

(My wife has asked to become part of the Nutty Birder blog team and will be doing weekly posts on birds/birding in the news. Enjoy! - Rob)
One of the new features on the Nutty Birder blog is a short weekly post discussing a recent news story. The first article we’d like to talk about appeared in the Chicago Tribune last month and highlights an all-volunteer group called the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors.
Started in 2003 and operating as part of the Chicago Audubon Society, the CBCMs patrol a two-square mile area of downtown Chicago as early as 4am in an effort to rescue downed migratory birds. As noted in the article, “With enough volunteers to dispatch a band of 8 to 12 rescuers an hour before daylight, seven days a week, mid-August to mid-November, and again mid-March to mid-June, some 40 percent of the birds are saved, their wounds tended to, feathers unruffled, let loose in the wilds. So far this fall, the count stands at some 1,500 downtown rescues.”
The group consists of folks in a wide range of professions, including (but not limited to) a speech pathologist, a musician who plays with the Joffrey Ballet, an ornithologist from Kenya, and several architects and lawyers. Even individuals who aren’t “officially” part of the organization play an important role in helping these birds. The article mentions a homeless man who keeps the CBCM’s hot line number in his pocket so he can use phones at churches to call the CBCM if he finds a downed bird.
The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors do fantastic work. Another important initiative happening in the area is a program called “Lights Out Chicago”. During migration periods, the lights in several high-rise buildings in downtown Chicago are shut off at 11pm. At one particular site, McCormick Place, bird-crash deaths have been reduced by more than half since the lights were occasionally turned off starting in 1998. On nights when all the lights are out, fatalities drop by 80 percent.
Isn’t it amazing how a few volunteers can make such a huge difference in one of the largest cities in the U.S.?
The full article from the Chicago Tribune can be found here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/family/chi-1115-birdmigratenov15,0,6325117.story?page=1
To learn more about the Lights Out Chicago program, check out the Chicago Audubon Society’s website: http://www.lightsout.audubon.org/ Also included on this site is a “Tool Kit” that can help you start or become involved with a Lights Out program in your city.
Have a great week!
-Stephanie
Looking back towards the beach.
As we got out to the end of the pier, there was already a large group of birders gathered there scanning for the rare bird. Our friend Alison, a birder from Berrien County, was there and had not seen the bird yet that morning but told us that it had not been seen until 12:30pm the day before. As we stood on the pier and scanned the lake, a Little Gull approached very closely and allowed me to get the following picture.
Adult Herring Gull
For most of the time the boat was on the water, we chummed for gulls with very modest results. The numbers of gulls was impressive but the diversity was low with only four species seen. While heading north on the lake, we were able to spot a Pomarine Jaeger resting on the water. It didn't stick around long and took off flying past the boat. Not everybody was able to get good looks, but luckily I was able to see it well in flight.
When heading back in to dock we learned that there was a problem - a drawbridge over the channel that we needed to pass under to get back to the dock was stuck and the boat would not be able to get under it. So we docked somewhere else and had people taxied back over to where all the cars were. There positive side of this was spotting a Merlin. This was one of the most cooperative Merlins I have ever seen, and it stayed sitting on a pole in a parking lot while many birders stood below watching it.
It was a great trip and if you are ever able to go on one of these pelagics, don't miss the opportunity.
-Eric
After a rather slow morning of birding at Michigan City Harbor, Mount Baldy, and West Beach we headed back to the Indiana Dunes State Park for a short IAS membership meeting and then the afternoon presentations. The first presenter was a young birder from Berrian County, Michigan. Her name is Allison Vilag and she gave a fantastic presentation on what it is like to be a young birder.
Shortly after her presentation was over, John Kendall talked for a few minutes about a new shorebird project at a stormwater basin called McCool Pool. While the site is currently not favorable to shorebirds, it does host many migrating Nelson's and LeConte's Sparrows. After the short talk, the group headed over to McCool Pool. Even though it was raining quite hard, we found at least six Nelson's Sparrows and one LeConte's Sparrow.
The evening ended with a dinner and presentation about the birds of the Indiana Dunes by Ken Brock. The next morning, we hit a few more spots along the lake and then headed to IDSP again to watch some bird banding. This was definately the highlight of the weekend. Right when we got there, Brad Bumgardener, one of the naturalists at IDSPm was banding a White-throated Sparrow. The next bird up was a Brown Creeper. It was amazing to see how small these birds really are! We banded a few more species and then listened to a great presentation about Goose Pond FWA by Lee Sterrenburg.
Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the bird banding demonstration.
Lake Monroe - My birding destination of choice during migration.
I can't wait to get out tomorrow morning for what I hope to be even a better wave of migrants.
-Eric
It has taken me a few days to really gather all my thoughts from the Midwest Birding Symposium, and I am now finally ready to share them with you. This was by far the most fun birding event I have ever attended. It's hard to imagine, but there really were 750 people at the symposium that were as crazy about birds as I am. Not only were there some great birders from the Midwest in attendence, but some of the most famous individuals in birding were also there. Scott Weidensaul gave a fantastic presentation on his book, Of a Feather. Al Batt had everyone rolling with laughter, and Jim McCormac taught us all about the wonderful birding along the Great Lakes. I especially enjoyed meeting Kenn Kaufman. I have always loved his book Kingbird Highway, and it was amazing to listen to him tell the stories that he wrote about in his latest work, Flights Against the Sunset. I was also able to speak with Kenn and his wife Kim for about 20 minutes later in the weekend.
Additionally, I had the pleasure of birding with a group from the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University - Chris Wood, Jessie Berry, and Mary Guthrie. We birded the boardwalk at Magee Marsh and Ottawa NWR. We had a great day, and I hope to be able to visit the Lab soon.
While hanging out with all of these awesome birders was a wonderful experience, a certain bird did steal the show! After listening to Jim McCormac speak about birds along Lake Erie, Bill Thompson III announced that a Kirtland's Warbler had been found 5 minutes down the road. I have never seen an auditorium clear so quickly. We joined up with Dan Ross from Columbus, OH and hurried over to find this great rarity. After much searching, I was rewarded with beautiful looks of this life bird! Hundreds of people were able to see the Kirkland's Warbler, and it really made the weekend special for a large number of birders.
It was a pleasure to meet so many leaders of the birding world this past weekend, and I spent time with several other wonderful people in addition to those mentioned above. I had a great time birding with Andy Johnson, a fantastic young birder from Ann Arbor, MI. While at the Kirtland's Warbler site, I met a long-time reader of my blog, Kelly Riccetti of Red and the Peanut, as well as Dave Lewis of Birds from Behind. I also had the chance to speak with BirdChick and Mike from 10000 Birds.
To everyone I met at the conference, I hope to see you again soon!
-Rob
Check out more great SkyWatch Friday posts here.
-Rob
-Rob
See more great SkyWatch Friday posts here!The clouds about to cover the sun.
Our first bird was a Snowy Egret which is a pretty unusual bird for Eagle Creek. I had found this bird about a week ago so knew it was around. We then headed to the marina for the expected warbler show. It took a while to find anything at all. Our first flock contained only three species of warblers. As we were driving out of the marina area we noticed a few other Eagle Creek birders had found a flock. This flock was much better and we had Blackburnian and Cape May in the mix.
Do you see the Geese?
Eric has recently finished writing an article about peep identification. Peeps are a group of 5 small sandpipers and the group includes Baird's, Least, Semipalmated, Western, and White-rumped. This is a very difficult group to deistinguish between in the field and this article aims to give you great identification points to look for when you see these species. The full article can be found on our Nutty Birder website or by following this link http://nuttybirder.com/Articles/peepidentification.html.
Below is a short excerpt from the article:
Distinguishing Small Peeps from Large Peeps:
Without much experience, distinguishing sizes of peeps in the field can be difficult. The best way to get a grasp on the different sizes is to bird in a location where there are many shorebirds. After a few experiences with these species, it shouldn’t be too difficult to understand the size difference. One of the biggest differences in shape between small and large peeps is wing length. While in a resting position the wings of a large peep extend beyond the tail feathers while the wings of a small peep do not extend beyond the tail feathers. Because of this, large peeps have a more elegant, thin look than the small peeps. Small peeps look stout and much less elegant.
Junvenile Least Sandpiper