Graham and Henrey Deese

A brotherly love of birds

(published 6-7-12)

I’d arranged to interview the Deese brothers at Mallard Lake. It was near their home in Bloomingdale, and the name of the place seemed appropriate given the purpose of our meeting.

But while the mallard is a common species, it is rare indeed to find two teenagers who are nuts about birds and birding. Graham, 17, and Henrey, 14, fit that description. Given the choice of watching warblers or TV, these kids will take the birds every time.

“Nature-deficit disorder” in the Deese household? Not a chance. Their mom, Suzy Deese, home schools Graham and Henrey and a healthy part of their education takes place outdoors. Family vacations generally revolve around nature and birding in particular.

“This is our journey together and it’s been a lot of fun,” said Suzy, who also finds time for a nursing career with Cadence Health Care.

Home schooling definitely creates more opportunities for birding. When I met with the boys they had recently returned from birding in the Texas hill country. For the record, they spotted a black-capped vireo but missed the region’s other specialty, the golden-cheeked warbler. However, thanks to excellent timing, the trip yielded the rarest bird either boy had ever seen, a tropical mockingbird! The mocker, native to southern Mexico, was discovered by other birders before the Deese’s arrival and is potentially the first-ever documented in the United States.

Graham and Henrey are fortunate to have an aunt in Houston. Better yet, a birder aunt. She guided them to the rare mockingbird in April (near High Island) and in 2007 took them to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, home of wintering whooping cranes. In 2010, the family birded the Rio Grande Valley.

I confess that hearing about these Texas adventures made my binocular fingers twitch. I’ve still never birded the Lone Star State, a place considered by many to be the hottest U.S. hot spot of all.

Locally, Graham and Henrey go birding once or twice a week. Favorite places, all part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve system, include Mallard Lake, Elsen’s Hill, Waterfall Glen and McKee Marsh.

The boys also are active with Illinois Young Birders, a club founded in 2010 by the Illinois Ornithology Society. ILYB conducts adult-supervised field trips all around the state, leading the young members to exceptional birding locations. Graham and Henrey agreed their favorite ILYB trip so far was to downstate Prairie Ridge State Natural Area where they observed state-endangered greater prairie chickens on their mating grounds. (For information about ILYB, visit illinoisyoungbirders.org.)

Additional birding takes place at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, where the boys serve as volunteers. They have a long connection with Willowbrook because of Kevin Luby, a naturalist at the center. Graham says it was nature hike led by Luby at Wayne Grove almost 10 years ago that triggered his interest in birds. The brothers attended monthly walks for the next five years with Luby, who encouraged their newfound passion.

Graham and Henrey began sharing that passion with others in 2009 by leading a family bird walk on International Migratory Bird Day at Willowbrook. They’ve been helping out at the center ever since, first through its Junior Naturalist program and now its Ambassador program. The latter includes volunteer work and more opportunities to learn from resident naturalists like Luby and Ron Skleney.

“Their bird identification skills are top-notch,” Skleney said. “More importantly, they are excellent interpreters and have a knack for sharing their enthusiasm about birds.”

They may be the youngest birding guides in DuPage County but that is definitely not held against them. Just the opposite, according to Skleney.

“I asked Graham and Henrey to help lead a series of spring bird walks this year and from the very first walk the participants loved interacting with them. They were a big hit with the Willowbrook birding regulars.”

At Mallard Lake I learned that the Deese boys are dedicated to more than just birding. They perform in the West Suburban Home School Band and after our meeting rushed off to a rehearsal for their spring concert. Henrey plays the trumpet and Graham the clarinet.

Their other key activity is Chicago Charge, a speech and debate club for Christian homeschoolers. Through the club, both boys are competing this month in a national tournament in Colorado Springs.

Of course, the Colorado trip will involve some birding. Graham, Henrey and Suzy are heading west early to see if they can find a Lewis’s woodpecker, Lucy’s warbler, MacGillivray’s warbler and other goodies.

Dang, there go my twitchy fingers again. I envy these guys! But mainly I just admire them—for their birding skills, of course, and also for their uncommon maturity.

With any luck, you’ll soon meet Graham and Henrey Deese on a local birding trail. They belong to a small but growing fraternity of young birders in the Chicago area who make the hobby even better for all of us.

Copyright 2012 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Greater Prairie Chicken by Jackie Bowman

Greater prairie chickens still pecking in southern Illinois

(published 4-30-12)

As birders, we are spoiled by an abundance of outstanding local venues to enjoy our craft. There is probably a birding “hot spot” within five or 10 miles of your home.

Birdwatching at the nearest forest preserve or just the backyard is enough for some people, and there’s nothing wrong with staying close to home. It’s certainly a “green” thing to do. But birders who enjoy an occasional road trip have some exciting choices here in the Midwest.
Places I consistently recommend include Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet; Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin; Indiana Dunes State Park; and Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana. Each offers a birding experience worthy of the drive.

If you have more time, visit north-central Michigan to see the rare Kirtland’s warbler. Magee Marsh and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Ohio also qualify for the Midwest birder’s bucket list.

There are many more destinations to tempt birders with surplus gas money. Personally, I always wanted to go see the greater prairie chickens in southern Illinois. My hankering grew stronger in 2008 after reading in Audubon magazine about the chickens of Prairie Ridge State Natural Area in Newton.

Newton, as you surely know, is about 20 miles southeast of Effingham. In other words, “way down there” and not really on the way to anything except Olney, a town famous for its white squirrels.

The remoteness of Prairie Ridge, and maybe the fact that I’d seen greater prairie chickens once before, in Nebraska, was holding me back. I needed a push. It came in the form of an email from Ron Skleney, a naturalist at Willowbrook Wildlife Center and a fellow DuPage Birding Club member. Ron, his wife, his boss and another friend were heading down to see the chickens in late March. There was an extra spot in the viewing blind—would I like to come along?

Well, let me think, do robins eat worms? Do mourning doves sit on wires? Yes, of course I’ll go!

A trip to see the prairie chickens requires an overnight stay. It’s best to arrive in Newton the night before and find a bed as close to Prairie Ridge as you can. Our party of five settled into the River Park Motel, where a single goes for $35 and includes a view of the Burl Ives Bridge.

Proximity to Prairie Ridge was the motel’s best feature. We needed to be at the preserve, about three miles away, well before sunrise. Under the cover of darkness we would be loaded into one of the wooden blinds that overlook the prairie chickens’ courtship grounds or “lek.”

Waking at 4:30 a.m. is easy for most birders, including me. The more difficult test is getting up and not drinking coffee. A chicken birder doesn’t dare indulge in a cup of joe because the viewing blind is your home for up to three hours. A home with no bathroom.

We arrived at Prairie Ridge just after five, and following a short orientation by site manager Scott Simpson we took our positions in the blind. There were three blinds in all, with a total capacity of 15 birders. On this day only one seat went unclaimed.

Now it was time to wait. We sat on a cushioned bench, peering through a horizontal slot into the farm country blackness. It was a surreal way to experience daybreak.

At 6:00 a.m. the silence was broken by the “booming” of greater prairie chickens. The birds were announcing their entry onto the lek with a sound similar to blowing over the mouth of an empty soda bottle.

As the light improved, more birds appeared on the grassy stage. The booming grew louder, juxtaposed with singing Eastern meadowlarks. For the next two hours we watched a remarkable courtship display that really must be seen to be appreciated. The male chickens inflated their orange air sacs and erected their black neck feathers as they sparred, trying their best to impress the ladies. Like us, the female birds were spectators. We counted 14 prairie chickens in all, nine of them male.

After the last hen vacated the lek we were free to go. To exit the blind any sooner would risk disturbing a potential mating.

The same performance that we witnessed replays itself every morning in the early spring. Unfortunately, not all is well. The greater prairie chicken, once abundant before massive grassland habitat loss in the 19th and 20th centuries, is endangered in Illinois. Fewer than 100 survive in the state, and Prairie Ridge, managed chiefly by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is the only place to see them. Another concern is that the genetic diversity of the Illinois birds is alarmingly low, a condition that hinders breeding success.

In 2011, a violent hailstorm cut the Illinois prairie chicken population in half, according to Simpson. He said the public viewing program may not even be offered in 2013.

The Great Plains states have stable prairie chicken populations, Kansas and Nebraska in particular. You can even see the birds in Wisconsin, near Wisconsin Rapids, where an annual festival is held in their honor. But in the Prairie State, greater prairie chickens are hanging on by a thread.

On a happier note, the Schaumburg Boomers, a new minor league baseball team, opens at home on May 25. Their logo, a greater prairie chicken, is terrific. I like this team already! Best of all, it reminds me of the real boomers—the ones that play on a field down south, truly in a league of their own.

Copyright 2012 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Magnolia Warbler by Sue Wagoner

For area birders, April is the new May

(published 4-3-12)

There is a popular spring birding festival in northwest Ohio called The Biggest Week in American Birding. This year’s dates are May 4-13, which makes it a really big week, indeed.

In May, birders will apply any reason they can to get outside. Create a 9-day week? No problem. Call in sick? Good idea. Go “out to lunch” at the nearest forest preserve? Absolutely!

Every day is precious during spring migration. There is much to see and the daily bird menu is always changing. The saying “So many birds, so little time” expresses both the joy and urgency of birding, especially in May.

Wait a minute, make that April. The mild winter and incredibly warm March changed everything. This year, April is the new May.

Daffodils, magnolias and forsythia were exploding on St. Patrick’s Day. Even before that, American white pelicans were staging at Nelson Lake Marsh in Batavia, three weeks before their usual appearance. Other typical “April birds” like kinglets, sapsuckers and brown thrashers arrived early as well.

Most shocking of all was a ruby-throated hummingbird spotted March 21 at Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook. In northern Illinois, hummingbird sightings in March were unprecedented until 2012.

In a year when noisy flocks of sandhill cranes were swirling overhead in January and February, I guess nothing should be all that surprising. Not even the mockingbird that spent the whole winter at a Binny’s Beverage Depot parking lot in Chicago.

Weather always affects our birding, of course, but this year is extreme. We’ll see many migratory species this month that usually don’t appear until May, including warblers. Flycatchers, orioles, tanagers and vireos, too. It should be an amazing April!

Birding in May will still be good, but probably not great as we’ve come to expect. The biggest issue will be visibility. Usually it’s mid-May when the trees leaf out and warbler-watching becomes more challenging. This year, the foliage will be quite full before Cinco de Mayo, and by then many of the northern nesters will have already passed through our region.

To be safe, assume the birds are already here. Don’t wait until May to go find your first Blackburnian warbler of the season, or your first scarlet tanager. Place your hummingbird feeder now; it felt crazy but I put mine out on March 24. If you can, spend a little time on your back porch in the morning, watching and listening. Be ready for some surprises.

Consider ramping up your field trip participation, too. For ideas, check the websites of the DuPage Birding Club and Kane County Audubon. Both clubs welcome non-members on their walks.

Fullersburg Woods Nature Center offers walks every Friday from April 13 through June 13. Willowbrook Wildlife Center (Glen Ellyn) will host walks on Tuesdays starting April 17 and through May 22.

Spring is indeed a fun time to be outside with others who share a passion for birds, and with those who are just starting out and seeing spectacular birds for the first time.

Birding with beginners is the best. I love seeing them bag “lifers” all morning long, filling their optics with dazzlers like indigo bunting, rose-breasted grosbeak and Baltimore oriole. What’s common and what’s not really doesn’t matter to a new birder—it’s all about the colors! Their enthusiasm is contagious.

But like health clubs in January, spring field trips do attract crowds. Case in point: 74 birders turned out for the March outing at Cantigny Park. That’s a lot of folks, and more eyes don’t necessarily mean more sightings. Fortunately, this time of year, even a large group can see a nice variety of birds.

If you can, show up early. Sometimes the best birds of the day are spotted before the walk even begins! From the parking lot no less. In fact, at some places it’s possible to see a lot of species without ever losing sight of your car. (Elsen’s Hill in Winfield, for example.)

This brings to mind one last bit of advice you’ve probably heard before: slow down! Find a good spot, perhaps near some water, and let the birds come to you. Staying put is good strategy, especially during spring migration when the birds are plentiful and focused on feeding. It promotes good listening, too.

So get out there and make like a statue. No need to wait. We can all just pretend it’s May.

Copyright 2012 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Thayer's Gull by Steve Spitzer

Some birders are more
gullible than others

(published 3-21-12)

From its beginning in 2004, this column has been mostly silent when it comes to gulls. There is a good reason for that. Gulls scare me.

This was true in the literal sense when I was a boy. Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” took care of that. Gulls were not the only angry birds in that 1963 film but they did their share of damage.

Now the Laridae family of birds gives me nightmares for a different reason: I stink like chum when it comes to identifying gulls. I know better than to use the term “seagull” but little more.

In January, Brian Sullivan, one of the nation’s top field ornithologists, published a wonderful essay called “The Evolution of a Birder.”

“Over the years we learn the ins and outs of basic birding,” Sullivan wrote. “Some learn faster than others. We learn the common birds in our neighborhoods, and then we move on to bigger challenges. Perhaps it’s fall warblers, shorebirds or raptor identification. For the sickest ones among us, it could be gulls.”

Indeed, enjoying gulls is either an acquired taste or acquired illness, depending upon whom you ask. Dedicated gull watchers occupy an extreme niche inside the birding world that few dare to enter. Those that do are fearless, patient and usually highly intelligent. They seem to thrive on problem solving.

You’ll find the area’s top “larophiles” patrolling the Chicago lakefront in the dead of winter, examining every gull in sight, searching for a rarity that scarcely few other birders could appreciate let alone identify. And just for kicks, this uncommon tribe enjoys determining the ages of immature gulls, common or not, based on size, plumage, bill markings, leg color and eye color.

Then there’s the rest of us. We notice gulls but seldom take the time to look at them closely. We might even think of them as trash birds, just a notch above house sparrows, starlings and pigeons. I’m as guilty as anyone, even though I know better.

The gull family is not lacking in beauty and grace. Several species are in fact highly coveted by birders. Six kinds of gulls are on the list of America’s 100 Most Wanted Birds, in the book by the same name. One is the small and elegant Ross’s gull, an Arctic species that thrilled lakefront birders during a brief visit to Chicago a year ago this month.

Here in DuPage, our gull viewing choices are fairly limited. The most common species, often seen in food store parking lots, is the ring-billed gull. Herring gulls live in our county, too. They are bulkier than ring-billeds and also enjoy a stray potato chip or French fry. (Like crows, gulls are opportunistic.)

Yet even the common species can be tricky to ID because gulls take a long time to grow up. They assume widely different appearances during their first two or three years. And like other birds, gulls have alternate breeding and non-breeding plumages.

With all these variations, the game of “name that gull” can present mind-bending identification challenges. This is especially true in habitats like the Chicago lakefront where gull variety is highest for the region.

About 170 birders attended the 11th Annual Gull Frolic at Winthrop Harbor, a sold-out gull-watching fest on February 18. Despite its name, the Frolic is a serious birding event, sponsored by the Illinois Ornithological Society. It’s a chance to mingle with the area’s leading gull experts and learn the basics (and finer points) of larid identification.

I regret not being among the frolickers. Six or more hours of gulling would have hurt my brain but the payoff was new birds. Thayer’s, Iceland, glaucous and lesser black-backed gulls were each observed at the Frolic. These uncommon species visit Chicago every winter and yet not one is on my life list. Oh, the shame!

Admitting my fear of gulls may be the first step to recovery. Next I will summon my most positive gull memories in preparation for the challenges ahead. On several occasions, after all, I’ve spotted, identified and admired a gull that was new to me—the delicate Bonaparte’s, for example, and the adult Heermann’s on that rocky California beach. Those were special sightings that I can build on.

So you may see me more often on the Chicago lakefront. I’ll be the one shadowing one of the resident gull experts. Maybe I can carry his scope.

Copyright 2012 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Common Redpoll by Christian Goers

Area birders afflicted with redpoll fever

(published 2-6-12)

Bird names can be misleading as most of us know. Case in point, the red-bellied woodpecker, whose pinkish underparts are one of its least conspicuous field marks. Or the Nashville warbler, a species that not only doesn’t live in its namesake city but is said to despise country music. That’s just not right.

The common redpoll, because of its name, is a species that might tend to be dismissed by birders who are new to the game. “Common” birds just aren’t very exciting, right?

Well, what’s common and what isn’t depends on where you live. Around here, redpolls are a rare winter visitor, and northern Illinois is about as far south as they ever travel.

Every birder I know wants to see a common redpoll, and lately many are getting their wish. All signs point to 2012 being a redpoll “invasion” year, with sightings around DuPage County and all of Chicagoland on the rise since mid-January. This appears to be the best opportunity since 2009 to add common redpoll to your life list.

Redpolls, along with pine siskins and crossbills, belong to a group we call the winter finches. They are “irruptive species,” meaning they sometimes appear here in unusually large numbers. Or they might not show up at all.

It all depends on the winter food supply on their arctic and sub-arctic breeding grounds. If the cone and seed crop is good, they may never leave the tundra. But when food is scarce, the birds wander south in nomadic flocks. It’s during those times that our thistle feeders become finch magnets—for redpolls and siskins, in particular.

Common redpolls are easily identified. As with many birds, the key markings are on the head. Look for a goldfinch-sized bird with a crimson cap, black chin and a tiny yellow bill. Redpolls also are heavily streaked on the flanks (like a pine siskin) and the males generally display some pink on the breast.

In the words of birding guru Pete Dunne, the common redpoll is a “streaky, stubby, effervescent pip-squeak of a finch with a small red beret and a black goatee.”

You’ll know this bird when you see it. So keep your feeders full and watch them carefully this month and right into March. That very strategy paid off for me in February 2009 when three common redpolls stopped by my thistle feeder and stayed for about 20 minutes. That was the first and still only time I’ve hosted backyard redpolls.

This winter, other birders are experiencing the same thrill. Christian Goers spotted eight redpolls at his Hinsdale feeder on January 4 and shared the accompanying photo. It was a new species for Goers’ yard list and the birds visited just a week after he’d added common redpoll on his life list during a trip to Door County, Wis.

Redpolls usually travel in flocks and often congregate with other finches. The birds in Goers’ backyard were associating with house finches. Goldfinches and siskins are other likely companions.

Hopefully some redpolls will visit your thistle feeder, too. Meanwhile, if you need a more immediate cure for redpoll fever, try looking beyond the backyard. Weedy fields and anywhere with stands of alder, birch or spruce are worth checking for redpolls. Birch seeds are their favorite food.

Currently the region’s premier “hotspot” is the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Evanston birder Matthew Cvetas and his son Jake counted 115 common redpolls there on January 16. Five days later Al Stokie of Park Ridge reported at least 65 redpolls at CBG. He said the largest flock was foraging in the birches around the Regenstein Center.

The Morton Arboretum and Crabtree Nature Center (Barrington) also can be good sites for redpolls.

Birders who have the good fortune of encountering a flock of common redpolls should always look for that needle in a haystack, the hoary redpoll. The hoary is a common redpoll look-alike but with a pale or “frosty” appearance. Separating a hoary from a common is challenging even for expert birdwatchers.

Hoary redpolls are far less likely to visit our region than their “common” cousins. Also keep in mind that there is nothing common about the common redpoll. In these parts, every sighting is a gift. Good luck!

Copyright 2012 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Use IBET to connect with more birds in 2012
(published 1-6-12)

Most of us jump at the opportunity to see a species for the first time, especially if it’s a bird uncommon to our region. The key is knowing the what, when and where.

My last column referred to the online community known as IBET, which stands for Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts. It’s a free e-mail “listserv” that alerts birders to notable sightings and other useful information. If you are not already a user, make a New Year’s resolution to check it out.

I owe at least 10 birds on my life list to IBET, the latest being the sage thrasher that visited Chicago in November. I didn’t pursue that bird on the first day it was reported but thanks to IBET I knew its daily status. Five days after the initial sighting I made the 35-mile trip down to Montrose beach, knowing that my chances of finding the thrasher were still very good. In our hobby, information like that is gold.

As of last month, IBET had 1,927 registered members. Sue Friscia, a birder from Alsip, founded the network on AOL in 1995 and still serves as list administrator. IBET started with about 40 participants who, like Friscia, were keen on knowing what birds were visiting the area on a daily basis and sharing information about rare sightings. Before e-mail, obsessed birders gathered such intelligence via telephone “hot lines” that played recorded messages. The Internet is a lot more efficient!

Today, IBET is among the top 10 Yahoo Groups for birding in the country. News travels quickly on the network, often leading to spur-of-the-moment birding opportunities that are too good to pass up.

Years ago, when I worked in downtown Chicago, I noticed a fresh e-mail about a least bittern in Lincoln Park. The secretive marsh-dwelling species had been spotted about an hour earlier. As my forehead began to sweat, I grabbed my binoculars and dashed out the door to catch a northbound bus. I was on the scene 20 minutes later and, fortunately, so was the bird—in plain view, perched on a low branch just above the water at North Pond. It’s still the only least bittern I’ve ever seen, and a posting on IBET made it possible.

In recent weeks, IBET subscribers have been treated to some eyebrow-raising reports from the Chicago lakefront. Want to see a snowy owl? Several have been seen and IBET will guide you to them. Even if you can’t make the trip you can enjoy the amazing photographs that IBET users post on a regular basis—the next best thing to being there!

On December 27, a male black-throated blue warbler was discovered in Millennium Park. IBET lit up like a Christmas tree. To see that species in December in Chicago was perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thanks to IBET, you got your chance.

Details on long-tailed duck and harlequin duck sightings were other notable late-December postings from IBETers who patrol the Chicago lakefront.

The network is valuable in other ways, too. It’s a place to ask questions and get answers, and a place to share birding stories that might otherwise go untold. At any given time, a spirited discussion might break out on some issue or topic. A recent string covered the ethics of owl watching, followed by a debate over the use of recorded bird calls in the field. If a story about birds or birding appears in a major newspaper, chances are somebody will post a link on IBET. I always appreciate that!

As a learning tool, IBET was at its best in December when dozens of postings addressed the “mystery hummingbird” visiting a feeder in Oak Park. Determining the bird’s true identity proved to be a fascinating “real science” case study and IBET users enjoyed daily updates. First the area’s top birders (and others from around the country) shared their expertise and opinions based on observations and photos. Then we followed the progress of a CSI-style investigation by ornithologists. Ultimately, the Field Museum’s DNA studies proved the rare visitor to be a rufous hummingbird, not a broad-tailed hummingbird as most birders initially believed.

The number of daily messages posted to IBET varies greatly by season. During the peak of spring and fall migration, when waves of non-resident birds are moving through the region, the network may produce 25 or more postings a day. Most are by Chicago-area birders but downstate birders often chime in, too. Postings from DuPage and Kane Counties are frequent.

Information overload is always a danger but if you open just a fraction of the messages you’ll get a good sense of what birds to watch for at different times throughout the year—and what to expect in your backyard tomorrow.

In my view, as a learning aid and just for fun, IBET is well worth your time. It succeeds every day in its mission to promote the joy of birding.

To join the list, send an e-mail to ILbirds-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and mention this column. You’ll receive a reply and then follow the instructions. (Note: “ILbirds” is the group’s formal name for registration purposes but users call it IBET.) You can also view the latest postings by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/.

Copyright 2012 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
Snowy owl photo by Jerry Goldner



Sage Thrasher by Jerry Goldner

News, notes and observations from a very “big year”

(published 12-12-11)

2011 began ominously when thousands of blackbirds dropped dead out of the sky in Arkansas. Remember that? A few days later, in Louisiana, it happened again. Thankfully, it was not a nationwide trend and avian conditions soon returned to normal.

For birders, normal is great. In any season, there is always something to see, share and discuss. But sometimes things are better than great, like last month along the Chicago lakefront. There, and also in Oak Park, some crazy, magical stuff took place, producing a string of local rarities that will long be remembered.

The fun began on Oct. 29 with the discovery of a sage thrasher at Montrose Beach. It was only the 5th Illinois record for this species, a rare visitor from the west. Amazingly, the bird lingered in the same general area for weeks. It was a “lifer” for most birders, including me.

Meanwhile, three more western vagrants were on the way! A mountain bluebird appeared at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion on Nov. 10, followed by a Brewer’s sparrow at Chicago’s Northerly Island on Nov. 12. Then, against all odds, a Townsend’s solitaire turned up at Montrose and actually visited the very same fruiting bush favored by the sage thrasher. They don’t call it the Magic Hedge for nothing.

But it wasn’t over. Two snowy owls delighted the Montrose faithful on Nov. 19, and then a probable broad-tailed hummingbird (yet another westerner) appeared at an Oak Park feeder. The hummer, still around in early December, attracted major-media coverage as well as birders from several states. If confirmed, it would be the first documented broad-tailed hummingbird for Illinois.

Other notable finds in Chicago during 2011 included a Ross’s gull in late March (Illinois’s 3rd) and a green-tailed towhee in October.

Here in DuPage County, more than 8,000 migrating sandhill cranes passed over the Greene Valley Forest Preserve hawkwatch on Nov. 16. The counters are still recovering.

“IBET” is the online birding list-serve that alerts us to all these discoveries, and sometimes the postings are accidentally funny. For example: “The Northern Mockingbird was still present at Binny's Beverage Depot on Thursday morning, Oct. 27.” Or this, posted by a man who had just attended a certain film about competitive birding: “There were only 4 persons at the movie the day we were there, myself and Laura, and another guy who has some bird feeders and his wife.”

Ah yes, “The Big Year,” surely one of the highlights of 2011. The movie was a box office bomb but birders generally liked it and I’ll bet some of us will even buy the DVD. Or at least visit Redbox.

Thanks to the all-star cast and a modest promotion campaign, “The Big Year” was noticed by a lot of people who are not yet birders. Lots of people told me about it (just in case I hadn’t heard).

Another 2011 event that seemed to transcend the birding community was an “eagle cam” in Decorah, Iowa. People all across America were logging on to watch those birds—an avian version of “The Truman Show” with Jim Carrey. Kudos to the Raptor Resource Project for making it happen.

Speaking of eagles, lots of opportunities to get a winter fix: Bald Eagle Days in the Quad Cities, Jan. 6-8; Clinton Eagle Watch, Jan. 7 (at lock and dam #13, near Fulton, IL); and Starved Rock Eagle Watch Weekend, Jan. 28-29.

I love that new species of birds are still being discovered. In 2011, Bryan’s shearwater joined the list of about 10,000 species worldwide.

I’ll probably never see a Bryan’shearwater, but I did add two birds to my life list this year: the sage thrasher in Chicago and Florida scrub jay, found at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Something else I love: the new “environmental” license plate for Illinois. I’m still getting used to the green background but the cardinal illustration is much improved. We owed that to our state bird.

Canada might finally get a national bird. Red-tailed hawk is reportedly leading in the Canadian Raptor Conservancy’s online poll.

If you like owls, conservation and wine, check out threehoots.com.

A great-horned owl presented me with a gift on Aug. 2. It was daybreak and I’d just finished my workout at the Glen Ellyn YMCA. As I walked to my car I heard some hooting. I followed the sound until I was behind the building, at the little field where my son once played t-ball. For a few minutes I just sat on the bleachers to listen and remember. Birding can slow us down sometimes, and this is good.

In April, Team Sapsucker from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology set the North American Big Day record by finding 264 bird species in 24 hours. In Texas, of course!

Best feel-good bird story of the year: The return of the two Mooseheart eaglets to the wild on Nov. 13. The birds spent five months at Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in Barrington after falling from their nest last May.

Saddest bird story of the year: In May, a 38-year-old Naperville man was struck and killed when he attempted to help a family of ducklings across I-294, near O’Hare.

Moving from sad to just plain disappointing, Kentucky passed a measure allowing sandhill cranes to be hunted in that state beginning Dec. 15. The hunt will last 30 days or until 400 birds are dead. Thirteen western states allow crane hunting but Kentucky is the first state east of the Mississippi to do so.

I’m OK with hunting, and I buy a federal duck stamp every year. But cranes?

Have you heard about the new Frontier League baseball team, the Schaumburg Boomers? The mascot is a greater prairie chicken. Sweet logo. Gotta get me a hat.

Consider this description of Wild Delight Cardinal Food, spotted in a recent Ace Hardware ad: “A premium wild bird food blended to attract and feed the most desirable outdoor pets.”

Birders are allowed to watch mammals, too! My favorite four-legged sighting of 2011 was a 13-lined ground squirrel at Prairie Landing Golf Club in West Chicago, in June and again in August. We are at the far eastern edge of this species’ usual range.

New books on my nightstand, waiting patiently for my tired eyes: “Avian Architecture,” by Peter Goodfellow, and “Bird Coloration,” by Geoffrey Hill.

Finally, was it three or four times that I went searching for the pileated woodpeckers reported on the east side of The Morton Arboretum? Never did see one. But it’s OK—finding that bird gives me yet another excuse to go birding in 2012.

I hope that you find lots of excuses, too. Make the time and get out there! Best wishes for a wonderful new year of birding and discovery.

Copyright 2011 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Wild Turkey

October journal reveals the daily joys of birding
(published 11-15-11)

Well, that was fast. "The Big Year" came and went like a fall warbler in a hurry to go south. It didn’t hang around very long because box office duds never do. I liked the movie, did you?

"The Big Year" wasn’t the only thing birdy about October. For chirping out loud, the Cardinals even won the World Series.

For me, the month was defined by a string of short but satisfying bird encounters. Each one reminded me that it’s the seasonality—and the little surprises—that make this hobby so rewarding. These are my journal notes:

Oct. 2: I was playing catch with my son and heard the distant bugle of sandhill cranes. We looked up and soon located five birds swirling around, enjoying the warm sun just like us. November is prime time for “sandie” sightings, often in large migrating flocks, so be alert for these spectacular birds.

Oct. 8: My only full morning of birding. The site was St. James Farm Forest Preserve in Warrenville, where we’d moved the regular Cantigny Park bird walk—for variety and because St. James is new territory for most local birders. And that includes me. Until last June I’d never set foot inside the 600-acre preserve, located immediately south of Cantigny. It’s an “underbirded” venue with excellent habitat variety. Our band of 75 birders found 42 species (plus a coyote) on a day that felt more like summer.

For now, on most days, St. James is quiet. Public access began only in 2007, when the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County officially took possession of the property from the Brooks McCormick estate. Since then the preserve has gradually ramped up toward a goal of daily visitation, a process that continues today. St. James is open through November but then closes until Memorial Day weekend in 2012. It lacks a paved parking lot so winter visitation isn’t yet possible. Full 365-day access will likely begin sometime in 2013.

I made two more short visits to St. James in October. For natural beauty, history and birds (including wild turkeys), it’s a great place to go.

Oct. 13: I arrived home late from the DuPage Birding Club’s fundraising auction. As I unpacked the car, with the garage door still open, a great-horned owl hooted softly. I stepped onto the driveway in hopes of seeing the bird but never did. No doubt it saw me.

Oct. 14: The morning was special as the season’s first dark-eyed juncos appeared in my yard. These Canada nesters—some call them “snowbirds”—will be with us until late April. We are in the northern part of their wintering range. Marking their October arrival is an annual tradition.

Oct. 17: I stepped into the backyard after work to check the feeders. A hermit thrush flew up from the ground-level birdbath, and then I spotted what appeared to be a feathered mouse scurrying across the bluestone and into the peonies. It was of course a winter wren, a secretive species that goes undetected more often than not. October is a good time to see one and this year I was lucky.

Oct. 24: White-throated sparrows were regular in the yard from mid-October on, loving the millet I toss on the bare ground beyond my feeders. On this day, a pair of fox sparrows joined the feast. I noticed them at dusk and expected to see them again the next morning. Not to be, but another fox appeared the day before Halloween. One of my favorite sparrows.

Oct. 27: At the office, late afternoon. I check IBET, the online birding list-serve, and learn that a red-necked grebe was reported at Fermilab 30 minutes ago. Gee, that’s only 6 miles away.

By 4:15 I’m on the scene, standing at the edge of Lake Law with three other birders. Two of them have scopes fixed on the bird. Then more birders arrive, and a few more. It was a “lifer” for some, and it certainly felt like one for me. My only previous red-necked grebe was in Alaska in 2001, spotted from a moving train. This sighting was a lot more satisfying and enjoyed with friends. Nice.

Oct.28: Sometimes I just need a red-headed woodpecker fix. When that happens I know right where to go: behind the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, in the big oaks. I took a walk at lunch and easily found my target. Was this the bird that spent the whole winter at Cantigny in 2010-2011? If yes, will it stay again? Hope so.

Oct. 29: A female white-crowned sparrow joins the backyard brunch. Hey, this millet trick really works! If you try it, start with just a few handfuls when the ground is dry.

Oct. 30: A rather late-for-the-season golden-crowned kinglet stopped by the yard. As kinglets will do, it flitted around in perpetual motion, like a bird that’s had way too much caffeine.

Now it’s November and the birding year is winding down. But it’s still an exciting time. Watch for those sandhill cranes, listen for owls, keep your feeders full, go on some bird walks and just enjoy whatever Mother Nature sends your way. The seasonality of birding is something to savor, one moment and one day at a time.

Copyright 2011 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.

Jack Black and Greg Miller

Hollywood takes up birding with “The Big Year”
(published 10-4-11)

This could be the biggest thing in the birding world since the announced rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker. I’m speaking of “The Big Year,” an upcoming movie based on a true story that is sure to capture the attention of birders and nonbirders alike.

Is America ready for this, a mainstream Hollywood movie about an over-the-top 365-day birding competition? We’ll soon find out. The film opens in theaters on Friday, October 14.

“The Big Year” was a popular conversation topic at the Midwest Birding Symposium last month in Ohio. Most of us who attended agreed that even if the movie lays an egg at the box office it will still bring a lot of attention to our hobby. People who don’t care a lick about birds will go see it, if only for the all-star cast. The main actors are Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson.

“The Big Year” was first a bestselling book, superbly written by Mark Obmascik and published in 2004. It was so good that nonbirders read it, too. Excerpts appeared in Sports Illustrated. The book’s broad appeal was surely a consideration when 20th Century Fox decided to bring it to life on the silver screen.

That decision would lead to a dream come true for Greg Miller, one of the real-life characters in the book. He is not exactly a household name in birding circles—certainly not as famous as some other speakers at the Birding Symposium, including Pete Dunne and Kenn Kaufman. But Miller’s star is rising thanks to “The Big Year” movie. His character is played by Jack Black.

It was fun meeting Miller in Ohio, his home state, and chatting about his involvement with the movie. He was on location for 15 days in 2010 as a paid consultant, hired to show the main actors and extras how to look, act and speak like birders. For training, he even took Jack Black on a two-hour bird walk around Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C. The actor was wowed by the bald eagles.

“I’m pretty un-Hollywood,” Miller said. On the set, “Jack went out of his way to make me feel accepted.”

Miller has not previewed the movie but feels confident that the “heartfelt comedy” will be accepted and enjoyed by birders. He thinks the birding scenes will be realistic and that viewers will not hear random out-of-place bird calls.

In the book, Miller was the one you rooted for, the underdog. His goal was to break the standing North American record for most birds listed in a calendar year (721 species). It was 1998. But unlike his wealthy and retired competitors, Miller was short on cash and pinched for time because he worked for a living. This made his quest a lot more remarkable.

Miller says “The Big Year” film script deviates in many ways from the book. One of the biggest differences is that the story is set in the present. So the actors are seen using modern technology that makes birdfinding today faster and easier—GPS and smart phones, for example.

Air travel, of course, was much different in 1998. Back then, Miller and his two competitors had no problem dashing through airports, hopping on last-minute flights to far-off places. They left a huge carbon footprint but the practice enabled all three to rack up more than 700 bird species for the year, an astounding achievement.

“The Big Year” will surely be entertaining, but will it make our hobby look silly? Miller doesn’t think so, because the story isn’t just about birding. Like the book cover says, it’s “A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession.”

“The thing that I’m most thrilled about is the effect it had on people who are not birders,” said Miller, speaking of his on-set experience. He noted that four out of the 170 people working on the movie became new birders, purchasing their own field guides and binoculars. If the same conversion rate applies to those who watch the movie, “The Big Year” will have a huge positive impact on birdwatching.

Like Miller, I’m all for growing the hobby. Maybe Hollywood—and Jack, Steve and Owen—can help. I’ll be thinking about that when I buy my ticket and popcorn.

Copyright 2011 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.
Photo of Jack Black and Greg Miller by Cam Shaw, Tofino, BC

Taking young birders under our wings
(published 9-20-11)

In 2008, I applied to be a Boy Scout merit badge counselor. I submitted to a criminal background check, took the required Youth Protection Training, paid my fee and purchased a badge booklet at a Scout supply store. I was ready to serve.

Well, apparently Bird Study is not a very popular merit badge. The phone never rang. After a year without a single inquiry, I let my counselor status lapse.

None of this is too surprising. On local field trips, birders under the age of 20 are about as common as mockingbirds in Illinois. We hope to see them but rarely do.

The monthly bird walk at Cantigny Park last month had a theme: “Take a Kid Birding Day.” Adults were encouraged to invite a child, a grandchild, a neighbor kid or any young person who might have an interest in birds. We were ready, with plenty of adult leaders ready to share their skills. The park even purchased 50 copies of the “Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America” so that each child would have a book to use and take home.

Turns out, two books would have sufficed.

We all know that getting kids interested in nature—or just getting them outdoors—can be a challenge. The really encouraging thing, though, is that the two 11-year-old girls at Cantigny last month were enthusiastic, and it was by no means their first birding experience. By the end of the walk they’d exchanged e-mail addresses.

Seeing those girls reaffirmed my belief that kids and birds are a good fit. It’s fun to see them get excited about sights and sounds that most of us take for granted. The key is to keep them interested by offering more opportunities for birding and steady encouragement as they explore the hobby.

This is already happening, a good example being Illinois Young Birders. The club, ILYB for short, was founded in March 2010 as a special project by the Illinois Ornithological Society. So far it has about 30 youth members as well as adult supporting members and partner members such as the DuPage Birding Club.

“The social element of our club is very important,” says Brian Herriott, ILYB coordinator. “Often, children that develop a great interest in a hobby like birding soon find that there are few peers who share that interest.

“As an adult birder, some of my most valued friendships are my ‘birding buddies.’ I want members of ILYB to experience the same joy that I have of sharing the wonder of birds with friends and family.”

The club is for ages 9 to 18. Organized field trips are the major benefit of membership, and parents are welcome on all of them. To learn more, visit illinoisyoungbirders.org. The next 20 youth members to join will receive a free copy of “Birds of Illinois,” a terrific book (for all ages) by Sheryl DeVore and Stephen Bailey.

Another book I recommend is “The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of Eastern North America,” by Bill Thompson III. There is nothing else like it—fun and light, but still very useful.

Kids need decent binoculars, too, and some models are better for young birders than others. A good source is Eagle Optics, a Wisconsin-based mail order house that caters to birders. The Eagle website offers helpful information about binocular buying in general. But what I absolutely love is their package deals for young birders. The “Young Naturalist Kit,” for example, includes a good binocular for small hands and a copy of Thompson’s book, all for $130. Shipping is free. There’s another value-priced package geared to slightly older youth birders.

To be sure, getting kids into birding is not expensive. Guided bird walks are almost always free, and there are many to choose from. For ideas, check out the DuPage Birding Club website and the newsletter of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn offers some excellent youth programs. Kids can get up-close looks at the center’s resident birds, too, including hawks, owls and eagles.

Not all outings are suited to children but most bird walks offer plenty of guidance. Many birders really enjoy sharing the hobby with youngsters.

Don’t overlook the backyard either! Watching birds at home is an easy way to develop a child’s interest. Encourage him or her to notice what’s coming and going, and to keep a list of sightings. The list will grow quickly, especially if you have feeders. Try offering a few different kinds of food and also a birdbath. Keep the field guide and binoculars in a handy place.

I know it sounds obvious, but the future of our hobby—and bird conservation—really depends on getting more young people interested in birds. Let’s all do our part to bring them along.

Me? I recently joined ILYB as a supporting member and also reregistered with the Scouts. I’m a Bird Study counselor again. When the phone rings, I’ll be ready.

Copyright 2011 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.