FEBRUARY 2017 SIGHTINGS
Jason Newton on 2/28 reported via eBird: Two Horned Grebes this morning at Nelson Lake in Batavia. John Heneghan on 2/24
reported via e-mail: We had 40 sandhill cranes land in the bean
field down the street from us in Big Rock. Lifelong area neighbor said he
had never seen them there.
Brendon Lake on 2/23 reported via IBET: A flock of about 30 American White Pelicans was flying north over Main Street, just west of Randall Road in Batavia at 12:19pm. Stuart Koch on 2/23 also responded on IBET: A group of vultures is called a wake, committee, venue, kettle, or volt. The term kettle refers to vultures in flight, while committee, volt, and venue refer to vultures resting in trees. Wake is reserved for a group of vultures that are feeding. Steve Jner on 2/23 responded on IBET: A group of Turkey Vultures has many names... Cast, Committee, Meal, Vortex, and Wake. I have also heard of them being referred to a Kettle of Vultures when kettling. Lucy DeLap on 2/23 reported
via IBET: On a casual walk across the pedestrian bridge from East
Dundee through downtown West Dundee and back with bird watching not the
main goal, we were surprised first by a FOY flock(?) of 25 or so turkey
vultures making their way north along the river. (Is there a proper
name for a flock of vultures?) Joan Campbell on 2/21
reported via IBET: Thanks to Christopher Cudworth's post from
yesterday, I decided to check out the viewing platform at Dick Young Forest
Preserve this morning. I was afraid we wouldn't be able to see anything
since we were driving into fog coming from Downers Grove, to Batavia. But
visibility was pretty decent and there were a LOT of birds! So glad we
went! Here are some highlights: Bill and Carol Ludemann, David and Paula Altekruse on 2/21 reported via e-mail: February 20 about 6pm on the Great Western Trail, just east of the mile 6 bridge, we were startled to hear 2 American Woodcocks. They flew quite close to us, but since it was getting dark we did not see much detail. We were out to look for beavers, which we saw. The Woodcocks were a bonus. Christopher Cudworth on 2/20
reported via IBET: The view from the East viewing deck at 10:30 a.m.
included the following species:
Jake Bartecki on 2/20 reported via eBird: Seeing an Osprey along the Fox River Trail in North Aurora. Theresa LeCompte on 2/18
reported via e-mail: Went out to Nelson Lake again today and, just in
the time frame of noon to 1 pm, I must have seen over 200 migrating
Greater White-fronted Geese in three separate flocks. One group even
came in for a rest. Brendon Lake on 2/18 reported via IBET: Currently [mid-afternnon] one young Trumpeter Swan at Slade Avenue Park in Elgin, where the Long-tailed Duck has been. No sign of the duck. Marion Miller on 2/18 reported via eBird: A very early Tree Swallow at Nelson Lake. Theresa LeCompte on 2/17 reported via e-mail: Saw a flock of nearly 100 Greater White-fronted Geese flying high over Nelson Lake this afternoon just after 2 pm. John Mayer on 2/16 reported
via e-mail: This afternoon at Brunner Farm Forest Preserve, saw three
Red-tailed Hawks, twenty Cedar Waxwings, two Great-horned
Owls, three European Starlings, twenty American Tree Sparrows,
and six Common Mergansers.
John Waterhouse on 2/16 reported via e-mail: There was a bald eagle this morning on McDonald road in South Elgin near the retention pond across from Thornwood subdivision. Robert France on 2/15
reported via e-mail: There is an eagle in a nest along Route 25
in Bartlett.
Mary Ochsenschlager on 2/15 reported via IBET: I saw a flying and calling sandhill crane this morning flying from Hannaford Woods Forest Preserve to Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove Township southern Kane County. Could it be that it has stayed all winter. Christopher Cudworth on 2/15 reported via IBET: Just had a pair of sandhill cranes pass over my North Aurora home in Kane County. Headed toward Dick Young FP one mile NW Gordon Garcia on 2/14
reported via e-mail: Long-tailed duck still present today (2/14)
on Fox River near Judson University.
Ryan Jones on 2/14 reported
via eBird: Locating 2 Trumpeter Swans on a pond in northeast
Aurora.
John Mayer on 2/13 reported
via e-mail: I spotted this Merlin at the Brunner Family Forest
Preserve this morning.
Walter Lutz on 2/13 reported via e-mail: Over the weekend I saw a Red-tail Hawk picking at a road-kill deer carcass which is the first time I've ever seen a hawk acting as a scavenger. Chris Madsen on 2/12
reported: A cold, blustery morning at Jon Duerr Forest Preserve
produced few birds. Carla and I were happy to hear Cardinals
singing, a sure sign of impending Spring. The river hosted Mallards,
Canada Geese, the resident Belted Kingfisher, Common Mergansers,
and Common Goldeneye. Back in the gravel pit area, we had both a
Cooper's Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk, chickadees and
goldfinches, and little else. On the path to the bridge, we saw one
Brown Creeper and a pair of foraging
Golden-crowned Kinglets.
Kane County Audubon on 2/11 reported via eBird: The Long-tailed Duck
at Slade Avenue Park in Elgin on an outing led by Tim Balassie.
Eric Secker on 2/11 reported via eBird: At Les Arends Forest Preserve, an Eastern Phoebe.
Marion Miller on 2/10 reported via e-mail: I couldn’t believe I
spotted another Hermit Thrush this morning when Rich and I were
walking through the pines at Campton Forest Preserve. And this time there
were 2 moving together. This makes 4 Hermit Thrushes in the last 9 days!
The first one was on 2-2 at Lippold Park (Batavia) and then 2-5 at Gunnar
Anderson FP (Geneva.) Campton's forest was pretty quiet on the whole except
for a brief moment when there was a group of 3 “tsee-ing” Golden-crowned
Kinglets quickly hoping along the tree tops in front of us.
(Photo by Rich)
Al
Stokie on 2/10 reported via IBET: Hello Bird People, Kathy and Bob Andrini on 2/6 reported via eBird: Finding the Long-tailed Duck at its old haunt, the river at Slade Park in Elgin, Tim Felinski on 2/6 reported via eBird: Flushing an American Woodcock from the prairie at Corron Farm on 2/1.
Theresa LeCompte on 2/4 reported via e-mail: There was a pair of "love
birds" in our Aurora back yard from 8:30 am until 10:00 am on 2/2. When I
tried to take a picture, their love took flight.
John Mayer on 2/4 reported via e-mail: Seen today at Fox River Shores Forest Preserve: 20 Cackling Goose
Marion Miller on 2/3 reported via e-mail: Rich and I walked the
Fox River bike path from the Quarry parking lot south to the fourth bridge
on the cold but sunny Friday morning.
Thanks to Rich’s eagle eyes we got to enjoy prolonged looks at a
perched Merlin on our side of the river.
Other highlights were a flock of 20 vocalizing Robins that
flew across our path, many cute White-throated Sparrows foraging
along the trail and 2 Eagles, one adult and one immature, fishing
the river.
Bob Fisher on 2/2/ reported via IBET: Thanks to a birder from Shorewood (didn't get his name), Karen and I saw the [Long-tailed] Duck by looking upriver with a scope from the Slade Ave Park on the E side of the river. John Mayer on 2/1 reported via e-mail: Went to Judson University this morning at 8:00 am and finally got a few better pictures of the elusive long-tailed duck. Also spotted these two White-fronted Geese. The list: 2 – Greater White Fronted Geese
Oliver Burrus on 2/1 reported via IBET: After all of the Geese we saw with ILYB on Sunday, we thought we would try to get closer to the flock by going up to Fox River Shores FP. Right as we pulled up to the parking lot, we saw a flock of about thirty Red-winged Blackbirds and as we walked, we heard and saw more of the very common summer birds like American Robins and Eastern Bluebirds. Once we got to the point of Fox River Shores FP, we scanned through hundreds of Canada Geese finding no other species of Geese. Then we drove over to Carpentersville Dam in hopes of finding the two Ruby-crowned Kinglets someone saw there yesterday. Immediately I found the banded Canada Goose but that was the only good bird in the water. We walked down the path finding a few Goldeneye, a couple Eagles, and the same land birds that we saw at Fox River Shores FP. We walked back to the dam overlook and found about fifty Goldeneye and seven Great Blue Herons.
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