Pouncing Coyote

Pouncing Coyote
Coyote pouncing on prey at Fermilab, in Batavia Illinois.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Big Year In Review- January

Hello again everybody, it has been a while! I guess I was too carried away with my big year attempt and forgot to keep up with the blogging. Oops! My sincerest apologies! Anyways, with the year coming to a close, I thought it would be best to sum it all up, one month at a time. I will be making twelve posts, one for each month of the year, over the coming weeks in order to catch everybody up on how my big year has gone. As I write this, it is not quite over yet, but the finish line is definitely in sight. This has been one crazy ride, in an attempt to see as many species of bird as possible in Kane County in one year. So here now, without further ado, my recap for the month of January!

After the first day of the year was an almost complete bust, with bad weather such as driving snow and high winds, the second day was a must for my birding. I was able to get an early 11 species on the first day by feeder watching from my dining room window and also nabbed my first Northern Cardinal of the year by glancing out the window while helping my mom with some warehouse work at her job. But there was one bird that I just had to go find, a long-staying Townsend's Solitaire at Jon Duerr Forest Preserve in South Elgin. This bird, a local rarity, had been found originally November 6th, 2013, and everyone was hoping that it would stick into the new year. I got down to Jon Duerr Forest Preserve at around 8am to find out for myself if it had stuck around. Below is a photo I took of the bird on November 6th, 2013. The first time I ever saw it.

Townsend's Solitaire

I followed the trolley tracks back into the old quarry area, where it was nearly devoid of birds. Some snow was still falling, just enough to irritate me as it fell into my eyes, so looking up was a bit of a challenge. I came to where a trail crossed over the tracks, and stopped to look around. There was still no sign of the Solitaire, so I decided to follow the trail into the quarry. As soon as I did so, I heard a distinct chip note, and I knew what it was. It was not the Solitaire, but a Yellow-Rumped Warbler that was apparently trying to overwinter here during one of the harshest winters I've ever been through! My first good bird in the books, I kept on going. I made it to the back of the quarry with still no sign of the Solitaire. I turned around, and soon heard a loud, clear and beautiful whistle more lyrical than any bluebird. It was the Solitaire, and I had to follow that hauntingly beautiful call ringing out through the silence to see it! I made it back to the intersection of the trail and trolley tracks, and had a bird fly over me. The gold wing bars flashed brilliantly in the gray sky, in stark contrast to the rest of the bird's body. It perched high in the top of the tallest tree around, and I quietly celebrated my Townsend's Solitaire success!

The rest of the day I added the likes of Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Rough-Legged Hawk, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur and Cooper's Hawk among others. In two days I had a modest total of 29 species for my young county year list. A good start! The next solid day of birding I would have would be the 9th of January, when I had to run to St. Charles to try to find the Mute Swans that had been there for a while.

I arrived at the river a little after noon, parking at Mount Saint Mary Park, and walking up along the river. It wasn't long before I found two of the three Mute Swans sitting on the ice. Not long after, they started to actively feed alongside the ice in the part of the river that was still open. I kept walking north towards the dam, looking for Bufflehead, but no luck. However, I was even more fortunate as a male Redhead was feeding with the Common Goldeneye. I wasn't expecting to find one until March. There was also an American Coot swimming around in the river and three Song Sparrows bouncing around the walkway. From there, I decided it was time to head north up to South Elgin.

The dam was pretty quiet, with nothing really happening. I stumbled across a female Hooded Merganser below the dam in the rapids, which was the only highlight. Another duck species in the books! I decided I might as well walk around Seba Park for a bit, since it was right across the street just down-river. As soon as I pulled into a parking space, I noticed a shape in a tree that I immediately thought dove, but then corrected myself. I was beginning to get excited about what it could be, and by putting binoculars on it I confirmed my hunch, MERLIN!! This was one bird I thought I would miss for sure, so this chance finding was perhaps one of the most pleasant surprises of my big year! It sat there for a long time, completely unfazed by my presence. I moved on before it did, and returned to the spot later to find it had left.

Merlin

The 11th was another memorable day of birding, particularly when I got word of a Harlequin Duck found that morning at Walton Island in Elgin by Tim Balassie, who I believe was leading a walk for Kane County Audubon. I headed down there as soon as I could, and started scanning around the island immediately after arriving. My mom, who was accompanying me, asked me about a duck she had seen with the Mallards hanging out just a few feet away from us. It wasn't the Harlequin Duck, but a male Red-Breasted Merganser! Of the three merganser species, Red-Breasted is the hardest to find in Kane County, and yet here was a beautiful male sitting with the Mallards and preening, just feet from where we stood! Another good bird, and another duck, in the books! Trekking on, just after crossing over the bridge at the south end of the island to check the west side of the island, a blur flew past me from behind! I tracked it until it perched on a large rock along the riverbank. It was a Peregrine Falcon, and no doubt one of the birds that spends time sitting on the Elgin Tower Building! I started to put some other birders on it, as they hadn't a clue it had arrived. Here I was less than two weeks into the year, and I had already completed the falcon and merganser tri-fectas!

Peregrine Falcon

Not long after that excitement, a rattling Belted Kingfisher flew by from up-river! I was talking to Andrew A. and Bill K. as they searched for the Harlequin as well, and I pointed out the Peregrine to them too. They in turn, pointed me in the direction of a Pied-Billed Grebe that was sticking close to the west bank of the river, tucked away. Another good bird for January! Finally the Harlequin Duck, a young male, made an appearance! At one point in time, it swam directly in front of the Peregrine who was drying off from its bath at the time. Another tough bird, one rarely seen in Kane County, and I could proudly say I got to see it! If you're starting to notice a theme emerging, you'd be correct if you said this was going to be a big year for waterfowl in the county of Kane.

Harlequin Duck and Peregrine Falcon

Also big in Illinois in the winter of 2013-2014 were Snowy Owls. In what was a record-setting irruption of these visitors from the Arctic, Illinois saw incredible numbers and concentrations of Snowy Owls, sometimes as many as eight in one place, or at least less than two square miles. Kane County was no exception, with sporadic one-day wonders popping up in locations such as a Jewel-Osco in St. Charles and a Wal-Mart in Huntley. However, a bird was spotted at the Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove, and this bird stayed a while. There ended up being photographic evidence of two in the area. I had been searching to see just one of them for my big year attempt for most of the first two weeks. Finally, on January 12th, I would get to see it!

My mom and I were driving around trying to spot it, when we came across Andrew A. and Scott C. on Scott Road, east of Dauberman. We exchanged pleasantries and phone numbers in case either of us came up with something. I fully expected them to find it, both of those birders really find some amazing things! A few minutes later, while scanning the fence row directly in the center of the two corn fields (about a half-mile away from the roadside I was standing on) I noticed a gray blob sitting immediately to the right of one of the fence posts. Sure enough, there she was, a smudgy-looking probable young female! I called Scott and Andrew and a few minutes later they were able to get scope views of the bird as well. It was great to see my first Kane County Snowy Owl ever that past December, and even better to have one two years in a row! Here is a photo that demonstrates how difficult it was to spot the owl.

Snowy Speck

The rest of the month was much slower in terms of adding new birds. I would add just five more after the 12th to bring my final total for the month of January to 56. Not a bad start to be sure, and it left me with plenty to look forward to in February! My top ten birds of the month of January are as follows.

1. Harlequin Duck
2. Townsend's Solitaire
3. Snowy Owl
4. Merlin
5. Peregrine Falcon
6. Red-Breasted Merganser
7. Northern Shrike
8. Mute Swan
9. Redhead

10. Pied-Billed Grebe

Brendon Lake

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