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First in Illinois: This great kiskadee attracted birders from throughout the Midwest to Will County earlier this month. Photo by Matt Misewicz.
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What a year for birders!
Watchers in 2020 enjoyed relief from pandemic stress and a
flurry of rare sightings
(published 12-17-20)
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The scene along Front Street in Channahon as dozens of birders wait for a glimpse of the great kiskadee. Photo by Ryan Jones.
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You probably heard about “Rocky,” the saw-whet owl
discovered last month inside the huge Christmas tree on Rockefeller Plaza in New
York. The adorable stowaway became an instant star, giving the Big Apple and nation
a welcome feel-good story. Around the same time, local birders found their own saw-whet
to fawn over at Morton Arboretum. But a far more unexpected traveler would soon
arrive in Channahon—a great kiskadee found by John Weisgerber on December 2.
The species, a first record for Illinois, normally resides in South Texas and
Mexico. Hundreds of birders scurried to the Des Plaines Widewaters Conservation
Area in Will County for a peek, including me.
The “Miracle on Front Street” brought the curtain down on a birding
year full of surprises. Well, not quite. A week later, in almost the same spot,
a western tanager turned up, reported by Niklas Klauss. It was Channahon’s
third rarity in three weeks, a hot streak that began with a Eurasian wigeon in
late November. You guessed it: The fancy duck was right about where the
kiskadee, and later the tanager, would soon appear.
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One week after the kiskadee's arrival, birders rushed back to Channahon to see this dazzling western tanager. Photo by Matt Misewicz. |
If birders didn’t know where Channahon was before, they
certainly do now.
Joining the kiskadee as worthy Bird of the Year candidates were
a Townsend’s warbler at Deer Grove Forest Preserve in Cook County (found in
April by Heidi Tarasiuk); black-headed grosbeak in Woodstock (Oct.); and a golden-crowned
sparrow in the Rockford backyard of Dan and Barbara Williams (Nov.). A front
porch rufous hummingbird hosted by the Baier family in Lisle was yet another
December treat.
Sightings of these rare birds, combined with flexible work
schedules and low gas prices, created a perfect storm for bird chasers. In
2020, homebound enthusiasts needed few excuses to hit the highway.
Indeed, the pandemic changed how we bird. We wore face
coverings, did less carpooling and tried our best to social distance on the trails.
Perhaps the biggest change brought about by the virus was
more birders, especially backyard watchers. Many came to realize that feeding
birds is a pleasant diversion. Keeping a yard list became a thing—a fun
challenge for all ages and a solid remote learning activity.
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An evening grosbeak could visit your house this winter, too! They usually travel in flocks. Photo by Josh Engel/Red Hill Birding. |
For newbies and veterans alike, at home and in the field, it
was an extraordinary year to be a birder. Not only did we have more time for
the hobby, there was a lot to see. Spring migration was sick with warblers,
followed by an early summer yellow-billed cuckoo fest fueled by a major cicada
hatch. Spotting or at least hearing a cuckoo was never easier.
Fall proved especially rich. In late October, reports of
evening grosbeaks poured in throughout the region—almost unheard of in these
parts. Just the thought of one landing on my sunflower feeder is exciting, and currently
it’s a real possibility!
Other “winter finches” have invaded as well, namely common
redpoll, pine siskin, red crossbill and white-winged crossbill. Red-breasted
nuthatch is back, too. All are nomadic species from the north that don’t come
around every year. This will be an entertaining winter.
County highlights
Space limitations force me to pick and choose, but a county-by-county
listing of notable bird sightings shows the remarkable avian diversity that Chicagoland
birders encountered in 2020.
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Two rufous hummingbirds—one in Lisle and this one in Naperville—thrilled DuPage birders in early December. Photo by Matt Misewicz.
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DuPage: black-bellied whistling duck; cattle egret; cerulean,
hooded, Kentucky, prairie, yellow-throated and worm-eating warblers; eared
grebe; golden eagle; lark sparrow; neotropic cormorant; northern mockingbird;
pileated woodpecker; red-shouldered hawk; rufous hummingbird; surf scoter; western
tanager; whooping crane
Kane: American avocet; black-necked stilt; black
scoter; black tern; Connecticut, Kirtland’s and prairie warblers; Eurasian tree
sparrow; Hudsonian godwit; northern goshawk; red-necked
phalarope; ruddy turnstone; Say’s phoebe; western kingbird; whip-poor-will
Cook: black-legged kittiwake; buff-breasted
sandpiper; Cassin’s sparrow; Franklin’s gull; great-tailed grackle; harlequin
duck; Harris’s sparrow; hoary redpoll; lark bunting; little gull; painted
bunting; parasitic jaeger; piping plover (Monty and Rose returned to Montrose
Beach, fledging three chicks!); purple gallinule; red knot; red-necked grebe;
red-throated loon; Sabine’s gull; Say’s phoebe; snowy egret; snowy owl; Swainson’s
hawk; Townsend’s warbler; varied thrush; western grebe; whimbrel;
whip-poor-will; white-faced ibis
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In October, a generous homeowner in Woodstock permitted birders to view this black-headed grosbeak, a rare visitor from the West. Photo by Matt Misewicz.
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Lake: black-necked stilt; black vulture;
buff-breasted sandpiper; harlequin duck; Kentucky warbler (in December!); loggerhead
shrike; marbled godwit; Mississippi kite; purple sandpiper; scissor-tailed
flycatcher; snowy owlWill: black-bellied whistling duck; black-necked
stilt; cattle egret; Eurasian wigeon; great kiskadee; Hudsonian godwit; western
tanager; yellow-crowned night heron
McHenry: black-headed grosbeak; black tern; common
gallinule; lark sparrow; red-necked phalarope
Finally, a shout-out to Kendall County, which produced a
Townsend’s solitaire last January at Silver Springs State Park, the first
rarity of 2020. Doesn’t that seem like five years ago?
When luck and skill collide
Congratulations to Isoo O’Brien for shattering the Big Year
record for Cook County of 281 species. He did it with a common redpoll on
October 30. The Evanston high school senior likens birding to a treasure hunt,
and I couldn’t agree more.
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Hundreds of birders with spring fever pursued this Townsend's warbler in a Cook County forest preserve. Photo by Scott Latimer. |
The all-time Illinois Big Year record of 334 species also
fell, but at press time it was unknown what the new record would be, and who
would set it. Nathan Goldberg had 340 species with Steve Huggins just one bird
behind. Their lists were identical except for the Geneva Kirtland’s warbler in
May; Nathan got it, Steve did not.
Springbrook Prairie steward Joe Suchecki witnessed the first
successful sandhill crane nesting at the Naperville preserve. He also
registered species No. 240 at Springbrook when a flock of 22 evening grosbeaks
flew over on November 6. Joe said he hadn’t seen evening grosbeaks in Illinois
since 1996.
Illinois Ornithological Society made the most of a
stay-at-home spring by holding a Backyard Big Day competition in April. Some
200 households from 34 counties participated. IOS followed up with a Big Sit
tournament in September that raised $5,000 for bird-related causes.
Illinois Audubon Society purchased 40 acres within the
Prairie Ridge State Natural Area in Jasper County, protecting additional
habitat for greater prairie-chickens.
The 2020 Indiana Dunes Birding Festival was cancelled but still
won the Mindful Birding Award for its devotion to ethical birding and bird
conservation. The 2021 fest is on for May 13-16.
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Birders had several opportunities in 2020 to witness Hudsonian godwit, a rare shorebird. This one visited a small roadside "fluddle" in Will County, in late May. Photo by Pat Andersen.
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The grand opening of the International Crane Foundation’s
updated campus in Baraboo, Wis., also was called off. They’ll try again on May
1, 2021.
Black birders matter
Rocky the owl made us smile. Another New Yorker made us
cringe. You surely heard about the ugly incident in Central Park last May, when
a white dogwalker confronted Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper,
falsely accusing him of threatening violence. A video of the encounter
attracted 30 million views.
It wasn’t about birding, of course, but it did create
high-profile exposure for the hobby. Black Birders Week took flight in June, a
first-time awareness campaign to encourage birding by people of color.
Worth mentioning, too, is the “Bird Names for Birds”
movement. The idea, now gaining momentum, is to assign new names to birds currently
named after people. Some of the individuals, history shows, were racist in
their actions and beliefs. Some were slave owners. In August, McCown’s longspur
was officially reclassified as thick-billed longspur. Expect more such changes.
About 150 North American birds are named for people.
Checking my notes
I’ll remember 2020 for many things but the sweetest memories
involve birding. May 15 produced my finest day of backyard birding ever, with 47
species. One was a worm-eating warbler, only the second of my life! Northern
waterthrush also joined my all-time yard list that day.
Spotting a backyard “wormie” is hard to top, but finally getting
my lifer Kentucky warbler was my best birding moment. A big assist goes to Joan
Campbell for helping me find it at Greene Valley, where dozens of other birders
enjoyed it, too. Kentucky’s are not usually so cooperative! I guess it was just
my turn.
I read 33 books in 2020, the best one about birding being
Kenn Kaufman’s “A Season on the Wind.” Two more goodies wait on my nightstand: Sibley’s
latest, “What It’s Like to Be a Bird,” and Ted Floyd’s “How to Know the Birds.”
Best new beer? Piping Plover Pale Ale, of course, launched
by Imperial Oak Brewing (Willow Springs) in August. I’m raising one now, in a
toast. Here’s to 2020, a difficult year made better by exciting birds and fun
birding adventures. And to a brighter year ahead. Maybe I’ll see you in
Channahon.
Copyright 2020 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.