Winter Wren

 It starts with noticing

Watching and listening to birds deepens our connection with nature

(published 11-4-26)

My current favorite birding cap is a navy corduroy job with the words, “Easily Distracted by Birds.” It’s a popular phrase on t-shirts and bumper stickers, too.

It’s an even more popular affliction. The birdwatching hobby is growing, with about 96 million Americans engaged with birds on some level, based on a 2022 federal survey.

More people than ever are noticing birds, perhaps seeking a closer connection with nature, a proven mental health booster. Birds offer a highly accessible gateway.

Noticing is the key word here, reflected in my personal reading list and in bookstores nationwide. Big-time authors are urging us to exercise our curiosity gene and pay more attention to our surroundings. To be keener observers.

In October, I finished the new Richard Louv book, “Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World,” followed by Amy Tan’s “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” released in 2024. Earlier this year, I read “Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing,” by the actor Lili Taylor.

Noticing comes easy for birders. We’re always looking around, even when we shouldn’t be. I sometimes get scolded for it. But usually it’s okay, like last month on the practice putting green at Village Links in Glen Ellyn.

There I was, puttering around, waiting for my tee time, when an adult Bald Eagle performed a low flyover. I noticed it right away. I’m a birder. But the other guys around me did not. They were looking down, the usual posture when putting. I couldn’t help myself, calling out the bird so the others might have a look, too. They didn’t mind. One even thanked me for the pre-round birdie.

Being distracted by birds is part of golf for me. It doesn’t help my game, but it enhances my time on the course.

The putting green eagle preceded two other notable sightings in my own yard, also in October. Neither required the kind of “deep noticing” that Richard Louv advocates but I’ll accept credit for at least being alert.

Eastern Screech Owl by Mike Carroll

The first encounter began with the thump of bird hitting glass, a horrible sound. I looked outside our sliding glass doors (which do have anti-collision stickers) to see a tiny Winter Wren grounded on the bluestone patio, stunned from the impact.

I picked up the bird, intending to tuck it under a shrub so it might quietly recover. But almost upon touch it perked up, eyes changing from half-closed to fully open. It even hopped up my arm, a sensation I could barely feel from a bird the size and weight of a ping-pong ball. Moments later the wren flew off, resuming its southerly migration.

To say the bird made my day would be an understatement, though I regret the way we were introduced. Winter Wren is a rare visitor to our yard.

I’ve had even fewer home encounters with Eastern Screech-Owl, even though it’s a common species. In fact, until last month, I’d heard but never seen one on property.

It takes a little luck to see an owl, and I’d have missed this one if not for my new habit of bringing in our bird feeders at night. The task usually requires a flashlight—to see where I’m going and to avoid kicking a skunk. On October 22, my beam landed on an owl, perched on the ground about 20 feet from the feeding station. It was hunting, waiting for a juicy rodent to come searching for fallen seeds.

I knew instantly it was a screech-owl, the gray version (some are reddish). The owl flew up to a low tree branch, allowing an even better view, plus a lousy phone photo. My heart was beating a tick faster when I came back inside. Did I really just see that?

Until last month, I hadn’t detected a screech-owl in the yard since 2007. I know this from my trusty spiral notebook filled with yard data. It’s the closest I come to nature journaling, which Louv calls “the perfect tool for noticing.”

New books bear a common message: start taking
a closer look at the natural world.

Amy Tan demonstrates the practice beautifully. She is a brilliant writer, obviously, but it’s her sketches and margin notes that bring the "Bird Chronicles" to life. You can feel her joy, fascination, and boundless curiosity on the pages.

My humble notebook is mostly filled with lists and dates—certainly not a work of art. But the jottings are useful for tracking bird seasonality. Recording backyard visitors and overhead flyers throughout the year requires noticing, and over time you recognize patterns.

I note when the first junco arrives in the fall, and when the last hummingbirds and Chimney Swifts depart. I count warblers in the spring, and when conditions are right, conduct personal Big Days.

Naturally, I’m always on alert for a first-time yard species. What bird will be next? What will be the next surprise? I think about it way too much.

It’s one of my favorite things about birding, the anticipation. Something special can occur at any moment—in the field or at home. The trick is not to miss it.

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Taking her best shots

Geneva photographer Jackie Bowman is a birder on a joyful mission

Jackie Bowman, last year in Newfoundland.
Photo by Regina McNulty.

(published 10-9-26)

Extreme rarities are famous for luring birders into trains, planes, and automobiles. The prospect of a once-in-a-lifetime sighting is a powerful force.

But the hobby offers no guarantees. Rare bird chases, when successful, produce a birder’s version of the runner’s high—pure exhilaration served with a side of relief. The alternative, when the target bird goes AWOL, can be soul-crushing disappointment.

Geneva resident Jackie Bowman weighed the risk and decided to go for it, booking a flight to New Jersey along with her friend Nancy Schnaitman in early 2024. Her goal: see and photograph a wayward Red-flanked Bluetail, apparently blown off course from northern Europe. The bird was visiting a feeder inside a senior living community and could move on at any moment. 

Thankfully, the bluetail was still on view when Jackie arrived on site. Life bird No. 800 secured.

Fast forward to last June, in Adak, Alaska, where Jackie, again birding with Nancy, achieved her 800^th photographed bird, a Common Greenshank.

Common Greenshank, Jackie's 800th photographed species.

Birders never forget a milestone species: the number, the place, the person (or people) we were with. Taking no chances, Jackie’s upper right arm bears fresh ink depicting tail feathers of both the bluetail and greenshank.

The same appendage features artistic renderings of her 700^th lifer, a Blue-billed White Tern in Hawaii, and her 700^th photo bird, a Red-breasted Sapsucker in Seattle.

Being semi-retired, Jackie has the flexible work schedule every listing birder craves. She loves to travel, especially for birds. Husband Chris, a serious birder himself, ushered her into the hobby. Jackie latched on in a big way, with a particular focus on photography.

It began with a bird, of course, when she and Chris were vacationing at Badlands National Park in 2009. They spotted a Western Kingbird by a restaurant parking lot. It was not shy, virtually begging Jackie to raise her Nikon. The experience—followed by a photogenic family of Western Flycatchers in Custer State Park—made a large impression. She realized that taking pictures of birds could be challenging and fun, plus it paired up perfectly with Chris’s birding addiction, which had reignited in 2007.

This Western Kingbird, in Badlands National Park,
marked the beginning of Jackie's avian photo quest.

Gearing up for more

Predictably, Jackie was soon yearning for a long lens, since most birds are seldom as close and cooperative as those first ones in South Dakota. For guidance, she turned to her small network of birder/photographer friends.  

“The overwhelming advice,” she recalled, “was to buy the best and biggest that you think you can afford, and then maybe a little bit more, because you’ll never regret it.”

Jackie settled on 300mm that she remembers costing and weighing as much as a used car. She took up kitchen counter push-ups to build arm strength. Using a tripod, she found, limited her movement, a particular disadvantage when shooting birds in flight.

More equipment upgrades followed. Her current gear, acquired in 2022, is a Nikon Z9 mirrorless body with a matching 400mm lens. A 1.4 teleconverter brings her subjects even closer.

This photogenic Atlantic Puffin awaited Jackie in
Newfoundland in 2025.

It’s not unusual these days to see birders carrying enormous 600mm or even 800mm lenses in the field. Jackie prefers her 400mm for its manageable size and weight. She also likes using aperture priority (F8 or F9) as opposed to shooting in manual mode. “I really try to simplify my photography,” she said.

Jackie doesn’t consider herself a professional photographer and yet her images are on that level. She developed her skills through an online course and by hours of browsing on Flickr, studying the camera settings of bird and nature photographers whose work she admired. Most valuable, however, have been the tips received from fellow birders who also prioritize photography. Don Blecha, Vic Berardi, Rob Curtis and Nolan Lameka are among them.

Not all incoming advice is camera-related or technical. For example, Blecha, a former hunter, coached her on how to get closer to birds without disturbing them.

Another key to success, Jackie said, is to go where the birds raise their families.

“When they are on territory, they are calmer, they’re in a different mindset. Birds on migration are in a hurry and tend to be fidgety.”

Jackie's newest tattoo commemorates
her 800th lifer (Red-flanked Bluetail)
and 800th photographed species (Common 
Greenshank). Photo by Joe Pinto, the artist.

Have camera, will travel

Jackie has so far birded in 29 states and Newfoundland, the latter being a bucket-list trip with friends in 2025. Geographically, her birding and photography focus is the “ABA area,” which primarily includes the U.S. and Canada. ABA stands for American Birding Association, the preeminent membership organization for the hobby (aba.org).

The official ABA-area checklist currently shows 1,161 species. Jackie has seen 842 of them and photographed 815. Her photo total places in the top 10 of all ABA listers.

Adding birds to the portfolio isn’t easy. Jackie said she’d have to travel to the remote islands of Alaska and stay for weeks to shoot 20 new species and move up in rank.

“I don’t see myself doing that so for now it’s one bird at a time,” which explains that quickie trip to New Jersey. There were also two separate missions to Brownsville, Texas, also in early 2024, for a vagrant Fan-tailed Warbler. She got a glimpse of the bird on the second try but was unable to nab a photo.

Despite missing that shot, the Rio Grande Valley remains one of Jackie’s favorite birding destinations. She’ll be going back. However, she follows a rule: “no new trips until the last one is finished.” Her Nikon rips off 20 frames per second, so a birding trip can bring home 10 to 15 thousand images! Weeding through them to find the best shots can take weeks.

Butterflies are a favorite subject, too: Jackie shot this
Zebra Swallowtail in southern Illinois.

Jackie’s favorite bird is the Steller’s Jay, a western species. She’d love to see it more often but still appreciates the bird-rich Chicago region. Her Kane County list totals 302 species, her Illinois list 349. The numbers identify a birder who is always informed, and always up for a chase. Chris’s numbers are even higher.

The couple’s yard list is eye-popping, too: 172 species. When I visited, a Sandhill Crane they call Junior strolled by the patio.

Jackie’s rarest local bird came in 2014, a Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve in Geneva, discovered by Chris. About 150 birders enjoyed the epic bird, a bonus lifer for nearly all of them.

Treat yourself by visiting Nature’s Joy Photography, Jackie’s website and store. The well-named site is nicely organized and searchable, packed with remarkable bird, wildlife and nature images. Many have accompanied this column over the years, for which I am deeply grateful.

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

How long do birds live?

(published 9-6-26)

Large birds usually outlive small ones, but even hummingbirds 
lead surprisingly long lives considering their sky-high metabolisms
and perilous migrations.

When birds reach adulthood, they stop aging. Amazing! It’s yet another thing to admire about our feathered friends.

I’m kidding, of course. Birds do get older, but they don’t show it. A three-year-old cardinal looks just like a seven-year-old cardinal.

My scant knowledge of avian longevity was tested recently at a book talk. An audience member wanted to know how long birds live. I kind of knew there was no simple answer to the question. Pardon me, is there an ornithologist in the room?

After the event I did some digging. Curiosity is a birder’s friend.

Most wild birds do not live much beyond birth. First-year mortality is said to be around 75 percent. Juvenile birds are nearly defenseless against predators and lack experience in finding food and shelter.

For those that survive, life is challenging.

“If they make it to their first breeding season, songbirds generally have about a 50 percent chance of surviving each year,” wrote David Sibley in “What It’s Like to Be a Bird.”

With those odds, he said, only one songbird in a thousand lives to be 10 years old.

It’s fun to look up the old-age records for different species. We must keep in mind, however, that the longevity champions tend to be extreme outliers, such as the 26-year-old Blue Jay in the accompanying table. A list of average lifespans would be more useful but my search for one came up empty.

Expected lifespans vary significantly by bird families. In general, the larger the bird, the longer it lives. Raptors, for example, outlive warblers. Gulls outlive finches.

Why is this so? Larger birds have fewer predators and tolerate bad weather and food scarcity better than small species. Their lifestyles (and metabolisms) are slower paced, putting less stress on their bodies.

Birds with rigorous spring and fall migrations pay a price. Their long journeys are physically taxing and fraught with danger. On the other hand, nonmigratory birds must sometimes endure brutal winters and food shortages. Survival is a game of trade-offs, governed by evolution and perhaps increasingly by climate change.

This Piping Plover on Chicago's Montrose Beach
sported colored leg bands identifying her as "Rose."
The average lifespan for her species is about five
year. Photo by Jackie Bowman

Small birds, migratory or not, have a tougher time. So do species that live and nest on the ground—predation of eggs, chicks and adult birds is always a threat. Wild Turkeys are large birds but seldom live beyond five years. Hungry coyotes are always a threat.

Scientists concur that most birds, after reaching maturity, are long-lived given their size, activity levels, and the daily stress they endure. They generally outlive similarly sized mammals.

In “Methuselah’s Zoo,” author Steven Austad notes how birds have a knack for staying healthy throughout their lives. To help improve or extend human health, he thinks medical researchers should devote more resources to studying the remarkably slow aging process in birds.  

Banding—the placement of numbered or color-coded rings on the legs of birds by field ornithologists—accounts for much of what we know about avian lifespans. Few banded birds are ever seen again, unfortunately. But the ones that are recovered, observed, or recaptured can yield valuable data about habitat preferences, migratory patterns and longevity.

Thanks to banding, we know that the oldest known wild bird is a Laysan Albatross living on Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The legendary “Wisdom” was banded in 1956 as an adult, which makes her at least 75 years old. She was confirmed alive earlier this year.

"Cookie Cockatoo" was the last surviving 
member of Brookfield's original animal family,
established when the zoo opened in 1934.
Photo by Brookfield Zoo Chicago.

Birds that live and nest on islands live longer than mainland species. Banding records also reveal that seabirds with all-fish diets and living in tropical climates live longest. Albatrosses, shearwaters and frigatebirds are in this group.

Among the raptors, eagles, hawks and owls can live into their 20s and 30s.

Captive birds usually outlive wild ones. They benefit from a lack of predators, constant food supply, and medical care when needed.

You may remember (or even have met) the oldest bird on record, a Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo called Cookie who lived at Brookfield Zoo. He passed away in 2016 at age 83. Cookie’s name is in the Guinness World Records and on a park bench at the zoo.

My knowledge quest into the topic of bird longevity is not over. I’m still curious about some things. But if I’ve learned anything from this exercise it’s that birds age much differently than humans. They are incredibly resilient. Oh, and I probably need to eat more fish.

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Ideas for summer birding

(published 7-29-26)

This Loggerhead Shrike and its mate enjoyed nesting
success at Fermilab this summer. Photo by Chris George.

One of the best things about birding is that birds are everywhere. There’s always something to see. And as Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

The seasonality of birding, however, means that certain times of the year are better than others. It’s natural to feel a little let down when the daily excitement of spring migration winds down in early June.

July and August are typically a little slow. Songbirds are busy raising families. Most are quieter and harder to detect in the leafy trees. But never fear, excellent birding opportunities abound!

Here are some ideas to keep your bird on until fall migration revs up around Labor Day. You can do some of these things without even leaving home—another upside to birding.

 A Rufous Hummingbird perches on a Humm
Blossom feeder. Photo by Jackie Bowman.

Create a hummingbird haven. If you have hummingbirds visiting your garden or feeder, be thankful. Watch them all you can. Check your trees for a nest, too, although finding one is a longshot. The local Ruby-throated Hummingbird population gradually increases in summer as fledglings come of age. In fact, I find September to be the best month in terms of feeder activity. Be ready. Unless you have swarms of hummers, I recommend a low-capacity feeder that’s easy to clean. My favorite model is the 4-oz. Humm Blossom by Aspects. (Wild Birds Unlimited stores carry the same feeder marketed as the Mini High Perch.) Whatever feeder you choose, hang it in a shady spot, if possible, so the nectar stays fresh longer. Placing two feeders at least 20 feet apart can bring in more birds.

Go shorebirding. Fall migration is a longer, drawn-out process than spring migration. For some long-distance travelers it begins in July! I’m speaking of the shorebirds, including sandpipers, avocets, godwits, plovers, and assorted “peeps.” In late summer you’ll find them on beaches, sod farms, and fields where “fluddles” have formed.

This Red Knot visited Waukegan Beach in May,
Photo by Nat Carmichael.

The shores of Lake Michigan are a natural magnet, especially Chicago’s Montrose Point and Illinois Beach State Park in Lake County. In DuPage, Wood Dale/Itasca reservoir is a premier shorebird hotspot, along with the 83^rd Street wetland adjacent to Greene Valley Forest Preserve. Muirhead Springs in Kane County can also be productive. At the inland sites, birders scout for mudflats—prime feeding grounds for these birds with epic journeys ahead.

Pick an easy target. Shorebirds can be tricky to ID, but at least they are visible. Try pursuing other species that spend time in the open. In June I rode my bike to the sprawling ComEd facility in Lombard, to view nesting Monk Parakeets. I found a small group foraging on the ground and more birds at their nests. The Daily Herald recently featured the parakeets in a front-page story by Jake Griffin, which inspired my excursion.

One of the resident Monk Parakeets in Lombard. 
Photo by Mark Levesque.

The exotic birds are colonial nesters, making them easy to observe. Their green feathers, large size and loud voices also help!

The Purple Martin colony at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton is worth a stop, too. Catch them before they head south in early August.

Active rookeries of Great Blue Heron and Double-crested Cormorant are fascinating as well. In Chicago, you can observe a colony of Black-crowned Night Heron, a state-endangered species, on the grounds of Lincoln Park Zoo.

This summer, local birders have a special opportunity to view a rare visitor, Loggerhead Shrike, another endangered Illinois species. Fermilab in Batavia is hosting a nesting pair, first discovered in late March. Three fledglings were confirmed in June. The birds like to perch on the fence surrounding the bison pasture.

Find the birds of summer. Thankfully, not all birds go mute during the dog days. Take a walk in the woods, or along the edge of one, listening for Eastern Wood-Pewee, Indigo Bunting, Red-eyed Vireo, and Warbling Vireo. Try using Merlin, the free app, to help ID the birds you hear or to confirm your suspicions. Hopefully you’ll get eyes on the singers, too.

Hit the road. If you still have some gas money in your budget, consider a trip to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wis. It’s well worth the 175-mile drive. Get details at savingcranes.org.

If you travel to ICF, add a stop at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in Mayville. Nesting American White Pelicans should be there, and watch for Black-necked Stilt, Black Tern and Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Another bird-filled destination is Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, near Joliet. Bobolink and Dickcissel are almost a lock, and you could see Henslow’s Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird and Blue Grosbeak.

Migrating Common Nighthawks are a beloved August
spectacle for birders. Photo by Dave Irving.

Check the evening skies. Mid-August is one of my favorite times of the year, when we begin to see migrating Common Nighthawks during the last few hours of daylight. This species—not related to hawks—is an easy add to your yard list. Your driveway or any other spot with open sky above is all you need. Calm and clear conditions are best. The pointy-winged flyers will stream over through early September, sometimes in large groups. They’ll be gobbling insects to fuel their journeys to South America.

As if your summer to-do list isn’t long enough, here are a few more ideas:

• Visit the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center (formerly Willowbrook) in Glen Ellyn. The newly upgraded campus is a vital community resource treating thousands of injured birds and animals every year. There’s a trail for birding, too.
• Read “Return of the Oystercatcher,” an uplifting new book by Scott Weidensaul.
• Watch “Listers” on YouTube, a humorous inside look at birding culture.

One more, if you get the chance: Take a child on a short bird walk. Treat it like a treasure hunt, perhaps with a goal of finding 10 kinds of birds. Start a list. You might just light a fire.  

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.     

The 400 Club

Membership belongs to a select few Illinois birders

(published 6-10-26)

Birders crave "accidentals," like this Roseate Tern at
Illinois Beach State Park last month, a first-in-state
 record of the species. Photo by Matt Zuro.

How many times can I call in sick or leave work early without losing my job? It’s a question Bruce Heimer ponders with regularity. The Elmhurst electrician is a bird chaser. When a rare species is spotted in Illinois, one he hasn’t seen before, he’s out the door.

“Chasing” is a way of life for a select cadre of birders like Heimer who seek to grow their Illinois life list at every opportunity. Of those, a small number have equaled or surpassed 400 species—a challenging milestone that can take decades to achieve.

Membership in the so-called 400 Club is open to all, but so far fewer than 20 birders have joined. Because here’s the thing: When your Illinois list approaches 400 species, it’s hard to see anything new. Birders in such rarified air are lucky to add one or two species a year.

The Illinois official bird list totals 460 species. Of these, about 325 are “regular” in the state—generally found every year. Another 30 or so are rated “casual,” detected far less often.

That leaves about 100 species on the all-time list that are either extinct or “accidental.” Often the accidentals are first-time records, like the Great Kiskadee in Channahon in 2020, and the Broad-tailed Hummingbird in Champaign in 2023.

Roseate Tern joined the list of legendary sightings on May 23. About 75 birders hurried to Illinois Beach State Park that day to witness the vagrant seabird, an Illinois first.

For 400 Club members and wannabes, the accidentals are must-see birds. Fortunately, digital technology has made chasing them easier. The internet, smartphones, and free apps like Discord and eBird changed the game. Reports of an avian Elvis now arrive instantly.

Keeping score

Wauconda wonder: This Lazuli Bunting, a surprise
visitor from the West, was Illinois species No. 400
for two area birders and a life bird for dozens 
of spectators. Photo by Stephen Hurst.

Birders of all stripes document their progress on Listers Corner, a data repository on the Illinois Audubon Society website. The category to watch is “Illinois Life List.”  

The first person to report 400 species on Listers Corner did so in 2013. It’s likely, however, that several birders hit the mark sooner. We can’t know for sure, because not all birders choose to post their numbers.

We do know the 400 Club is growing. Listers Corner showed three people at 400 or more species in 2018. Today it’s about a dozen, with several birders peeking in the clubhouse window with Illinois life lists in the high 390s.

Two Chicago birders, Joe Lill and Geoff Williamson, joined the club in April thanks to a wayward Lazuli Bunting using a feeder in Wauconda. Homeowner Jan Merl welcomed birders to her yard to ogle the rare visitor, a western species.

The state’s top listers know each other well. They travel to the same places to get glimpses of the same elusive birds. Sometimes they arrive in the same vehicle, tamping down the notion that these birders are fierce rivals. The 400 Club members I contacted were all about the birds and just doing what they like to do.

Chicagoan Andy Sigler claims an Illinois life list of 420 species, and probably none is higher. A truly statewide birder, Sigler has observed at least 200 species in each of the 102 counties, itself a remarkable achievement.

This out-of-range Bewick's Wren, spotted near Chicago's 
Adler Planetarium in April, offered a rare viewing
opportunity. Photo by Marky Mutchler.

“I’m more interested in motivating myself than impressing other people,” Sigler said, explaining his listing pursuits. Besides, he said, building a big state list depends mostly on having no time constraints. “Four hundred is just a number . . . It doesn’t say anything about birding ability.”

Sigler cherishes the Ross’s Gull he discovered at Cook County’s Gillson Park in 1978, the first record in Illinois and only the third in the Lower 48.

Heimer, who considers Sigler a mentor, is newer to the game. He remembers being in the 400 Club for about two weeks after bagging a Chestnut-collared Longspur in Chicago in 2024. Then came the news that Hoary Redpoll would no longer count as a distinct species, dropping him back to 399. He regained 400 last year with a Cassin’s Kingbird in Lake County.

Reaching 400 Illinois birds was a singular goal for Heimer. For others, such as Bob Fisher, a Downers Grove birder, the milestone happens naturally over time.

Fisher and his late wife, Karen, traveled throughout Illinois for birds, a shared passion. On Listers Corner, they still lead the “Buddy List” category.

“It was about the adventure,” he said. “Four hundred was not a goal but an outcome because we enjoyed chasing [rare] birds.”

Midwest birders raced to Quincy in 2015 to see 
this ultra-rare Ivory Gull. Photo by Jackie Bowman.
 

A White-winged Dove in Kane County was Fisher’s 400^th Illinois bird and he’s since added 10 more. Karen’s total, preserved on Listers Corner, was 386 when she passed away in 2018.

Border games

Ornithological research sometimes results in changes to the official list of countable birds. European Goldfinch, for example, was declared a countable Illinois species in 2024. Birders who had already seen one got to add a bird to their life list without even leaving home. But it can go the other way, too, as with Hoary Redpoll.

Listing rules can be as quirky as the hobby itself, but birders follow a code of honor that ensures fair play. In the case of geographic borders, another human creation, listing can turn almost comical.

Joel Greenberg, a 400-clubber from Westmont, recalls a trip to the Ohio River to add Least Tern. He witnessed several but had to wait until the birds crossed the northern bank to count them as Illinois birds. The river’s airspace, he knew, is considered Kentucky.

From end to end, Illinois runs about 400 miles—a fitting distance for birders in the 400 Club, who endure long road trips routinely. Greenberg’s Ohio River experience came just after he’d driven 350 miles to check off Bachman’s Sparrow in Johnson County.

This Lewis's Woodpecker, an Illinois first, shocked
feeder watchers at Ballard Nature Center
near Effingham, in 2019. Photo by Leroy Harrison.

Although Steve Bailey now lives in Mundelein, he’s thankful that for many years his home base was Danville. Starting from east-central Illinois often helped minimize his rare bird chase miles.

Bailey fondly recalls some amazing Illinois visitors, even keeping a side list of his 38 “best birds.” Among them are Ancient Murrelet, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Northern Wheatear. He’s proud of the Curlew Sandpiper he discovered in 1986 while checking a remnant prairie pothole in Vermilion County.

Al Stokie also knows the exhilaration of finding a “mega.” He’ll never forget the Ivory Gull he spotted on a Christmas Bird Count in 1991, at Montrose Point in Chicago. “It’s the only really rare bird that I actually found myself,” Stokie said. To his relief, fellow birders soon verified the gull.

Some birds get away. When that happens, avid listers feel the pain of missing what can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Cindy Alberico, a Crest Hill resident, chased the state’s first Painted Redstart in 2022. She was on the scene at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Lake County, but the one-day-wonder ghosted her.

“It was hot and buggy and after slogging through those woods for about forever I finally convinced myself that it just wasn’t worth it. I still regret it.”

Alberico’s pursuit, it must be noted, was compromised by a bum shoulder she’d recently dislocated. Her memory brightens when recounting the Gyrfalcon she discovered in LaSalle County, in 2003, and a Black-backed Woodpecker finally viewed in Will County, in 1986. “I think I looked for that bird five or six times before I got it.”

Persistence is right up there with time and a full tank of gas when noting the essential assets of our state’s most prolific bird listers. A treasure hunter’s mentality comes in handy, too.

Members of the 400 Club, present and future, are standing by, eager to chase down our state’s next history-making bird.   

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Finding your wings as a birder

(published 4-22-26)

The welcoming nature of birding contributes to 
its growing popularity. About 96 million Americans
watch birds, based on a 2022 federal survey--more
than double the number in 2016!

Returning readers know that I am mega-thankful for birding. As in, let-me-list-the-ways thankful. The list is real, and it keeps growing, my latest entry being “lifer dances and Lifer Pie.” Birding has a silly side.

Today I’m pondering yet another thing I love about birding, its accessibility. Entry barriers are few: anyone can enjoy the hobby on some level, in their own way.

I’ve read articles lately about how blind people are birding. So are people who can’t walk or even go outside. The hobby is open to all. It helps, of course, that birds are everywhere. We only need to look and listen.

These thoughts fluttered through my thankful head last month after returning from an exciting week of “target birding” in Southern California. It was a brand of dawn-to-dusk birdwatching I only do a few times a year—visiting new places, chasing down regional specialties, adding birds to my life list, and sharing the experience with strangers who quickly become friends.

Back home in Glen Ellyn, I still had a challenge to meet. As mentioned here before, my goal was to see or hear 25 species in the yard between New Year’s Day and the first day of spring. I tried this in 2025 and failed badly. On the bright side, one of my 18 species was a flyover Bald Eagle, not an easy yard bird.

Trying new experiences helps us discover what aspects of 
birding we enjoy most, a process I call "finding our wings."
My wife took this photo of me in Palm Springs, Calif.

This year I aced the test, tallying 28 species thanks to final week visitations by Blue Jay, American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow and Brown-headed Cowbird. Sandhill Cranes were in the air, too. The only expected bird I missed was Great Horned Owl.

(To review, a “yard bird” is any bird seen or heard when you have at least one foot on your property. That means you can count birds high in the sky or perched in a tree down the street. A “yardie” is any new addition to your yard list. Sometimes, a yardie is also a lifer, like my first Pine Siskin in 1998.)

Completing my winter yard challenge was a kick. I worked at it, looking and listening more closely. I also put an old tactic to work, tossing handfuls of mixed seed on the ground in strategic places. It paid off, even though it killed me to make life easier for the House Sparrows and squirrels. I’m continuing the practice this spring in hopes of enticing a Brown Thrasher or Eastern Towhee.  

This is all to say that birding offers many ways to have fun. Seeing a bunch of new birds in California was a blast, but so was upping my yard game during winter’s final days. Home or away, I’m a happy birder.

I hope that goes for you, too. But besides a happy one, what kind of birder are you? What kind of birding do you enjoy most? What kinds of bird-related activities bring you joy? It’s worth considering.

I confess to getting carried away writing about lifers and listing milestones and Big Days and Big Years and rare bird chases and stakeouts—aspects of the hobby that interest me. But I appreciate that no two birders are alike.

All birders do not arise at 5 a.m. All do not use the Merlin app. Some don’t even keep a life list. Imagine that!

Birding offers myriad pathways for engaging with 
the hobby. The ones we choose shape us as birders
and define our connection with birds.

We need all kinds of birders, from extreme and serious to casual and part-time. Young and old. Able-bodied and physically challenged.

Members of our tribe have much in common, of course, starting with curiosity about birds. We also share a desire to connect with nature. Birding provides that connection, which is good therapy these days.

How you engage with the hobby is personal. Birding can be as challenging or as easy as we care to make it. That’s part of what makes it so accessible.

Whatever approach you choose, there’s nothing wrong with having a routine. Bird on, and bird as you wish. It’s all good! But I urge you to keep an open mind about new birding experiences. You might uncover different aspects of the hobby that make it even more fulfilling.

For me, that’s been writing, giving talks, supporting bird conservation, and traveling to new places. For others it could be photography, studying migration, or leading field trips.

It can take a while to find our wings, but we gradually identify what kind of birders we are or aspire to be. If we’re lucky, as I believe all birders are, it’s a journey of discovery that never ends.

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

SoCal birding trip strikes avian gold

California Condors by Joe Demko

(published 3-25-26)

You know it’s a big and important bird festival when you stroll through the exhibit hall and see other bird festivals hosting tables. If you like this festival, you’ll like ours too! Let us show you some new birds! That’s the basic pitch, and it applies to the birding tour companies on exhibit as well.

Birders, when not outside watching birds, can be observed inside plotting their next big trip. I was one of them last month, attending the 30^th annual San Diego Bird Festival. The display belonging to Canopy Tower and Lodge held me captive (by choice) for 15 minutes. Panama is high on my travel wish list.

Adam Sell (left) and Josh Engel

California was in my dreams last fall when I registered for the festival and a pre-festival adventure with Red Hill Birding, a 10-year-old Chicago-based tour company. The five-day “Condors & Corvids” tour would visit habitats north of Los Angeles to experience special birds not found in the San Diego area.

Red Hill founder Josh Engel and Adam Sell guided our group of 12, leading us to well-scouted birding hot spots in two extra-tall passenger vans. Often the less scenic spots paid off too, such as our first pullover, a rest area just north of San Diego. The prize, my lifer Allen’s Hummingbird, proved again that for birders a bathroom break can be productive in more ways than one.

Refreshed, we continued north in search of our first major target species, California Condor. The guides knew exactly where to go, of course, a key reason for hiring a tour company. But even with huge birds like condors, sightings are never guaranteed.

We got lucky. Really lucky. Four of the majestic flyers materialized in the high hills of Los Angeles County, a site Josh and Adam had been monitoring via eBird in recent days. Condors glided directly over us, close enough to read their numbered tags. Then they came back and did it again. To say the least, the show surpassed our expectations. Did Red Hill train these birds?

Yellow-billed Magpie by Albert Lau-Chang

I’d seen California Condors once before, by myself, at the Grand Canyon. Seeing them this time was even better because I was sharing the experience with new birding friends, all of us appreciating the rare spectacle above.

California Condor once came within an eyelash of extinction and is critically endangered. We visited the “hack site” where the first condors from a controversial captive-breeding program were reintroduced to the wild in 1991. Four years prior, the population numbered just 27 birds, all in captivity. About 300 condors are flying free today.

Our condor quest complete, we turned to the family of birds known as corvids, which includes crows, ravens and jays. Common Raven was ubiquitous throughout our tour. But the corvids we most coveted were two California endemics: Island Scrub Jay and Yellow-billed Magpie. Both are found nowhere else in the world.

Island Scrub Jay by Joe Demko

The magpie occupies a wide swath of central California. We encountered several along a country road in Santa Barbara County. Yellow-billed Magpie is a handsome bird, large and vocal like its black-billed cousin. With my most-wanted trip species secured, I breathed easier as the vans headed west toward the Pacific.

In the morning we boarded a tour boat in Ventura Harbor for a one-hour ride to Santa Cruz Island, part of Channel Islands National Park and the exclusive home of Island Scrub Jay. The bird practically greeted us upon arrival, as did the endemic Island Fox, a cutie no bigger than a house cat.

Allen's Hummingbird by Dexter Patterson

Back on the mainland, a few harder-to-find species tested the “fieldcraft” of our guides. The guys met the challenge, delivering good views of LeConte’s Thrasher, Bell’s Sparrow, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, and Tricolored Blackbird. Three memorable raptors—Golden Eagle, White-tailed Kite and Prairie Falcon—added to our bounty.

I was impressed with Red Hill (redhillbirding.com). Adam and Josh excelled at efficient bird-finding, applying their experience and next-level ID skills. They hustled, too. It’s amazing how fast a professional guide can stop a vehicle, set up a spotting scope, and get a bird in view for clients. It’s an underrated superpower.  

Southern California supports an array of “exotic” or non-native bird species. We located two at Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino: Red-whiskered Bulbul and Yellow-chevroned Parakeet. The bulbul is a looker with a song to match. I’d searched for it before, in Miami, without success.

The Red Hill tour ended back in San Diego, 143 total species later and just in time for opening night at the festival. I crashed early, anticipating the next day’s “Birding on the Border” field trip, key targets being California Gnatcatcher (yes) and Ridgway’s Rail (another happy yes).

On the Mexican border, watching California Gnatcatchers

Before leaving town, I had some free time at the hotel on Mission Bay. Fellow birders told me they’d seen Swinhoe’s White-eye on the grounds, a tiny non-native with a fast-growing local population. With coffee in hand, I began looking around. Soon, a yellowish comet landed about 30 feet away. Stay there, stay there, hold still . . . wow, that bird is wearing little white goggles!

Somehow I’d found a bird on my own, a lifer no less. I savored this modest achievement before heading to the airport, concluding my own “biggest week” well before the first day spring. It felt like cheating.

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Bird Joy podcasters Dexter Patterson (left)
 and Jason Hall

Listen up: 10 podcasts for birders

(published 2-18-26)

Until recently, listening to a podcast was a now-and-then thing for me. Now I can’t get enough. Podcasts about birds and birding are my new toy.

Getting hearing aids was a catalyst. When I reluctantly acquired them in 2024, I didn’t appreciate their full utility. I knew that I might hear the birds a little better but using the aids as a wireless connection to my smartphone was a bonus. Accessing music and podcasts via Spotify is easy. Why wasn’t I doing this sooner?

Below is an annotated list of my favorite shows so far, a solid 10-pack. I’m trying my best to keep up with new episodes and play ones I missed. Interviews with birding community personalities and authors are my biggest weakness.

The American Birding Podcast, produced every Thursday by the American Birding Association, features newsy updates and lively bird chat with expert guests. ABA’s Nate Swick, host of the podcast from its beginning in 2016, is engaging and properly obsessed. Recent show topics: best bird books of 2025; inside the success of Cornell’s Merlin app; and a brief-but-fun segment about weird bird stuff inside our homes. Episodes start with a rare bird report, reminding us of birding’s unpredictability.

Talkin’ Birds stands apart from other podcasts because it begins as a live radio program every Sunday morning. Ray Brown, the affable host, started the 30-minute show in 2006. And it really is a “show,” complete with commercials, sound effects, and regular features like Featured Feathered Friend and a brief Q&A with Mike O’Connor from Bird Watcher’s General Store. The heart of each episode is Ray’s interview with a special guest, a role I was honored to fill in November. Talkin’ Birds sends out a conservation vibe that further unites the show’s loyal community of listeners.

Mindful Birding podcasters Holly Thomas (left)
and Holly Merker

The Mindful Birding Podcast promotes the wellness benefits of watching birds. It’s a warm, generous, and calming program that might just change your approach to the hobby. Hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas, along with well-chosen guests, discuss the importance of slowing down and fostering a heightened “in the moment” awareness of birds and nature. Get started at themindfulbirdingnetwork.com.

The Bird Joy Podcast, started in 2024, is perfectly named. Enthusiastic hosts Dexter Patterson, based in Madison, and Jason Hall, from Philadelphia, share a joyful message about getting outside, birding as we wish, and sharing nature with others. Importantly, they are helping expand the hobby in non-white communities with honest conversations about equal access and inclusivity. This show presents birding as a connector with life-changing potential, where we are all “homies” with a common bond.

Life List: A Birding Podcast is a freewheeling, loosely structured biweekly conversation between three prominent birders: George Armistead, Alvaro Jarmillo, and Mollee Brown. All three guide worldwide birding tours so travel is a regular theme. The podcast, now in year six, is lighthearted and “proudly nerdy” as advertised. The well-connected hosts also attract all-star guests. A recent episode with the filmmaking brothers behind “Listers” is required listening.

Will Keller (left) and Caleb Putnam 

I didn’t know about The Real Birding Podcast until recently and I’m glad I found it! The hosts, who mostly call each other “dude,” are Will Keller (perched in North Carolina) and Caleb Putnam (in Michigan). Their birdy banter is a nice mix of entertainment and education with useful tips. I like their forays into birding culture, such as a recent episode about social media’s impact on the hobby (and the Discord app in particular). This is also a video podcast so, if you wish, you can watch the boys talk shop.

Backyard birders should check out Nature Centered from the retail chain Wild Birds Unlimited. Podcast host Brian Cunningham delivers professional advice on upping your yard game to develop a closer connection with birds and nature. The show is not overly commercial despite its connection with WBU. Recent guests were authors Amy Tan (“The Backyard Bird Chronicles”) and Holly Merker (“Ornitherapy”).

Warning: the Spark Bird Podcast is addictive. Actually, so are the other podcasts mentioned here. But this one is all interviews with people inside the birding community, some quite famous. Hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally start by having each guest describe how they got into birding. The “spark stories” alone are interesting and the follow-up conversations often reinforce how birds can become a career focus and lifelong passion. The podcast extends The Spark Bird Project, a community science initiative headed by Lodi-Smith and supported by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, N.Y. You can register your own spark bird story at spark-bird.org.

Hannah and Erik Go Birding is a practical resource for birders who travel. The hosts—a bird-obsessed married couple from coastal Oregon—love a fun adventure, not to mention good food and local beer. Their podcast, born in 2018, usually recaps a recent trip to a birding festival (where they serve as guides) or some other birding hotspot. Hannah operates two other excellent podcasts under the Go Birding umbrella: Bird Nerd Book Club and Women Birders Happy Hour.   

Finally, for a quick fix, BirdNote Daily is essential. The two-minute public radio show aims to “give listeners a momentary respite from the news of the day,” delivering inspired storytelling about birds and conservation. You are guaranteed to learn something. Miss today’s piece on NPR? No worries, just cue the podcast where you can play multiple episodes back-to-back. BirdNote’s logo, a Varied Thrush, reflects the show’s Seattle origin in 2005. Now it’s heard around the world.

Happy listening, and I hope a few of these podcasts become a regular part of your birding life.

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.