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| Keriann Dubina leading some warbler watchers at Elsen's Hill |
"FullersBird Fridays" program showcases local forest preserves when the birding is best
(published 7-6-18)
The first thing you should know about Keriann Dubina is that
she likes brown-headed cowbirds. In fact, she’s a local authority on the species
that most birders love to hate.
She goes against the birdwatching grain further by choosing
not to keep a life list, and she’s not inclined to put her life on hold to
chase a rare bird.
But don’t get the wrong idea. Dubina is a birder to the core,
and more importantly she’s nurtured a lot of new birders since joining the
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County as a full-time naturalist in 2011.
Her main tool of introduction is FullersBird Fridays, a series
of weekly walks in the spring and fall that began in 2005 and quickly developed
a loyal following. Dubina began leading the walks in 2012, which at that time
were conducted only at Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook, where she is based.
Three years ago, the series branched out, taking birders to
a different preserve every week.
“We see more kinds of birds now that we move around,” Dubina
told me, “plus it’s a chance for us to showcase different preserves.”
The idea is brilliantly simple, tailored to those who enjoy
organized bird walks in a variety of places. FullersBird Fridays provide the
gentle push we sometimes need to go somewhere new and meet other birders.
Dubina and her colleagues have led walks at 22 DuPage County
forest preserves since the show hit the road. Meacham Grove, in Bloomingdale,
joined the rotation this spring.
The DuPage system features 60 preserves. Some are considered
better for birding than others, but there will always be plenty of choices.
When I chatted with Dubina for this column, we’d just finished a walk at St. James Farm in Warrenville. Among the avian highlights that morning were several orchard orioles. This reinforced her point about the value in surveying different properties. “We never see orchards at Fullersburg,” she said.
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| Orchard Oriole by CR Courson |
On the first or second Friday in May her choice is always the
Elsen’s Hill section of West DuPage Woods near Winfield, a perennial hotspot
for migrating warblers. The final spring walk goes to Springbrook Prairie in
Naperville, a fine place for spotting grassland birds after the warbler wave of
early and mid-May.
Springbrook is high on Dubina’s list of favorite preserves, given
her fondness for prairie habitat. She also likes St. James, McDowell Grove (Naperville)
and Waterfall Glen in Darien, where she once enjoyed walks with her
grandfather.
Dubina grew up in Lockport—and with birds. Her father worked
at Brookfield Zoo, on the business side, and members of the household included exotic
parrots. Young Keriann took a liking to wild birds, too, especially the common loons
she encountered during summer trips to northern Wisconsin. If forced to name a
“spark bird,” she’d go with those northern divers.
The cowbird thing happened later in life, at Western
Illinois University. Dubina first earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology, taking
an ornithology class along the way and learning to bird by ear. She stayed on
at WIU for a master’s in ornithology, focusing on bird behavior. Her thesis?
The egg destruction behavior of the brown-headed cowbird.
I attended a lecture by Dubina in 2013 about cowbird truths
and myths. Her talk was fascinating, and I’ve thought about the species
differently ever since.
“It’s funny how emotional people get about cowbirds,” said
Dubina, who appreciates the complex natural history of the brood parasite far better
than most of us.
Don’t worry, if you attend a FullersBird Friday you won’t get
lectured about cowbirds. What you will get is a guided birding tour of a local
forest preserve that’s likely dripping with resident and migratory birds. It might
well be a place you’ve known about for years but never visited. The company
will be friendly, the scenery interesting and the potential for surprise
sightings high. Just ask the Herrick Lake birders who on April 20 watched a
flock of 16 American white pelicans wheel over their heads.
The two-hour FullersBird walks are well-suited to new
birders. They average about 20 participants and some are regulars. Those registering
in advance pay a $3 fee, which feels like a donation. Walk-ons contribute $5.
The fall edition of FullersBird Fridays begins on August 31
at St. James Farm. Check dupageforest.org for the complete schedule and to
register for one or more walks.
Copyright 2018 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2018 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.