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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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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