Today was the Illinois Ornithological Society’s (IOS) Gull Frolic at Winthrop Harbor, which is on Lake Michigan just south of the Wisconsin border. We had never been to one of these things, but expert birders were promised to be on hand, so we figured we get a few animals to add to our list. Gulls are a nightmare. There are something like 27 species and each may have up to 5 plumages (first year, second year, breeding, etc.). And worst of all, a lot of them look the same. So sadly, for birders of our skill level, 27 x 5 = forget it.
Category Archives: challenges
no hawks were violated [51]
Today was our last day in Minnesota, and we decided to bird Sax-Zim bog, a rural area northwest of Duluth and famous for birding. We planned to stay till noon and then drive back to Chicago. We stayed till dusk, of course, and didn’t get home until 1:30 am. We still hadn’t seen any Great Gray Owls this trip, and since we saw a lot of them at Sax-Zim last year, we hoped we might get lucky.
We started on Route 133, where, almost immediately, we saw a large raptor. It was sitting in a tree and turned out to be a juvenile Bald Eagle. An adult (mom or dad?) was just perched just a little down the road. Then we saw another raptor flying over a field. Pole identified it right away by the distinctive markings under its wings: a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. Another lifer for us both. We actually saw two of them, so they might have been a breeding pair. We saw them frequently as we drove around the bog.
the great muddy north [28 – 33]
Today is the first day of a birding trip to Minnesota. We took a shorter trip last year during the unprecedented owl irruption, but don’t expect such luck this year. We left Chicago yesterday after work, but spent the night in Wisconsin, making today our first in the beautiful North Star State.
While on route to St. Paul, a BALD EAGLE flew low across our path. It’s always easy to ID, so I don’t mind it flying in front of me while I’m going 75 mph. Still heading north, Pole saw another bird fly past. (I was too busy driving the car, so couldn’t get a good look.) At first she thought it was a Northern Harrier, but after carefully reviewing both the Peterson and Sibley guides, she decided it was a NORTHERN GOSHAWK.
one for three in the owl dept. [13 – 26]
Having a job sucks. But money = good, so not having a job sucks even worse. Basically, then, suckage is all that’s on the menu.
I’m getting philosophical here because having a job really cuts into my birding time. That means my Little Year just gets littler and littler. I’m hopeful it won’t be littler when it’s lighter, because then I can do a little birding after work. Going out before work isn’t likely. I’m pretty damn lazy and like my sleep. The point of all my whining is that I didn’t see squat all week. Pole was lucky and stumbled upon a MOURNING DOVE last Monday. It’s only a week into our Little Year and she’s already ahead of me. Oh, well. She usually wins at everything, and I’m resigned to it.