 |
author’s yard on May 15, a day when birders throughout the region enjoyed fallout conditions. Photo by Jackie Bowman. |
(published 6-23-20)
Almost three inches of hard rain can make a mess of a newly
mulched landscape. I saw this when stepping into my backyard on May 15. But
mulch wasn’t the only thing that migrated during the night. The yard was messy
with warblers, too.
You could feel it. Something special was happening—in my
yard, on my block and throughout the entire region, I’d find out later. The heavy
storms had triggered an avian fallout.
Cleaning up the lawn could wait. I’d been waiting for this all
spring. Stay at home order? No problem!
The first big surprise was a northern waterthrush, a streaky,
ground-loving member of the warbler family. My little patch of Glen Ellyn
offers nothing this bird typically prefers. In the prime of spring migration, however,
almost anything is possible.
The waterthrush joined my all-time yard list as species No.
119.
Flashier warblers were all around: Blackburnian, chestnut-sided,
bay-breasted, pine, Cape May and American redstart. Baltimore orioles and
rose-breasted grosbeaks at the feeders would be all-day companions.
An ovenbird joined the party, another terrestrial warbler
named for its Dutch oven-shaped nest. It walks like a miniature chicken. A
great-crested flycatcher called “wheep!” from above as a yellow-throated vireo
foraged nearby. Higher still, chimney swifts glided on stiff wings, adding
their chittering notes to the morning’s natural soundtrack. (Conditions were
far too wet, fortunately, for the neighborhood landscape crews to power up
their lawn mowers and leaf blowers.)
A nice thrush triple-crown featured gray-cheeked, Swainson’s
and veery. Robins are thrushes, too, so make that a grand slam.
 |
Winfield. The species, while not colorful, is a rare visitor to northern Illinois. Photo by Andrew Steinmann |
At 9 a.m. my heart almost stopped when a worm-eating warbler
appeared in the lilac bush—only the second one I’d ever seen. No. 120!
Sharing my backyard “wormie” with friends would have added
to the experience. It’s a coveted, hard-to-find species in northern Illinois.
Alas, in a few minutes my special visitor moved on.
Thrill-seeking birders willing to leave home did have a
chance to see a worm-eating warbler at two locations on May 3: Elsen’s Hill,
part of the West DuPage Woods Forest Preserve in Winfield; and Les Arends
Forest Preserve in Batavia.
A couple of even rarer warblers made appearances this
spring. Townsend’s warbler, a western species, turned up at Deer Grove Forest
Preserve in Cook County on April 16, discovered by Heidi Tarasiuk. The bird
stayed for 10 days, enabling dozens of watchers to extend their life lists.
On May 18, a Kirtland’s warbler surprised a birding group at
Bennett Park in Geneva. Reported by Bob Andrini, possibly the first Kirtland’s ever
found in Kane County.
Scattered reports of cerulean, Connecticut, hooded, Kentucky
and yellow-throated warblers also kept local birders on the go—with proper
social distancing, of course.
The Kentucky warbler at Greene Valley Forest Preserve
(Naperville) on May 24 was my lifer, ending a long quest filled with rotten
luck and near misses. Mike Madsen made the initial find but it was Joan
Campbell who alerted me to the opportunity. I owe her a nice bottle of wine.
 |
male Kentucky warbler at Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville. Photo by Matthew Studebaker |
Mostly I stayed home this spring, watching my backyard like
a hungry Cooper’s hawk. In fact, if not for COVID-19, I’d have been at work on that
Freaky Friday fallout and missed a lot of the show. It was not a morning-only
phenomenon; warblers and other newly arrived migrants were hopping around in
the trees all day.
By sunset I’d counted 47 species, six more than my previous one-day
best. Fifteen of the 47 were warblers, two of which were first-time visitors
during my running yard watch of 23 years.
Coincidentally, I’d agreed to do a Zoom interview that day with
Naperville Community Television, for a story on backyard birding during the
pandemic. At noon, I calmed down enough to speak with the reporter, Aysha
Househ, who asked, “What do you like most about birdwatching?”
Good question! I could have answered it 10 different ways
but with that worm-eating warbler fresh on my mind I talked about the surprises
that birding brings, and how you never know what might pop into view. Every day,
there’s always the chance of seeing something remarkable. Even in your backyard.
Copyright 2020 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.