Jack Pomatto on 8/29 reported via e-mail: Today, 8/29/13, at Quarry Park (Batavia) on the Fox River Trail several of us benefited from last nights NNE winds. We had six species of migrant warblers:
Black and white Warblers
Tennessee Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Nashville Warblers
Black-throated green Warbler
Redstart
and a Philadelphia Vireo
As well as a nice mix of other migrants.

Kurt Frieders on 8/28 reported via e-mail: We have had a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in our yard (in Aurora township) for over a month. Until Tuesday night it had been slippery enough to avoid my camera no matter how hard I have tried. We see it pretty much all day long, but never at the area we are currently watching. Finally I was able to photograph it at our Cardinal Flower. The rest of our yard birds have been limited to the usual suspects, other than we have seen at least three Common Nighthawks each of the last four nights.
 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird photo courtesy Kurt Frieders

Diane Hansen on 8/27 reported via e-mail: Yesterday morning I saw a large group of young cedar waxwings in a tree just above the South Elgin dam taking small flights out from and back to the upper dead branches.
 

Cedar Waxwing photo courtesy Diane Hansen

Sue Wagoner on 8/26 reported via e-mail: If it's too hot to go out birding, let them come to you! This young Cooper's Hawk was assessing my bird feeder situation. After finding all had gone elsewhere, he left. We get Coopers' regularly in our neighborhood, often nesting near my house although I do not know their nesting site this year.
 

Cooper's Hawk photo courtesy Sue Wagoner

Scott Cohrs on 8/25 reported via eBird: Reported a Blue Grosbeak at Dunteman Sod Farms in Kaneville, "Heard singing for 10 minutes. On private property, couldn't visual. Short, hoarse warbling sing, reminiscent of [Purple Finch]."

Chris Mussachio on 8/25 reported via e-mail: Doesn't get more exciting than this Osprey on the hunt in Carpentersville.
 

Osprey photo courtesy Chris Mussachio

Chris Madsen on 8/24 reported: Saw about 12 American Golden-Plovers this morning at Dunteman Turf Farm in Kaneville. All had flown off by the time I left at 10:00.

Walter Lutz on 8/23 reported via e-mail: Friday 5 pm - Osprey at South Elgin dam.

Matt Wistrand on 8/22 reported via IBET: Good evening, everyone. This evening I took the long way home from the grocery store and stopped by the Fabyan Parkway marsh for about thirty minutes. As everyone has undoubtedly noticed, the COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were on the move, many of whom were flying quite low. Unsurprisingly, there were several LEAST SANDPIPERS, PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and KILLDEER on the mudflats. I also managed to pick out a few SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, at least two SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, and a SAVANNAH SPARROW foraging close to the edge of the pond. I did not see any Greater Yellowlegs, but without scope that is not always easy to tell. As I was leaving, two WILSON'S SNIPES flew overhead and landed on the mudflat, affording the best looks I've ever had of this species.

Chris Madsen on 8/21 reported: Although the purpose of our birding expedition to Fermilab today was to view shorebirds, the bird of the day was a Northern Mockingbird that flew in front of the car as we were departing on Pine Street.

Ken Schneider on 8/18 reported via e-mail: At Fabyan FP West this morning we saw only 27 species, but they included our first-of-fall Yellow-throated Warbler, seen in an oak just NW of the rest rooms. I obtained only a poor photo which I posted with my eBird report for documentation. Had a Bald Eagle flyover going north over the river (and later saw a drive-by adult in the nest tree at Mooseheart but could not stop safely) and one Caspian Tern in flight near the Fabyan Blvd bridge. At the (closed) pedestrian/bike bridge Mary Lou and I had nice views of a female Wood Duck and nearly full-grown offspring, as well as Great Blue and Green Herons.
 

Ken Schneider on 8/17 reported via e-mail: Only Song Sparrows, goldfinches and a single House Wren were singing this morning at Nelson Lake/Dick Young FP. Notable sighting (for us) was a Northern Harrier which startled several of the dozen or so Great Egrets on the lake. Only recorded 18 species during our brief visit.
 

Northern Harrier photo courtesy Ken Schneider

Immature American Robin photo courtesy Ken Schneider

Diane Hansen on 8/17 reported via e-mail: I saw a single Caspian Tern above the South Elgin dam yesterday morning.
 

Caspian Tern photo courtesy Diane Hansen

Julie Long on 8/16 reported via e-mail: Yesterday (Thursday) there were four Caspian terns at Boy Scout Island in ST Charles, after the previous two days when I only saw two each day. And then today (Friday) there were five, one of which had a band. Two of the terns were juveniles with orange bills and lightly patterned wings. I attempted to read the band but the bird was in the center of the river and too far away to pick up numbers with my camera or scope. The Dupage forest preserve had contacted me about being interested in the bird and the number because three Caspian terns had been released by Willowbrook Rehab Center. So if any of you birders are on Pottawatomie golf course this weekend or in a boat or canoe perhaps you can get closer than I could and could get numbers off the band for them. The pro at the golf course would not let me walk to a viewing spot closer to the birds!

Ken Schneider on 8/15 reported via e-mail: Beautiful weather, but Mary Lou and I did not find Bliss Woods very birdy today. We logged 20 species, but the highlight was an Olive-sided Flycatcher. It was immediately visible when we walked over the bridge, typically occupying the tallest branches of the tall oak on the left at the top of the hill. It made several forays and returned to the same perch. This is the second time we have seen it in the same spot-- the last was September 6, 2012. There were at least 4 hummingbirds chasing one another around.
 

Olive-sided Flycatcher photo courtesy Ken Schneider

Ruby-throated Hummingbird photo courtesy Ken Schneider

Chris Mussachio on 8/15 reported via e-mail: Had a very surprising fly over at Buffalo Park in Algonquin at sunset by this Bald Eagle on its way to who knows where.
 

Bald Eagle photo courtesy hris Mussachio

Ken Schneider on 8/15 reported via e-mail: At Lippold Park yesterday morning it was rather quiet, but we did see 36 species, including an adult Bald Eagle and an Osprey over the river, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, and two hummingbirds in addition to other rather quiet Baltimore Orioles, Indigo Buntings and Song Sparrows.
 

Solitary Sandpiper photo courtesy Ken Schneider

Julie Long on 8/14 reported via e-mail: There have been two caspian terns for the last two days, Aug. 13 and 14 near the Boy Scout Island boat launch area on rt 31 in St Charles. One of them has a band on its right leg.

Diane Hansen on 8/14 reported via e-mail: Yesterday afternoon we were recycling styrofoam in Aurora so we thought we would check out the lake behind the firehouse where the 7 Caspian Terns were reported. We drove up and within a minute of stopping 2 of them flew in and landed near a group of cormorants. What an exciting new bird to see.

Chris Mussachio on 8/12 reported via e-mail: Barely spotted these 3 Black-Crowned Night Herons in Carpentersville.
 

Black-crowned Night-Herons (one adult and two juveniles) photo courtesy Chris Mussachio

Scott Cohrs on 8/12 reported via IBET: Just a quick recap on the ILYB field trip at Nelson Lake this past Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the company was excellent, but the birds were... rather dull. But what can you do.

In years past, Nelson Lake has been productive for shorebirds in the late summer months. But the combination of last year's drought, vegetation creeping in, and water filling up the rest of the area has now rendered this spot pretty useless for shorebirds. Regardless, we enjoyed scoping the numerous herons and egrets from the platform, as well as numerous Wood Ducks in various stages of molt. A Swamp Sparrow sang frequently for all to hear. We also had good looks at a Common Yellowthroat family near the platform, and several Indigo Buntings putting on a show. Several in our group got a nice look at a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. We checked the back portion of Nelson for the Henslow's Sparrow that was nesting near the gazebo, but most of the grassland birds are now quiet or have moved on.

We finished up near Kaneville checking out the sod farms. While we did have an interesting bird on the south side that was likely a Buff-breasted, distance and heat haze prevented us from a definitive ID. The collared-doves that frequent the area also failed to show.

Like I said, pretty dull. But that only pertains to the birds. The enthusiasm the kids showed was great (and contagious). Always enjoy leading these trips, and look forward to the next outing. You can find more info on ILYB and a schedule of events at this link. Thanks to all who made the trip out!

Ken Schneider on 8/12 reported via e-mail: There were seven Caspian Terns along with two Herring and one Ring-billed Gull this morning at the lake behind the firehouse at SE corner of Orchard & Illinois in Aurora. The second tern from the right in the cropped shot has a leg band.

Rather quiet at the north end of Nelson Lake/Dick Young FP this morning. Found a female goldfinch sitting tight on a rather large nest. Did not see or hear any Dickcissels and heard but did not see a Bobolink. Looked for Grasshopper, Savannah and Henslow's Sparrows but dipped on all three.
 

Caspian Terns photo courtesy Ken Schneider

American Goldfinch photo courtesy Ken Schneider

Jim Narovec on 8/12 reported via e-mail: On 8/12 around 815am, spotted a single adult Bald Eagle perched in a tree along the west bank of the Fox River next to the apartments in Carpentersville.

Rich Miller on 8/10 reported via e-mail: Marion has been doing most of our birding locally these days. I have noticed an increase in Egret populations. This fellow was seen at TRENT POND behind Kohls on Randall Rd in Batavia.
 

Chris Mussachio on 8/9 reported via e-mail: Things have really slowed down in my neck of the woods, but you just never know when something shows up. I was lucky enough to see this mommy Wood Duck and 6 babies at the Carpentersville Dam along with a somewhat not too camera shy Green Heron that keeps showing up for a nice portrait session.
 

Wood Ducks photo courtesy Chris Mussachio

Green Heron photo courtesy Chris Mussachio

Kurt Frieders on 8/5 reported via e-mail: This weekend our yard (in Aurora township) was visited for the first time by a Monk Parakeet. It hung around our feeders and perched in our trees for two days. It was very vocal, and not at all skittish. The Parakeet was not even bothered by our dog running around directly under it. We very much enjoyed watching him, and certainly hope he treats us to another visit in the future. He can come back any time.
 

Monk Parakeet photo courtesy Kurt Frieders

Chris Mussachio on 8/1 reported via e-mail: I have another favorite bird to add to my list. Spotted this Caspian Tern fishing just like an Osprey does at the Carpentersville Dam. What a show this one put on.
 

Caspian Tern photo courtesy Chris Mussachio