First Week In Action- Big Year 2014

I awaited its arrival for months seemingly, when I had only decided to run a big year in Kane County just about a month ago. Now, starting this past Wednesday, January 1st, the race was on! To clarify just what I mean by a big year in Kane County, a big year is a well-known challenge amongst the birding community, in which a person (or people) attempt to find the most bird species possible within a defined area, in a calendar year. My defined area is between the borders of Kane County, meaning that birds seen outside of Kane, will not count towards this attempt. There is a record for this, and to do this will require dedication, and a great amount of luck.

Well, to start, luck and the weather were not on my side. Wednesday was a harsh day in which snowfall and blowing snow made travel a risky proposition. And so, instead, I began my big year, watching hopefully for some spectacular birds to show at my back yard feeders. Not exactly what I had planned, but I netted 10 species feeder watching. Since the day was not going to get any better, I helped my mom do inventory at her work, where I was able to slide in one more species, a Northern Cardinal, by peeking out the window from time to time. Day two was sure to be better.... Right?

Right! The weather still wasn't near perfect, but I headed out a little before 8 in the morning, straight for South Elgin to stop first at the dam, and then at Jon Duerr Forest Preserve, where a long-staying rarity for Kane County, a Townsend's Solitaire, was my primary goal! The dam started pretty slowly, but I netted six new species there, including my first Bald Eagle. Jon Duerr was a fun time, even in driving snow and harsh wind gusts. Not a bird was to be heard while trudging through the snow along the train trolley tracks, following only one set of footprints that had been layed before my own.

Briefly, the wind died down long enough for me to be able to scan around for any activity. A quick fly-by by a Cooper's Hawk was a delight, but still no birdsong, not even a slight chip. I followed a trail for a small ways off of the tracks, where I heard the definitive "Chuck" note of a Yellow-Rumped Warbler, and soon after spotted it. The next bird flew over, and it could only have been one thing, the Townsend's Solitaire! It gave very good and definitive views in a nearby tree for a couple of minutes. Check!!! I scoured the rest of the preserve for nearly an additional hour, adding only a few species here and there to my year list. I came to edge of the Fox River, where a group of 98(!) Common Goldeneye was congregated under the bike bridge. Along the river, all was relatively still due to the trees blocking the wind. The only sound piercing this relative silence was a strange vocalization, which I later realized was the group of Common Goldeneyes! A strange, yet delightful sound somewhat reminiscent of an American Woodcock.

Next stop off was the Geneva Dam, and Island Park in Geneva. Here, I netted Common Merganser and American Crow, but no unusual gull species like I had hoped. From there, I thought it wise to go check two rural locations known to have been where Snowy Owls were found recently. I struck out on that search as well. My only two consolation prizes were a hunting American Kestrel on Dauberman Road south of Kaneville, and an adult dark-morph Rough-Legged Hawk roadside on Peplow Road south of Burlington. I ended that day with 18 new species, for a total of 29 for the year.

Weather conditions kept deteriorating through Friday and into Saturday, making travel on Friday impossible, and Saturday not worth much of anything with one new species added in a roadside Red-Tailed Hawk. Today (Sunday), one more species was added to the list when a group of Brown-Headed Cowbirds attended the back yard feeders. I finish my first partial week of my big year at a very modest 31 species seen. As for the upcoming week, it doesn't get any better weather-wise until possibly Thursday. But tonight on into Tuesday, wind chills are supposed to bring the temperature down to a feels like of -30 to -50 degrees F!

Keep checking back here for new reports as my big year progresses! As you may have noticed, no photos were included, and that was because I did not take my camera out in these ridiculous weather conditions. We'll see where it goes from here, but something's gotta give with this Illinois winter weather!

Brendon Lake