May 5: Spring Bird Count

Every year a group of knowledgeable birders get together to count birds during one of the most exciting tomes of the birding year: Spring Migration. During spring migration, one can easily see 100 species on a good day. That's a lot of species. To me, it seems to be almost the same as a Big Day, or a day when one or a group of birders attempts to see as many species as possible and potentially break a record for the most species seen during that time of year. The fundamental difference between a Big Year and a Spring Bird Count, is that a Spring Bird Count is considered a survey; the data collected by the observers is submitted to the National Audubon Society, which analyzes it to discover population trends, or long-term changes in migratory pathways. When Spring Bird Counts are done around the country, it helps to paint a picture depicting which birds are where during this time of year, which can be crucial when tracking natural cycles. This is called "Citizen Science", and is great for proffesional scientists because they can use amateur enthusiasts to do what they can't do alone.

Anyway, my group of three people began birding at Wadsworth Wetlands at 4:00 AM to get a head start on nocturnal species. We hiked around for around forty minutes in an attempt to hear owls, rails, and anything else that was out that early. Unfortunately, we didn't find any of the secretive rail species, but we did hear a hooting Great Horned Owl, and some early singing Sedge Wrens and swallows.

Next, we went to Osprey Lake in Gurnee, and just as the amber of the sun spread into the cloudy eastern sky, we heard Common Yellowthroats, a million Marsh Wrens, a singing White-crowned Sparrow, Gray Catbirds, and finally one of the reclusive rail species, a Sora. Soras have an eyrie and awesome call which can be heard in this video at the Internet Bird Collection.

Black-billed Cuckoo

After briefly observing a Great Egret, Northern Waterthrush, Eastern Meadowlark, and Savannah Sparrow near the Abbot facilities on atkinson road, we headed to our most productive spot of the day: Captain Daniel Wright Woods Forest Preserve, where my group saw 63 species. We started in the parking lot near the pond, and were greeted by singing Tennessee Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, Bay-breasted Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Oriole, and more. We continued our way around the pond while sifting through the many species, including gorgeous Northern Parulas, dazzling Scarlet Tanagers, immaculate Indigo Buntings, and my first ever Blue-winged Warbler. After talking briefly to another birding group, we learned of a nearby Black-billed Cuckoo, and at our first learning of the uncommon bird, we dashed over to where it was reported and got some fantastic views. We continued on and found such species as Great Crested Flycatcher, Wood Thrush (hear its incredible song here), Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-throated Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Ovenbird, Golden-winged Warbler, and Canada Warbler - all great migratory birds.

Scarlet Tanager Image Credit Wikipedia

We continued through the day, getting such species as the declining Common Tern and a late migrant Horned Grebe at Independence Grove, and the elusive Henslow's Sparrow at a natural area at the West end of Old Mill Road in Lake Forest, which we heard singing in full view for an unbelievable 25 minutes.

Overall, I can't describe the joy it brings me to share my passion with others during this exciting time of the year, and knowing that my interest is helping ornithologists to learn more about birds makes it that much more worth it to me. I look forward to the Spring Bird Count next year, when hopefully we'll have just as many good birds as this year.