Late summer scene at McGinnis Slough (Cook County) by Wes Serafin.
Usually at least one good bird shows up over the Thanksgiving weekend, due, I suppose, to the large number of birders loose over what is for many a four day holiday. This year a dovekie was found dead in Van Buren County Michigan, the county just north of where the ancient murrelt tarried. Birders were trying to figure out if there was any pattern in the presence of the two alcids. But given that one species is from the Pacific and other predominantly from the Atlantic ( a very small number of dovekies do breed in Alaska), it is hard to come up with anything. My own personal theory is that as the ancient murrelet was flying east it collided with the dovekie headed west, causing fatal injuries to the latter. I predict that a necropsy of the dovekie will reveal massive trauma to the head, while it is likely the murrelet suffered but a glancing blow. (Well, prove me wrong)
But a bird corpse in Michigan hardly satisfies one’s need to go birding so Cindy and I headed out on Sunday morning to the Palos region. This is an area of moraines, lakes, and waterways in southwestern Cook County. Fifteen thousand acres of it is public land held by the Cook County Forest Preserve District. The district was created in 1913 and the Palos area was targeted early, for its scenic value was undeniable. During the period of most recent glaciation, the region was an island (named Mt. Forest Island, by geologists), surrounded by the Des Plaines River and old Lake Chicago, referring to Lake Michigan when it bulged to the south and west due to ice in its upper basin. The rugged topography is heavily forested, with lakes, artificial and natural, scattered about.
Focusing on waterbirds, we headed to Saganashkee Slough and McGinnis Slough. The light was awful at Saganashkee but we could make out lots of ducks at the far end. When we moved to a more advantageous spot we identified rafts of mostly hooded mergansers. With their white crests outlined in black, the drakes are among t he most handsome of ducks. Although not as colorful, the hens have a ragged hood that makes her distinctive as well. There is often a bald eagle perched on the line of trees along the least accessible portion, but nothing that particularly morning.
McGinnis Slough offered many more species of waterbirds, including several flocks of cranes that greeted us upon our arrival. Many of the birds were quite distant but it was possible to pick out more hoodies, black duck, canvasback, redheads, ring-necked duck, and black duck. Three horned grebes dove actively, making them somewhat of a challenge to show Cindy.
On the way back to the car, I looked down and spotted a garter snake, just inches from where I had stepped. It was a chilly morning, and the snake was not moving very quickly. Indeed, it looked almost frozen. With the exceedingly mild fall, it might be possible for a Homo sapien to forget that winter was not too far off, but the snake knew. And it was a strong reminder to us.
Hooded merganser (male) photographed by John Cassady.
