year. According to Jon Duerr (who likely has kept the most comprehensive Kane County birding records over the last ten years), this is the eighth consecutive year the pelicans have visited Nelson Lake. He and Dennis Walz first saw 54 pelicans on the lake on April 1, 2003.

Typically, the number of pelicans will increase  over the first week or two, then gradually drop off. More than 300, a record number, were on the lake for a few days last year. After about a month, all the pelicans will have left. Until last year when there was a wider dispersal, Nelson Lake and its environs was the exclusive spring migratory stopover for the pelicans in northeast Illinois. Thus far, they have never returned on fall migration. Here's a map to Nelson Lake.

Kane County Audubon birders in Nebraska. Photo courtesy Sue Wagoner.

Twelve KCA birders participated in this spring's Duerr-duo-led road trip to Nebraska to view thousands of migrating Sandhill Cranes. Over the course of the weekend they also viewed Sharp-tailed Grouse, Greater Prairie Chicken, Loggerhead Shrike, Black-billed Magpie, and Great-tailed Grackle - all birds that normally don't visit Kane County. In all, 13 new species were added to the year-to-date list of birds seen on KCA-sponsored outings.

"The State of the Birds 2010", a report that predicts the effect of climate change on bird populations, was released March 11^th. It's a product of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, a collaboration of federal and state wildlife agencies and scientific and conservation organizations. Here's a link to the report.

Dog fighting and cock fighting rings have made the news headlines in recent years. Now, USA Today reports, there's finch fighting.

The Great Backyard Bird Count has ended, the totals have been tabulated, and the results for Kane County can be found here! For complete details on the national and state level, follow this link.

Unfortunately Phoenix, the female Red-tailed Hawk found badly burned at the scene of the January 23^rd Sugar Grove plane crash, has died. The Daily Herald has the story.

After voters passed the recent open space referendum, the Kane County Forest Preserve District purchased a 700-acre tract in Dundee Township, the newly-named Brunner Family Forest Preserve. Now the forest preserve board is discussing the possibility of mining the gravel that is on that property. One of the proposed benefits of the open pit mining operation is said to be the creation of a lake to provide boating and fishing recreational opportunities...on land that is adjacent to the Fox River. The Daily Herald has the story and the board's response to the public outcry.

JOIN US FOR FUN

If you're here, you know that birding can be fun. It provides an easy and affordable excuse to enjoy the great outdoors. It's a wonderful family activity. Not an "expert" birder? No problem. We'll be happy to share our knowledge. Consider attending a Kane County Audubon outing or meeting. There's no obligation or pressure to join. Discover how much more fun birding can be.

A KCA membership meeting at "The Barn" at Peck Farm Park, photo courtesy Ann Haverstock

UPCOMING AT KCA:  

Next meeting: Wednesday, September 8^th, 6:00 PM: Meeting at Pottawatomie Community Center, St. Charles. Our annual potluck dinner meeting will feature guest speaker Denis Kania, who will disclose his secrets to unraveling identity of those "Confusing Fall Warblers." Potluck dinner begins at 6:00 PM. Potluck participants whose last names begin with the letters A-F should bring a dessert, G-L an entree, M-R a salad, and S-Z a vegetable. Diners are urged to supply their own dinnerware, utensils, drinking cup, serving dish/bowl, and serving spoon/fork, all in a non-disposable form. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM. Pottawatomie Community Center is located along the east bank of the Fox River, north of downtown. From Main Street (Route 64), travel north on Fifth Avenue (Route 25). After .8 mile, turn left on North Avenue. The community center is at the end of North Avenue at the river. For more information about this event, please contact Bob Andrini at 630.584.8386. (Map)

Next outing: Saturday, September 11^th, 8:00 AM: Bird Walk at Les Arends Forest Preserve, Batavia. Tim Balassie is the leader of this walk along the bike trail on the western shore of the Fox River. Migrating fall warblers are the primary viewing target for this outing. Participants should meet in the parking lot by the first shelter. The preserve entrance is located on Route 31, 1.3 miles south of Main Street, Batavia. If you have questions about this event, please call Tim at 630.513.7345. (Map)

Click here for additional upcoming activities.