Gem collector
(published 8-13-25)
Denis Kania by Diann Bilderback |
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Bee Hummingbird by Manakin |
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Marvelous Spatuletail by George Scott |
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Snowcap by Jiri Vlach |
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Coppery-headed Emerald by Mike Warner |
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird by CarolinaBirdman |
Jeff Reiter's newspaper column about birds, birding and birders, appearing in the Daily Herald (west suburban Chicago). Hatched in 2004!
Gem collector
Denis Kania by Diann Bilderback |
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Bee Hummingbird by Manakin |
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Marvelous Spatuletail by George Scott |
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Snowcap by Jiri Vlach |
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Coppery-headed Emerald by Mike Warner |
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird by CarolinaBirdman |
DuPage Birding Club going strong at 40 years
(published 6-25-25)
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Celebrating 40: Club members gathered to bird and picnic at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville on June 14. |
I’d be overstating things to say the club changed my life.
But it certainly elevated my involvement with birdwatching, a pursuit I’d begun
taking seriously just before migrating to suburbia.
Through DBC I rapidly learned more about birds and made new
friends. By attending the club’s bird walks, I became a better birder, spotting
birds I never knew were possible and exploring the region’s best places to find
them. Before long I was sharing the hobby with others by leading walks and
writing this column.
I guess you can tell I’m thankful for the club’s formation
40 years ago.
It was late 1984 when a dozen birders gathered in a College
of DuPage classroom to discuss the idea of starting a club. At a second
meeting, also at COD, the name DuPage Birding Club was chosen, and club bylaws were
adopted. The date was January 14, 1985. Within two years the club boasted 109
members. Membership today surpasses 350.
Club records list 23 founding members, and nearly half are still
active. I contacted several of them and other long-time members to collect
their thoughts about the club on its 40th anniversary. How, I asked,
does DBC survive and continue to grow? And
what makes it special?
Invariably, club veterans point to those bylaws. From the
beginning, club rules ensured a rotating leadership team, supporting the notion
that new leaders bring new ideas. DBC presidents, for example, may only serve
one year. Board members also have limited terms.
Innovation encouraged
Diann Bilderback, a two-time past president, credits the
planned turnover for keeping DBC fresh. In just the last few years, she said, “New
leaders have introduced a YouTube education channel with almost 90 tutorials, a
book club, an online Birding Adventures series for travelers, and novel field
trips such as Bike ‘n Bird, bird sits and evening outings.”
Bringing good ideas to fruition takes a small army of
volunteers, a key ingredient in DBC’s secret sauce. About 50 members regularly
devote their time and talents. Jobs include planning and leading field trips, giving
talks at schools and libraries, booking guest speakers, organizing events like
club picnics, maintaining the website (dupagebirding.org), and publishing the
monthly newsletter. Serving on the club’s board of directors implies an even
deeper commitment, and yet new hands go up every year.
“I look at the role of president as a great opportunity for
whoever takes the reins,” added Denis Kania, a founding club member and birding
instructor at Morton Arboretum for 29 years.
Kania was DBC’s president in 2020. The club responded quickly
and responsibly to the pandemic, conducting meetings via Zoom and taking the needed
steps to enable bird walks to continue.
The YouTube tutorials began during this time. Kania narrates
most of them, sharing information and tips about birding basics, binoculars, migration,
helping birds, birding by ear, bird ID, and other topics. Homebound birders had
plenty to watch and learn from, and the excellent videos continue to draw
viewers.
Club membership hit record highs during the pandemic years
as public demand for safe, outdoor activities skyrocketed. Fascination with
Merlin, the sound ID app from Cornell, also ushered new birders into the hobby.
Birding was suddenly cool!
It still is, of course, and DBC membership remains well
above pre-Covid levels. The club is ever mindful, however, that birders have
options.
“With so many online educational and social media resources
available, a bird club is just one of many ways to connect with the birding
community and learn about birds, which was not the case in 1985 when DBC was
founded,” said Bilderback. “But bird clubs do one thing better than online
resources: they provide the social network that enhances the birding
experience. It’s fun to bird with others, share experiences, and learn from
each other.”
Seeing more birds, together
Most DBC members, I believe, would agree that organized
field trips are the club’s main attraction. About 100 are offered per year,
plus special field days like the Christmas Bird Count.
DBC offers about 100 guided field trips per year. |
Current club president Thelma Hulka well remembers her
earliest field trips with DBC, more than 20 years ago. She was a fledgling
birder and happy for some expert company.
“I think one of the main strengths of the club is that
members are welcoming to new birders,” Hulka said. “On any walk, if a new
person is there, you’ll hear the regulars offering up pointers and
encouragement. Birders are just nice people!”
Bob Fisher and his late wife Karen were Hulka’s mentors,
taking her under their wings as she put it.
DBC schedules frequent outings to birding hot spots throughout the region and beyond. Last month, 20 club members attended the Biggest Week in American Birding, a major festival near Toledo, Ohio. Last year the club traveled to Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin.
DBC’s regular meetings (eight per year) provide additional
opportunities for socializing and learning. Featured guest speakers are generally
from the Chicago region, but the club occasionally imports a nationally known
“rock star.” Famous visitors have included George Archibald, Pete Dunne, Kenn
Kaufman, Sandy Komito, Phoebe Snetsinger, Don and Lillian Stokes, and Scott
Weidensaul.
Field guide authors Don and Lillian Stokes visited DBC in 2011. |
Meaningful motto
Nearly all DBC events are “open door,” with nonmembers welcome
to attend. This year, in what must be kismet, the club adopted a new home for meetings:
the College of DuPage, where it all began in 1985, in a much smaller room. Meetings
previously took place in the basement of Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn,
for the past 30-plus years.
Birding is fun, and the joy it delivers is primary to DBC
and other clubs in the region (see chart below). But the hobby has a serious side,
too, reflected in DBC’s motto, Birding with a Purpose. Members are encouraged
to get involved with projects that benefit birds, such as nest-season
monitoring and other “citizen science” activities. Raising public awareness about
birds and how to help them is another priority.
The club’s Grants & Donations program earmarks about
$3,000 annually for student scholarships and conservation projects. Funding comes
from member dues ($20/year), private donations and a popular auction event held
every two years.
This happens to be an auction year! Plan to attend on October
9, 2025. All are welcome—DBC membership is not required. It’ll
be a fun night and your chance to take home birding gear, bird art, books, gift
baskets, special field trip experiences, raffle prizes and more.
Visit dupagebirding.org for more information about Auction
Night, field trips and how to join the club.
Copyright 2025 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
Birding on the border
South Texas festival delivers special birds and
experiences for all who attend
(published 4-23-25)
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Birding at King Ranch in Kingston, Texas |
Last November’s RGVBF was the 31st annual, an
amazing run. Few festivals surpass it for longevity. Few if any can match it
for hospitality, organization and scope. It’s an extraordinary production
driven by more than 100 volunteers and supported by the City of Harlingen,
Texas, which clearly values ecotourism. I was among 526 paid attendees.
Green Jay by Stephen Pollard |
In fact, shortly after landing I was checking Green Jay and Plain Chachalaca off my life list at Hugh Ramsey Nature Center in Harlingen. The brief solo visit was my festival appetizer.
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Great Kiskadee by Trinity Swan |
Festival days are long and yet end too soon. You’re on a
birding bender with like-minded friends, most of them new.
Registration begins in August, with birders locking in their
preferred field trips. The options are numerous—more than 150 trips—and as a
first-timer I felt a bit overwhelmed. Thankfully,
Tracy Zervos came to my rescue. The festival registrar (a Wheaton native!) helped
me select five outings that in combination would maximize bird variety. Her guidance
was invaluable.
The birds, fellow birders, and birding venues set the field
trips apart. Every day was exciting and memorable. A few highlights:
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Ringed Kingfisher by Dedick Hail |
After the boat tour we stopped at Quinta Mazatlan, a 20-acre urban sanctuary in McAllen. Highlights included Clay-colored Thrush, Olive Sparrow and Buff-bellied Hummingbird. Butterflies were a big attraction here, too, including Mexican Bluewing, my new favorite. The National Butterfly Center is just down the road in Mission and is home to the Texas Butterfly Festival, also in November.
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Kenn Kaufman |
Big Day competition. The record shows that I was on the winning seven-person team, with a head-spinning 158 species seen or heard between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. across Hidalgo and Cameron Counties. To be fair, the record should also note that I was surely the least valuable team member. But what an experience—Alex and Chris, pro guides from Wildside Nature Tours, were outstanding. Their advance scouting, local knowledge, and brilliant ID skills keyed our victory. I’m still wondering how they found that cryptic Common Pauraque resting on leaf litter at Estero Llano Grande State Park. The bird, similar to a whip-poor-will, was difficult to spot from just 10 feet away, even when pointed out!
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Altamira Oriole by Patti Langen |
Parrot Palooza! Yes, this was the actual name of a popular late-afternoon outing in Harlingen. Turns out the city is home to colorful flocks of roving Green Parakeets and Red-crowned Parrots. Our group found the parakeets (about 30) on the wires outside a Whataburger and got funny looks from customers in the drive-through. The good smells tempted us to place orders of our own. But we needed to move on to the next stop, a church parking lot across town.
There, like magic, 80 parrots arrived at their roost within two minutes of when our leader predicted they would. Watching (and hearing) them come in was a fun ending to the day.
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Roosting Great-tailed Grackles in Harlingen |
Before closing I must mention the Great-tailed Grackles. Loud,
massive flocks of the big blackbirds gathered outside my hotel and up-and-down
the street every evening. The impressive roosting behavior dictates caution
when walking under the overloaded trees and utility wires. Luckily, I avoided a
goopy disaster.
Don’t let the grackles keep you away. If you haven’t birded Texas, or haven’t birded “on the border,” think about adding the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival to your travel plans. The 2025 event is set for Nov. 5-9. Get details at rgvbf.org.
Copyright 2025 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
Hot bird news for a cold winter
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Door County's White Wagtail by Matt Zuro |
If permitted an excuse for my blunder, I’ll go with the
birds of Hawaii. They distracted me. For a birder, one of the fun things about traveling
to new places is the prep. I spent hours in January studying the avian
possibilities in Honolulu and on the island of Kauai, creating a target list of
birds to watch for.
I’m back now, and the feathered citizens of our 50th
state are still distracting me. Birding Hawaii is full of surprises. I read
somewhere that Hawaii is the United Nations of birds and it’s true. So many
alien species mingling with the natives—such an interesting mix.
But today’s column is not about my tropical vacation. Upon returning to our cold, gray winter—just in time for National Bird Feeding Month—I started catching up on the news. Bird news, that is. These items were noteworthy:
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The ill-fated Anna's Hummingbird in Princeton, IIlinois. Photo by Mike Warner. |
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Common Loon by Steve Huggins |
I saved the most self-serving news for last: I’m working on a book called “The Best of Words on Birds,” coming this summer from Eckhartz Press. I’m excited and having fun getting it ready—a solid retirement project. More details to come.
So, the birds of Hawaii have not
been my only distraction. But trust me, I’ll be more careful with the photo
captions. As I learned in Birding 101, keep your eye on the bird!
Copyright 2025 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
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Ross's Gull on Chicago lakefront, March 2023. Photo by Matt Zuro |
Embracing the challenge of gulls
(published 1-22-25)
Gulls are a little scary. They frighten me. I don’t mean literally, in a Hitchcockian sense. The nightmare comes in trying to sort out their identities.
Skilled birders usually thrive on ID challenges, while others
stand back and leave the dirty work to the experts. With gulls, I’m in the
latter camp. The intimidation factor is high.
The main issue is plumage variation by age. For some gull species,
the transition to adulthood may take four years, with different looks at every
stage. Annual feather molt can add further confusion.
Bill, eye and leg colors may change, too. The Black-legged
Kittiwake, a small, tern-like gull, does not always display black legs!
Fortunately, help is out there. It comes in the form of Amar
Ayyash, a high school math teacher from Orland Park who happens to be one of
North America’s top authorities on gull ID. He’s on a mission to make gull
watching more fun and less frustrating for birders.
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Amar Ayyash and "The Gull Guide." |
Ayyash views gull-watching differently. “The fact that it’s challenging makes it appealing,” he told the Wall Street Journal in a 2018 page-one story about the trickiness of gull ID.
Even Ayyash is sometimes stumped, although such occasions
are rare. His depth of knowledge is remarkable, acquired from two decades of close
gull observation. He readily admits to being obsessed with gulls.
Ayyash operates the website anythinglarus.com, and just published “The Gull Guide,” a 500-pager covering all 36 species found in North America. The book’s introduction offers a framework for how to think about gulls as a group and explains their unique place in the avian world.
In December, Ayyash won the Robert Ridgeway Award for
Outstanding Ornithological Publication from the American Birding Association
(ABA). “The Gull Guide” is already in its second printing by Princeton
University Press.
Ayyash began a national book tour in October. I’ve heard him
speak three times so far, including the bird club visit and his appearance on
the ABA podcast. He is often asked for tips on how novice birders can overcome their
fears about gull ID.
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Our region's two most common gulls: Herring Gull, foreground left, and Ring-billed Gull, right. Photo by Amar Ayyash |
Lucky for us, gulls are accessible birds—easy to find and
watch. Beaches and shopping center parking lots are good places to look. Gulls
are opportunistic feeders, built for survival.
Ayyash recommends getting close to birds on the ground and observing them. If you can, take photos for later study, including flight shots. For gulls in the air, wing tip patterns are the best ID clues.
In this region, winter is prime time for gull-watching along
Lake Michigan. Next month, in fact, is the Gull Frolic, a one-day watch party hosted
by the Illinois Ornithological Society at North Point Marina in Lake County.
Ayyash coordinates the Frolic, now going on 23 years and
always a sellout. His annual wish list includes non-frigid weather, open water,
and a rare gull or two. A timely sale on white bread would be welcome, too—the
Frolic requires dozens of loaves for “chumming.”Gull Frolic birders at North Point Marina in
Winthrop Harbor, Illinois.
But as with every kind of birding, patience and attention to detail usually pays off. With gulls, that often means picking out something different from a sea of gray and white birds. Finding a rarity is always the goal.
A California Gull appeared at the 2024 Frolic, thrilling the
chilly spotters. Three months later, a Black-tailed Gull visited Waukegan
Beach.
Several gulls, Ayyash writes, are among “the most coveted
bird species on the planet.”
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Ivory Gull in Quincy, Illinois, January 2015. Photo by Jackie Bowman |
Ayyash still reflects on the adult Ivory Gull he encountered
in early January 2018, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake. He was alone,
checking the parking lot—a reliable gull hangout because it’s near a landfill. The
temperature was below zero when a small, pure-white bird dropped into plain
view, gifting Ayyash an unforgettable holy grail moment.
List-chasing birders do love a rare gull. The fairgrounds Ivory Gull didn’t stick around but another one did, three years earlier in downstate Quincy. Birders throughout the Midwest hustled to see it, the state’s first Ivory in 20 years. Only four records of Ivory Gull exist for Illinois.
For the everyday “seagulls” to the rarities, Ayyash urges us
to give gull-watching a fair chance. We can learn from gulls, and perhaps come
to admire their tenacity and versatility. Some are quite beautiful, too.
In his book, Ayyash notes that no gull species is known to
have gone extinct. They are out there, available for watching, in all kinds of
weather.
Copyright 2025 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
The year in birds
Conservation progress and remarkable
sightings highlighted 2024
(published 1-1-25)
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Lake County stunner: This Scissor-tailed Flycatcher entertained watchers for two weeks at Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve. Photo by Matt Zuro. |
One month later, a similar scenario played out in
suburban Wilmette. This time, the wayward bird was a young Whooping Crane
making her first northward migration. Officials from the International Crane
Foundation mobilized quickly to rescue the endangered wader, later releasing it
at Horicon Marsh, near ICF’s Wisconsin headquarters.
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This well-tracked Whooping Crane caused a scene in Wilmette last April after stopping short on its northern migration. Photo by Scott Judd. |
Birders breathed a sigh of relief when the owners of Chicago’s
McCormick Place convention center took steps to reduce bird collisions with the
building’s glass, installing “Feather Friendly” film in a $1.2 million project
completed before fall migration.
The retrofit was largely in response to that awful night
in October 2023 when more than 1,000 migrating birds perished from window
strikes at McCormick Place.
Patterned glass in combination with a citywide Lights Out
program during peak migration periods makes Chicago safer for passing birds. A
needed next step is for Chicago City Council to adopt mandatory bird-friendly
building design guidelines.
Evanston and Skokie already require builders to practice bird-safety
measures. In 2024, Lake County enacted ordinances as well.
Nationwide, building collisions kill more than one
billion birds annually, according to studies. A new documentary called “Broken
Flight” screened at the Chicago International Film Festival in October. See it
if you get a chance.
Another hot-button issue concerns the use of poison to
control rat populations. Last spring, three Great Horned Owls in Lincoln Park
died from rodenticide poisoning—news well covered by mainstream media. Since
then, Chicago Bird Alliance (formerly Chicago Audubon) has amped up pressure on
the city to pursue alternate rat control methods that are both less harmful to
urban ecosystems and more effective than rodenticide.
Big wins for nature
Voters in four counties—DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry—supported
their forest preserves in November by approving referendums to expand, restore
and protect open lands. The ballot measures were about more than birds, of
course, but the results were a win for the critical habitats that support them.
A Black-necked Stilt prepares for landing at Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve in Kane County. Photo by Bob Andrini. |
Waukegan, already a Bird
City Illinois member, named the
Piping Plover its official city bird in May, vowing to “continue to support the
protection and conservation of our lakefront and the unique dune and swale
habitat crucial to the recovery of the Great Lakes Piping Plover.”
Plovers raised families on
Chicago and Waukegan beaches last summer, contributing to a solid year for the region’s
fragile population. A record 81 pairs of Piping Plovers nested around the Great
Lakes—one pair more than in 2023 and up from about a dozen pairs in the 1980s.
One of the two successful
Illinois pairs in 2024 were Imani and Sea Rocket on Montrose Beach, Imani being
the son of legendary pipers Monty and Rose. The latter couple made history in
2019 by hatching Chicago’s first Piping Plover chicks in 71 years.
Illinois’ only breeding colony
of Common Terns also prospered in 2024. The state-endangered species produced
33 chicks (from 22 nests) in the harbor at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in
Lake County.
Notable 2024
sightings
Birders in pursuit of locally
rare species were busy (and successful) throughout the year. I’ll hit some of
the highlights here, roughly in chronological order.
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The Elgin Black-throated Gray Warbler. Photo by Jackie Bowman. |
A California Gull flew in
for the Gull Frolic, a popular February watch party at North Point Marina in
Winthrop Harbor. Talk about a bird with good timing!
The “Cali” would not be
the rarest gull to visit the Lake Michigan shoreline. A Black-tailed Gull
turned up at Waukegan Beach in May, just the third Illinois record for the species.
Throughout the winter and well
into April, Red Crossbills were regular at Morton Arboretum in Lisle—a classic “invasion
year” for the species. Some years we don’t see any crossbills at all.
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At least 200 birders saw this Sage Thrasher at Hidden Lake Forest Preserve in Glen Ellyn. Photo by Randall Everts. |
Also in DuPage, a Ruff surprised birders at Greene Valley Forest Preserve, about a month after one was spotted in Chicago’s Richton Park. The distinctive shorebird is usually found in Africa and Eurasia.
Kane County hosted Say’s
Phoebe in March and Black-necked Stilt in April. A highly watched stilt pair spent
the summer at Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve, raising two young.
Muirhead lived up to its
growing reputation as a birding hotspot. Coveted visitors included American
Avocet, Glossy Ibis and Smith’s Longspur (April); Black Tern and Loggerhead
Shrike (May); Franklin’s Gull (July); Red-necked Phalarope (August); Common
Tern and Eared Grebe (September); White-faced Ibis and Kane County’s first Black-bellied
Whistling Duck (October).
The Forest Preserve
District of Kane County is in early planning to build an accessible,
multi-level birdwatching tower at Muirhead Springs. Completion is tentatively
set for 2027.
Dedicated chasers scurried
up to Wisconsin to witness the state’s first-record Varied Bunting and
Bar-tailed Godwit, near Grafton and Hartford, respectively.
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This vagrant Lark Bunting appeared in Chicago's Park 566. Photo by Matt Zuro. |
In May, a Scissor-tailed
Flycatcher feasted on cicadas in Arlington Heights. The epic hatch provided an
easy food source, elevating nesting success for many bird species.
Prairie Warbler was a nice
find at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage, with two birds present into
July. Lake County’s first Chuck-will’s Widow landed at Illinois Beach State
Park, and Western Tanager delighted watchers at Glacial Park in McHenry County.
A Yellow-crowned Night
Heron camped on the Naperville Riverwalk for three weeks starting in
mid-August.
At least two Blue
Grosbeaks summered at Morton Arboretum in Lisle; a Kentucky Warbler refueled there
in September.
Chicago’s Park No. 566
yielded two grassland species from the west, Lark Bunting and Chestnut-collared
Longspur. On Veterans Day, a fly-by Common Raven at the lakeside venue was the
first in Illinois since 2007.
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A Western Cattle Egret made friends with the bison at Fermilab. Photo by Haley Gottardo. |
Back in Chicago, birders got
twitchy over a hybrid Brewster’s Warbler at Montrose and a late-September
Townsend’s Warbler in Jackson Park.
Hawkwatchers at Greene
Valley (Naperville) observed three Golden Eagles and 10 Rough-legged Hawks
during the fall count season. A Western Meadowlark visited the hill in October.
Just before Halloween, a Western Cattle Egret grazed with the bison at Fermilab in Batavia, and another visited Chicago Botanic Garden.
Also in October, a young Anna’s Hummingbird parked itself on a backyard feeder in Princeton (Bureau County). The rare hummer—only the second record for Illinois—remained a daily customer well into December and might try to overwinter.
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This off-course Anna's Hummingbird delighted birders for many weeks in Bureau County. Photo by Steve Zehner. |
Several birds mentioned above are named after people, a reminder that some will receive new names starting in 2025.
Currently, about 100 American bird species claim eponymous or honorific names. A few birds recall "individuals who engaged in what we think most people today would agree was reprehensible behavior,” declared the American Ornithology Society. Watch for AOS to soon announce a limited first wave of name changes. Eventually, all birds named after people will receive more descriptive titles.
Two species are presently named after John J. Audubon. In 2024, more
Audubon-branded organizations around the country adopted new identities to help
distance their work from the famous artist's personal legacy of racism.
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The ill-fated McHenry County Snowy Owl. Photo by Paul Clifford. |
Tamima Itani was named a Volunteer of the Year by
Illinois Department of Natural Resources for her leadership in the protection
of Piping Plovers and their habitat at Chicago’s Montrose Beach.
Donnie Dann of Highland Park received the city’s
Environmental Award for his tireless work on behalf of birds, particularly his
advocacy for bird-safe building design. Dann is also deeply involved with the
aforementioned Common Tern conservation efforts in Lake County.
Glen Ellyn’s Willowbrook Wildlife Center rebranded as the
DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center. A major expansion and upgrade project at
the facility is set for completion this spring, with a public grand
opening celebration on June 5.
The debut Urban Birding Festival in Chicago, held in
September, was a massive success with some 460 registrations. It’ll return in
2025.
Retired American diplomat Peter Kaestner became the first
and only birder to list 10,000 species, fulfilling his lifetime quest.
Anniversaries: Illinois Beach State Park Hawkwatch, 25 years; Wooded Isle bird walks in Chicago’s Jackson Park, 25; Audubon magazine, 100; American Bird Conservancy, 30.
Birders we miss
Jon J. Duerr, former head of the Kane County Forest
Preserve, passed away in February. A preserve near South Elgin was named for
him in 2004.
We also remember John Hebert, a DuPage Birding Club
stalwart; beloved Montrose birders Owen McHugh and Craig Millard; and Aurora’s irrepressible
Vernon LaVia. (Owen and Vern left us in 2023.)
In September, birders nationwide said goodbye to Sandy
Komito, a central figure in Mark
Obmascik’s book, “The Big Year.” Actor Owen Wilson played a character
based on Komito in the movie version.
A retirement for
the birds
I’ve had more time for birding and travel since retiring in July. My first “mission trip”
was to Texas, where I attended the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in early
November. I’ll write about it soon.
A visit to Seattle in
September wasn’t bird-focused but an afternoon wildlife cruise with Puget Sound
Express proved to be a highlight. Tufted Puffin, the trip’s primary target, was
well seen by all, including my wife and son. Rhinoceros Auklet, too.
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Tufted Puffin by Eric Ellingson. |
The household yard list didn’t grow in
2024 but my watch time was rewarded with Common Yellowthroat, Red-headed
Woodpecker, and Winter Wren. Years go by without my seeing these species in the
backyard.
My favorite new book was
“The Birds That Audubon Missed,” by Kenn Kaufman. Pick it up for some
fascinating insights about birding and ornithology in the early and mid-1800s. Learn
about the Carbonated Warbler, too!
I read “Birding with
Benefits,” the hobby’s first romance novel, for research purposes. I’m still a
little flushed.
I also enjoyed “The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird,” by Jack E. Davis. The 2022 book from the Pulitzer Prize winner is timely now that the eagle is finally, officially, our national bird. For once, Congress got something done without a fight.
Some eagle watching on the
Mississippi River would be a fine way to begin 2025. Or maybe I'll just fill up the feeders and stay home. Birders have options, and they're all good.
Copyright 2025 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.