Although the weather on August 21 was not what most people would consider promising, the rain created hopes among the Hoosier Gang that migrating shorebirds might be forced down. They stood in the descending water waiting. Yes they became wet but it was all worth it as they were rewarded by a large flock of [...]
Markham Prairie is one of the finest examples of tall grass prairie still extant. There are several reasons why this is so. Although back in the 1800s it was grazed a bit, it was never plowed and was pretty much left alone for decades before it came to the attention of conservationists. It is also [...]
This is the first blog in a while, reflecting a new arrangement with my boss whereby I will continue to blog but less frequently. I also pinched a nerve in my neck which makes driving less than fun. Coupling that with the hot and not very birdy summer and manuscript anxieties, I just have not [...]
Continue reading about A Sand County Blog (Almanacs Are Sooo 20th Century)
It has been a couple of months or more since I wrote anything about the Wadsworth Wetlands. The spring surveys were completed towards the end of April. The breeding bird surveys started in late May and I have two more visits (out of a total of six) before they are history. A pair of red-tailed [...]
Andy Sigler and I went up for another round of interesting bird surveys on the Praire Island Indian Community property near Redwing, Minnesota. We arrived on a Tuesday and we had made arrangements to stop by Brad Frazier’s office to say hello before we would meet him the following the morning at 5am to begin [...]
Large twayblade photographed by Travis Mahan at Braidwood Dunes and Savanna in Will OCunty, IL.
Spring passerine migration ended pretty abruptly this year and my last two May outings were not very productive in terms of birds. But when Travis Mahan called to say he was coming up to look for a rare orchid, I was [...]
Whip-poor-will photographed by Tim Wallace.
A Night on the Town
I don’t really understand why but the only significant populatin of whip-poor-wills in northeastern Illinois occurs in a very circumscribed area of Illinois Beach State Park from say the WI line to the Dead River on the south. Most of this territory is closed after dark but [...]
I had been planning on joining the Ken Brock’s crew for more trap birding, but a last minute change in plans had me considering other options. On Friday May 14, Amar Ayyash found something like 16 species of shorebirds at the Tinley Park Wetlands, a place I never been before that is not too far [...]
Continue reading about Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (Literally)
I have mentioned the Skokie Lagoon before but it is a special place for me. Up until the 1930s, it was known as the Skokie Swamp, an inter-morainal wetland that formed during the last glacial incursion. Its mollusks were studied in detail but there is not a great deal in the ornithological literature concerning its [...]
Ken Brock suggested that we make an effort to collaborate on some birding this spring. I said that I would love to, particularly if Jeff McCoy and John Cassiday could join us on a week day. Wednesday was the day selected and I arrived early at Forsythe Park in Hammond, Indiana. Heavy fog blanketed the [...]