I know I just posted about Kestrel photos, but this one was so close to
home and more cooperative.

I have seen an  AMERICAN KESTREL several times before make his way along
Knoch Knolls road from the McDonald Conservation Farm through Knoch
Knolls park, but this time I finally had my camera with me and got some
photos.
He came in hovering and swooping over the frisbee golf course and the
grassy area to the west of it at around 8:00AM this morning for about 20
minutes or so until he headed south over the woods.

Photos here:
http://www.teune.com/photos/index.php?cat=31
under Knoch Knolls
or my new 'vanity' address:
http://www.chicagobirds.com 8-)
(hey, no one else was using it and I'm thinking about making it a
separate site anyway, this birding thing is overrunning my Teune family
site very quickly!).

Ed Teune
Naperville, IL, Will Co.
ed @ teune.com

Here's a list of what we saw Thursday from the Deer Grove East Camp Reinberg
entrance along the paved bike trail and some of the unpaved trails in the
woods.  Thanks to John Wittbold for keeping the tally.

Red-tailed Hawk juv. calling for food
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker - 2 fledglings
E. Wood Pewee - 3
Willow Flycatcher - 2
Eastern Phoebe - adult carrying food for young in nest under the eaves of one
of the cabins.
Great-crested Flycatcher - 3
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay - 6
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow - 4
Black-capped Chickadee - 5
White-breasted Nuthatch - 4
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin - abundant
Gray Catbird - 3
Common Yellowthroat - 7
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal - 4
Indigo Bunting - 3
House Finch - 2
American Goldfinch - 6

Carolyn Fields
Palatine
NW Cook County



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear Ibeters,

Those of you who have been to the marsh at the
northwest corner of Powis and Stern Roads, DuPage
County, what are the smallish (10”?) grebe-like
waterfowl?  The six(?) appear to be young and resemble
grebes, but have a dark charcoal-grey top of head,
nape and back, and white side-of-face, throat, breast
and runp.  All white shows above the water line.  The
eye appears to be in the white.  Marscha Chenoweth and
I studied them at some distance with a scope (how DO
you get near that marsh anyway?).  We did not see them
dive and they appeared to feed by dipping head only in
the water as they slowly swam along, like a Mallard.
It was VERY windy, making zoomed scope views
difficult.  Anyone seen them?

Other interesting birds seen were at Pratt’s Wayne
Woods, east side of Powis Road at the small marsh just
south of the parking lot - on the east side of the
entrance road.  We had two young VIRGINIA RAILs and
three young, but varying ages, SORA RAIL chicks.  The
youngest, we tried to make into a Black Rail (don’t
laugh), because it was very dark with specks on its
back.  But, when the other two emerged, it was evident
all were the same.  The speckled one was just younger.
  We viewed them best at about 6:45 to 7:15 a.m.,
though morning sunshine is terrible there.  Evening
viewing would probably be best.

One or two families of WARBLING VIREOS were flying
from tree to tree in the parking lot and gracing our
morning with song.  We heard what sounded like a
Chestnut Sided Warbler, but could not find the bird.
There was a female YELLOW WARBLER, so maybe...

Marilyn Bell
Warrenville
DuPage County





____________________________________________________
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Hello all,

The following is friendly reminder of the mission
statement of and the rules for posting on IBET.

-------------------

1. Keep the conversation on birding in ILLINOIS.
2. Sign ALL posts with your name, town/city, county,
and e-mail address.
3. Please include the county in which your sighting
occurred if it is not the county in which you reside.
4. Do not send attached photos or files, instead send
members to a web site for viewing.
5. If the post does not include a sighting, the
subject line should indicate NO SIGHTINGS
(capitalized).
6. NO SARCASM, because one cannot distinguish between
sarcasm and antagonism on a printed page.
7. There is ZERO tolerance for flaming, posting
messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting
to other members of the list. This is the only offense
that will get you barred from IBET, and it will happen
on the first offense.

Illinois's birding listserv, IBET is an e-mail list
for the discussion of wild birds and birding issues
relating to Illinois. IBET's mission is to promote the
JOY of birding by keeping the membership updated on
all rare and interesting birds and birding
opportunities. Please see the list of rules below.
IBET is administered by Sue Friscia,
suefriscia@....

For more, please visit the IBET homepage at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/

Good birding,





========================
Michael L. P. Retter
Bloomington-Normal
McLean Co, Illinois
mlretter AT yahoo.com
309.824.7317
========================



____________________________________________________
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http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com

An acquaintance sent me the following message.  Does
anyone have any thoughts?  You can email me directly,
then I can pass the reresponsesn to my acquaintance
thanks.

>Subject: A nesting pair of Lawrence's
babackcrossarbler, maybe....
>Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 21:59:15 -0500
>I think some friends of mine, have a pair ofof
Lawrence'sabackcross
Warblers.
>They seem to match the picture on page 428 in Sibley.
  How rare are
they?
>Please let me know. Gregory........



HoHooohoooooohooho?
Rhonda RoRothrockPomona, Illinois  62975

Mark your calendar for the
Birding Fest of Southernmost Illinois
April 28, 29 & 30, 2006
hthttp/wwwwwibirdingblitzrg

I wish I were a glow worm, a glowworm's never glum.
'Cos how can you be grumpy when the sun shines out
your bum!

Hoo hoo-oo hoo Who?
Rhonda Rothrock
Pomona, Jackson County, Illinois
Birding Fest of Southernmost Illinois, April 28-30, 2006!
Mark your calendars! <www.birdingblitz.org>



____________________________________________________
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Michael:

Regarding you recent post about IBET Rules.  Your post broke IBET Rule # 5.

If you are going to make /quote the rules, please follow them. See Rule 5
below.  ;-)

5. If the post does not include a sighting, the
subject line should indicate NO SIGHTINGS
(capitalized).

(Please note:  This post was written in a humorous vein, as I know Michael
and consider him to be a friend.  Any sarcasm perceived is strictly in the
mind of the reader.  If so, shame on you!)

Craig A. Taylor
La Grange, Illinois
Cook County
Tnemec1@...

"Behold the birds of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Matt. 6 : 26



-----Original Message-----
From: ILbirds@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ILbirds@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf
Of Michael L. P. Retter
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 1:16 PM
To: IBET
Subject: IBET monthly rules reminder


Hello all,

The following is friendly reminder of the mission
statement of and the rules for posting on IBET.

-------------------

1. Keep the conversation on birding in ILLINOIS.
2. Sign ALL posts with your name, town/city, county,
and e-mail address.
3. Please include the county in which your sighting
occurred if it is not the county in which you reside.
4. Do not send attached photos or files, instead send
members to a web site for viewing.
5. If the post does not include a sighting, the
subject line should indicate NO SIGHTINGS
(capitalized).
6. NO SARCASM, because one cannot distinguish between
sarcasm and antagonism on a printed page.
7. There is ZERO tolerance for flaming, posting
messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting
to other members of the list. This is the only offense
that will get you barred from IBET, and it will happen
on the first offense.

Illinois's birding listserv, IBET is an e-mail list
for the discussion of wild birds and birding issues
relating to Illinois. IBET's mission is to promote the
JOY of birding by keeping the membership updated on
all rare and interesting birds and birding
opportunities. Please see the list of rules below.
IBET is administered by Sue Friscia,
suefriscia@....

For more, please visit the IBET homepage at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/

Good birding,





========================
Michael L. P. Retter
Bloomington-Normal
McLean Co, Illinois
mlretter AT yahoo.com
309.824.7317
========================



____________________________________________________
Yahoo! Sports
Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

Question:  When did the rules change?  Below are Sue Friscia's rules for
IBET.  While the general gist is the same, they are different than the rules
Michael posted.

I need some ID help here.  New species of rules?  Has lumping occurred?  Or
is this a new race of IBET Rules?

---------------------------------------

HOW TO POST and IBET'S POSTING RULES

Messages to be distributed to all subscribers on the list should be sent to
ILbirds@yahoogroups.com and should adhere to the following rules.

*    Your post must have a definite subject line. If there are two subjects,
make two separate posts.
*    Sign your post with your complete name, e-mail address, and location
(preferably including county).
*    Bird sightings should be listed first, preferably each SPECIES in
capital letters.
*    Personal attacks are unacceptable. This is the only infraction that
will lead to immediate removal from the list.

Content - topics should be confined to:

*    Illinois bird sightings
*    Illinois birding locations
*    Illinois bird behavior
*    Information requests
*    Field Trip announcements
*    Club Meeting announcements
*    Special birding events
*    Humor is welcome, please!

The following are not permitted on IBET:

*    No virus alerts, scam warnings, etc.
*    No attachments, especially not pictures and sounds.
*    No HTML version of your message included as an attachment (please
configure your e-mail software accordingly).

--------------------------------------------------

BONUS for those who read this post down to here:  Tim Kuesel and I had a
LARK SPARROW in Logan County Thursday.

Craig A. Taylor
La Grange, Illinois
Cook County
Tnemec1@...

"Behold the birds of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Matt. 6 : 26



-----Original Message-----
From: ILbirds@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ILbirds@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf
Of Michael L. P. Retter
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 1:16 PM
To: IBET
Subject: IBET monthly rules reminder


Hello all,

The following is friendly reminder of the mission
statement of and the rules for posting on IBET.

-------------------

1. Keep the conversation on birding in ILLINOIS.
2. Sign ALL posts with your name, town/city, county,
and e-mail address.
3. Please include the county in which your sighting
occurred if it is not the county in which you reside.
4. Do not send attached photos or files, instead send
members to a web site for viewing.
5. If the post does not include a sighting, the
subject line should indicate NO SIGHTINGS
(capitalized).
6. NO SARCASM, because one cannot distinguish between
sarcasm and antagonism on a printed page.
7. There is ZERO tolerance for flaming, posting
messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting
to other members of the list. This is the only offense
that will get you barred from IBET, and it will happen
on the first offense.

Illinois's birding listserv, IBET is an e-mail list
for the discussion of wild birds and birding issues
relating to Illinois. IBET's mission is to promote the
JOY of birding by keeping the membership updated on
all rare and interesting birds and birding
opportunities. Please see the list of rules below.
IBET is administered by Sue Friscia,
suefriscia@....

For more, please visit the IBET homepage at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/

Good birding,





========================
Michael L. P. Retter
Bloomington-Normal
McLean Co, Illinois
mlretter AT yahoo.com
309.824.7317
========================



____________________________________________________
Yahoo! Sports
Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

Hi all,

Friday 7-1-05: Kankakee LeVasseur Park/Perry Farm Trail:0505-0830H(2mi walk +
1mi drive0_Sun_70-80f_NW5-10_Raccoon(3)_Wt Deer_E Cottontail.

Found one Sedge Wren in the middle of Perry Farm Prairie - last year I had 10 at
this time and a high count of 18  in the middle of July.

An adult Great Horned Owl attracted plenty  of attention in our backyard around
6pm  today - both Am Crows and a an adult Cooper's Hawk showed-up to verbally
abuse her(?) -  though she never did leave. (Maybe young near-by).

Tallied 59 species on a shortened outing as follows:


30 Canada Goose ¨  ¨ Anatidae

15 Wood Duck ¨   ¨ Anatidae

130 Mallard ¨   ¨ Anatidae

1 Wild Turkey ¨   ¨ Melagrididae

6 Great Blue Heron ¨   ¨ Ardeidae

1 Cooper's Hawk ¨ vocalized at LaVasseur Park ¨ Accipitridae

8 Killdeer ¨   ¨ Charadriidae

3 Spotted Sandpiper ¨   ¨ Scolopacidae

1 Ring-billed Gull ¨   ¨ Laridae

12 Rock Pigeon ¨   ¨ Columbidae

60 Mourning Dove ¨   ¨ Columbidae

>>>2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo ¨   ¨ Coccyzidae

50 Chimney Swift ¨   ¨ Apodidae

4 Belted Kingfisher ¨ Two males doing "splish-splash" routine - maybe
territorial behavior. ¨ Cerylidae

3 Red-headed Woodpecker ¨   ¨ Picidae

7 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨   ¨ Picidae

4 Downy Woodpecker ¨   ¨ Picidae

1 Hairy Woodpecker ¨   ¨ Picidae

9 Northern Flicker ¨   ¨ Picidae

4 Eastern Wood-Pewee ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

3 Eastern Phoebe ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

3 Great Crested Flycatcher ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

1 Eastern Kingbird ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

3 Warbling Vireo ¨   ¨ Vireonidae

6 Red-eyed Vireo ¨   ¨ Vireonidae

4 Blue Jay ¨   ¨ Corvidae

8 American Crow ¨   ¨ Corvidae

2 Tree Swallow ¨   ¨ Hirundinidae

19 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨   ¨ Hirundinidae

1 Black-capped Chickadee ¨   ¨ Paridae

2 Tufted Titmouse ¨   ¨ Paridae

4 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   ¨ Sittidae

7 Carolina Wren ¨   ¨ Troglodytidae

1 House Wren ¨   ¨ Troglodytidae

>>>1 Sedge Wren ¨ sighted ¨ Troglodytidae

1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ¨   ¨ Sylviidae

2 Wood Thrush ¨   ¨ Turdidae

25 American Robin ¨   ¨ Turdidae

8 Gray Catbird ¨   ¨ Mimidae

2 Brown Thrasher ¨   ¨ Mimidae

40 European Starling ¨   ¨ Sturnidae

60 Cedar Waxwing ¨   ¨ Bombycillidae

5 Common Yellowthroat ¨   ¨ Parulidae

2 Eastern Towhee ¨   ¨ Emberizidae

2 Chipping Sparrow ¨   ¨ Emberizidae

7 Field Sparrow ¨   ¨ Emberizidae

10 Song Sparrow ¨   ¨ Emberizidae

17 Northern Cardinal ¨   ¨ Cardinalidae

7 Indigo Bunting ¨   ¨ Cardinalidae

>>>1 Dickcissel ¨   ¨ Cardinalidae

25 Red-winged Blackbird ¨   ¨ Icteridae

7 Eastern Meadowlark ¨   ¨ Icteridae

180 Common Grackle ¨   ¨ Icteridae

5 Brown-headed Cowbird ¨   ¨ Icteridae

>>>11 Orchard Oriole ¨ Incl 1st yr male ¨ Icteridae

10 Baltimore Oriole ¨   ¨ Icteridae

2 House Finch ¨   ¨ Fringillidae

25 American Goldfinch ¨   ¨ Fringillidae
30 House Sparrow ¨   ¨ Passeridae


Take Care.

Jed Hertz
Kankakee, IL (Kankakee County - 60mi South of Chicago)
Photos: http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jhh_60910/my_photos
SAVE KANKAKEE RIVER ROAD PARK

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello,

Today at Swallow Cliff FP were 1 KENTUCKY WARBLER, 1 OVENBIRD, 1 VEERY, & TUFTED
TITMOUSE.

On the trail that parallels Saganashkee Slough to the north were 1 CERULEAN
WARBLER, 1 HOODED WARBLER, 1 OVENBIRD, & 2 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.  After much
walking without hearing any warblers, I finally found these four species at the
same spot.

Little Red Schoolhouse had AMERICAN REDSTART, & RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD.

A juvenile RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was heading south from the intersection of 127th
and Harlem in Palos Heights.

Then at home today we had our first ever CAROLINA WREN  in our "condo yard".

Cary Hillegonds
chillegonds@...
Tinley Park


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ibetters,

Sorry for the question mark in my subject line but I'm a bit confused.

I was buzzed by a Common Nighthawk (Hopefully the name hasn't been
changed since my Field Guide was published) last night near the YMCA at
the (Urbana) U of I campus.

Technically I guess this wasn't an actual sighting as I only heard it when
it swooped by in its super-sub-sonic dive.

Also.

I can agree that Craig Taylor is a very nice guy to bird with.

After losing track of a possible Worm-eating Warbler (a very good bird)
on a CBC, Craig still saw to it that I was returned to my vehicle, and a
warm meal, at the Trail of Tears Ranger's Station.

I also have another humorous annecdote involving my ineptitude as a
birder.

It is possible that I saw Michael while looking for a Long Eared
and Saw Whet Owl a couple of winters ago in an old Forestry Plantation.

I had given up on finding the owls when I saw two people with binoculars
looking into an evergreen tree.

Remembering the advise of a relative, who is a retired police officer, I
figured that the best way to find the owl might just be to follow the
birders.

(This relative had successfully used this method to find some great
fishing holes in Minnesota)

Approaching cautiously I quietly announced myself and inquired as to
whether they had seen any unusual birds.

Sure enought the kindly pair, from Bloomington Illinois, showed me a well
hidden Saw Whet.

When I mentioned the Long Eared Owls they also showed me a nice pair that
had allowed me to walk directly beneath their perch.

I remember this well since, in a way, it was very humbling as well as
exciting to get to see two life birds in an area that I thought I knew
well.

If this was Michael I wish to say thank you, and your friend, very much
for your generosity.

You helped to increase my enthusiasm for birding and the need to share
this facinating hobby with others.


Yours truly,

Jim Hoyt
Champaign County Audubon

PS. I also wish to thank Louis Munoz for his very lucid reports on Chicago
     Birds. It is nice to know that we have birders from every walk of
     life.


--
James Hoyt
"The Prairie Ant"
Champaign Co. Audubon
Co-steward Parkland College Prairies.
Monitor Urbana Park District Natural Areas.
Champaign County Master Gardener
Allerton Park Allies

*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with  good
reason. But if we are at a stage where our actions are to decide the
world's future, then surely we have reached a level where we can be held
acountable for the world's future." Durward L. Allen "Our Wildlife Legacy"
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

--- James Hoyt <jwhoyt@...> wrote:

> Ibetters,
>
> Sorry for the question mark in my subject line but
> I'm a bit confused.
>
> I was buzzed by a Common Nighthawk (Hopefully the
> name hasn't been
> changed since my Field Guide was published) last
> night near the YMCA at
> the (Urbana) U of I campus.
>

I was also buzzed by the campus CONI at Urbana last
night, but I totally missed your Yellow-maned Caracara
(which would have been a lifer for me!)

Paul Clyne


paulclyne2000@...

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Three Mute Swans flew over to south.  It was beautiful sight with the clear Down
Town skyline behind them.   Young Ring-billed Gulls are much increasing in
number.  The Lesser Black-backed Gull is still at the beach. gulls.

Willow Flycatcher and Waxwings are still sitting on their nest.  Every year I
concern about those nesting birds over the July 4th weekend.  Many people shoot
up fireworks in the meadow of the Montrose Point.

Hope everyone have good holiday without disturbing the wildlife.

Kanae Hirabayashi
Chicago  IL  USA
kanahira@...

I have enjoyed observing and photographing the passerines of Burnidge Forest
Preserve,
Kane County. BOBOLINKS, DICKCISSELS, HENSLOW'S & FIELD SPARROWS, EASTERN
MEADOWLARK, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, AMERICAN GOLFINCH, HOUSE WREN, and
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. The FLYCATCHER is most likely a WILLOW according to Chuck
Wescott. I need to go back and listen for "fitz-bew" for a proper
identification.
Below is a link to my photos.

http://homepage.mac.com/arlenekoziol/PhotoAlbum137.html

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July,

Arlene Koziol
Cook County
Arlington Hts., IL.
arlenekoziol@...

Burnidge Forest Preserve, Kane County
Take I-90 to Rte. 31 South to
Big Timber Rd. west
to Preserve

If you want to see a colony of PURPLE MARTINS in full action. I suggest that you
go to Lake
Arlington, Cook County, Arlington Hts. The parents are busy feeding their young,
and it is
wonderful to watch all their comings and goings!
Kudos to Joan Bruchman, Purple Martin Project coordinator and her group of
volunteers for
making it happen. Below is timeline of the project, as well  2 links to photos
of the Purple
Martin house, volunteers, purple martins, and the nestlings.

• 1993-Original purple martin house
• House deteriorated, house sparrows & starlings become full-time tenants
• June 2003-Joan Bruchman finds pair of purple martins nesting in one house. She
ap-
pears before the Arlington Hts. Park District Board to ask for a new purple
martin house.
Below is part of a letter Joan wrote to AHPD Board
• "PURPLE MARTINS MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS. It was a relaxing and wonderful ex-
perience to be able to wake up to the sounds of these birds in our neighborhood
this
summer. I would like to share that experience with many more residents of
Arlington Hts.
With a new martin house, this would be possible as it would encourage these
birds to nest
here again next year and for many years to come.
• FUTURE OF THE PURPLE MARTIN. The future of these birds is up to us. As
inter-ested,
informed citizens, we can not only add to the beauty of Lake Arlington, but we
can help
preserve this species for the enjoyment of many generations to come.
• 2004-2005- Joan organizes a group of volunteers, Kate Weber, Cindy Benchek,
Jack
Fahey, Mary Lou Mellon, John Buckles & Pat Prichard to share in the maintenance
of the
martin houses.
• Click on the links below to see their success. A new purple martin house,
volunteers
at work, amazing aerial ability of the martins, and the cutest photos of the
purple martin
nestlings!

• http://homepage.mac.com/arlenekoziol/PhotoAlbum112.html

         http://homepage.mac.com/arlenekoziol/PhotoAlbum136.html

Arlene Koziol
Arlington Hts., IL
arlenekoziol@...

Hello IBETer's,

The reports of a few migrating shorebirds this past week and  yesterday's
northwest winds got my blood itching and flowing for fall hawk  migration.  As
many of you know, we have a hawkwatch here in northern  Illinois at Illinois
Beach State Park.  Every year for the past year five  years we have conducted
this hawkwatch with the help of dedicated  volunteers.  Without them it would
not
have been possible to achieve our  goals.  For the last two years we have
recorded observations daily from the  last Saturday of August to the last Sunday
of November.  The last two years  we put in a total of over 600 hours per
year.  Quite a feat for an all  volunteer effort.  To view what we have done, go
to www.hawkcount.org and  go to Month Summaries and find Illinois Beach State
Park and then click on a  year and a month with data.  Our daily reports will
show you what happened  on each and every day of observation for the last few
years.  Count  information and anecdotal situations can be found here.

This coming year we hope to have a few more birders join us.  Even if  you
are new to hawkwatching, that's fine.  You'll be paired with more  experienced
observers.  And I can say this too.  We have some of the  best hawkwatchers I
know and believe me when I say that because I have been  around the best
elsewhere.  It has been very rewarding for me over the last  five years at
Illinois
Beach and I'm confident you will find that to be the case  too.

So, if you'd like more info information on volunteering for this worthwhile
effort please email me direct.  I know you'll have fun and will learn and  see
more than you ever thought possible.

Thanks,
Vic  Berardi
Gurnee, Lake County, IL
Email: VBirdman@...
Website:  www.hawksinthesky.com and _www.hmana.org_ (http://www.hmana.org)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Five Great Blue Herons and a Black-Crowned Night Heron were seen this
morning.

Mike Green

Hi Everyone,

I had an interesting morning at Montrose today. As I was birding I had a
male approach me and he asked me what I was seeing. Thinking that I might be
talking to a new birder I told him. Then he asked me about my binoculars and
still thinking that he was a new birder, I told him what I had. He then
asked me if I was horny. Now I'm wearing a Chicago Police t-shirt with the
logo prominently displayed including the letters. I thought that perhaps I
misheard the guy and I said to him "Excuse me." He again asks if I'm horny.
I asked him if he could read. He said "Yes, are you horny?" So then I told
him "Are you f------ stupid? Are you a f------ idiot? Get the f--- out of
here! He says "I'm going to go walk on the beach." Now there are a couple of
other guys cruising but we're not even close to the bushes yet. They must
have heard me and one guy takes off. I continue to bird and these guys are
all over the place. At least a half dozen and it's 7:30 A.M. I decide let me
get out of these bushes. So I go by the Sumac area and the guy who
propositioned me now has his ding dong out with a little Mexican guy. Now I
get pissed and I yell "What the f--- are you doing you f------ a-------!
They run out. So now I call the police. Four squads respond. The supervisor
happens to be a friend of mine who was just promoted about 6 weeks ago. One
of the regulars tries to play it cool and gets stopped (but not my new found
friend), and he out utters the magic words "I didn't solicitate anybody."
After a brief discussion in police 101 he quickly left the park. So this
means that they have spoken to each other about solicitation and we
definitely need the Park District to get moving on the signs and rope. We
could not legally arrest the non-solicitator.

In between all of this I did see that the Spotted Sandpipers are still on
territory, the Yellow Warblers fledged one. Both adults were feeding the
chick that is half gray and half yellow. Although it can fly fairly well.

After explaining to my buddy the Montrose situation, yes he had no idea what
Montrose was, he told me he's working the day shift and if there are any
other problems for us birders to call. We have to keep up the pressure on
these guys.

I then went to Jarvis and I saw a family of 4 Black Capped Chickadees, a Red
Eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, one male Indigo Bunting, the Cardinals feeding a
fledgling that was quite comical looking, that had problems perching on the
fence, and a House Wren. When I observed the Red Eyed Vireo I saw another
vireo following it. I don't know what a juvenile Red Eyed Vireo looks like
but this bird was yellowish underneath, no red eye, and if it wasn't the
second day of July I would  have said that vireo was a Warbling Vireo. Could
this have been a young Red Eye?

Yesterday at Jarvis I saw a family of Downy's (1 fledgling for sure maybe a
second). I also saw and heard the two male Indigo Buntings along with one
female. I did not see signs of feeding. Maybe the raccoons did the nest in.
Anyways good birding everyone.


Luis Muñoz
malango@...
Chicago

I birded Kankakee River State Park (page 36 of the Illinois Gazeteer) this
morning. Here are my highlights:

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 1 along Rock Creek
Scarlet Tanager - 3
Yellow-throated Vireo - 6
Carolina Wren - 8
Wood Thrush - 3
Northern Parula - 2 males, one along Rock Creek and the other near Warner
Bridge Road
Kentucky Warbler - 1 male near the riding stables along Dreselm Road
Hooded Warbler - 1 male at the archery range

Robert Hughes
Chicago

Saturday evening, pond at 83rd St. and IL-53 (Greene Valley F.P., DuPage
Co.):

130+ Killdeer
9 Spotted Sandpiper
13 Least Sandpiper
plus a second-hand report of a Lesser Yellowlegs earlier today.

--
Urs Geiser (ugeiser@...)
Woodridge (DuPage Co.), IL, USA

It was there at 10:00 a.m. today, right on time.

Dan Williams
Rockford

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I did a quick trip to the Lake Calumet area this evening, making 3 stops.  I
have been wondering where the Bank Swallows at Dead Stick come from.  I
believe I found the answer at Harborside.

Shorebirds are indeed beginning to trickle through.  Moorhen was nice at
Dead stick, but missed my target Least Bittern.  I was surprised to learn
that the Dickcissel at Harborside was my first for Cook County.


DEAD STICK POND

Pied-billed Grebe 1A, 7  juv.
Mute Swan 2A, 3 juv.
Wood Duck  8
Little Blue Heron 1A
Great Egret   3
Green Heron   1
Black-crowned Night-Heron  12
Common Moorhen  1
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Solitary Sandpiper  1
Spotted Sandpiper  1
Pectoral Sandpiper   1
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
European Starling
Marsh Wren
Bank Swallow  (Where do they come from?)
Barn Swallow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle


126th St. Wetland

Great Blue Heron
Solitary Sandpiper  2
Spotted Sandpiper  1


Harborside GC

Blue-winged Teal
American Coot
Solitary Sandpiper  4
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Pectoral Sandpiper   1
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Bank Swallow  (Far dirt banks full of nest cavities)
Dickcissel

Craig A. Taylor
La Grange, Illinois
Cook County
Tnemec1@...

"Behold the birds of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Matt. 6 : 26




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IBETters,

A documentary titled "The March of the Penguins" opened at the Music Box Theater
yesterday, and is narrated by Chicago's own Morgan Freeman.

Cheers!

Jim Landing


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After visiting Pratt's Wayne Woods this morning (and seeing one or two
of the baby rails reported yesterday), we headed back south down Powis
Road.  We were quite surprised to see an AMERICAN WOODCOCK sitting in
the lawn by the road at the south-east corner of Powis Road and
Percheron Ln.  After passing by, we turned around and drove back north,
getting close up looks at the bird before it retreated back towards the
bushes.  We then parked and walked up to the spot, but the bird had
disappeared.  The bird may have been eating gravel, flushed towards the
road by some people working in a nearby yard, or just wandering off from
the nearby small grassy / marshy area west of the road.  Whatever the
case, it was a bizarre midday roadside find.

We also stopped at Hawk Hollow F.P. later in the day and got great
close-up looks at the CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (feeding and singing) in the
bushes and trees along the gravel trail towards County Farm Road.
SAVANNAH SPARROWS are abundant and easily viewed at this preserve (often
well viewed when perched in the juniper trees scattered throughout the
fields).  Many EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, BOBOLINKS, and a male ORCHARD ORIOLE
were also seen.

To reach Hawk Hollow F.P. go north on County Farm Road past Schick Road
and turn left on Lawerence (you'll see the water tower directly to your
right as you turn).  Go down to the corner and park near the water tower
and small playground / park.  Follow the grass trail in and to the
right.  It will meet up with the gravel trail which runs east-west
across the length of the preserve.

Eric Secker
Wheaton, DuPage Co.

All,

I have a Bausch & Lomb "Discoverer" 15-60x60 Zoom Spotting Scope for sale. Great
starter scope or a second scope. Only weighs 48 oz. $150 - includes the $35
nylon protective cover.

Thad Edmonds
Duthaven@...

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On Saturday, I took Bob & Karen Fisher to Ogle/Lee Counties to fulfill a
butterfly trip that they had purchased during the DuPage Birding Club auction. 
To enhance the experience, I enlisted the help of our resident dragonfly guru,
Gary Moore.  We started at Lowden-Miller State Forest, walking the loop around
parking 1, and waiting for the weather to warm up for the insects!  We found the
following:

12 species of warbler including several KENTUCKY, HOODED, and MOURNINGS, a ton
of OVENBIRDS with their own young, 4 YELLOW-THROATEDS, REDSTARTS, PINE,
CHESTNUT-SIDED, etc.  We didn't even get yellowthroat or yellow!

Other birds of note:  numerous VEERIES, ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS (feeding young),
LEAST FLYCATCHERS, a BROWN CREEPER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, 2  BLACK-BILLED
CUCKOOS, and several SCARLET TANAGERS.

Although the birding wasn't near as good at Nachusa and nearby Franklin Creek
SP, we managed to find 3 BELL'S VIREOS, HENSLOW'S SPARROW, 3 YELLOW-BILLED
CUCKOOS, and an adult male ORCHARD ORIOLE sitting on a fence row.

We also found 25 species of butterfly and 15 species of dragon/damselfly. (For
results of butterfly/dragonfly, see below)

  I finished the day with a bike ride at Greene Valley near my home in Woodridge
finding 2 YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS and, strangely, a single baby WOOD DUCK which
crossed our bike path, heading toward the DuPage River.

Jeff Chapman
Woodridge, DuPage

Butterfly Highlights:

Lowden-Miller
TAWNY EMPEROR - several
HACKBERRY - ~6
GRAY COMMA

Nachusa Grasslands
REGAL FRITTILARY - 3
VARIEGATED FRITTILARY
GREAT SPANGLED FRIT. - many
MEADOW FRITTILARY
EASTERN TAILED BLUE
COMMON WOOD-NYMPHS (probably the most common after cabbage white)
LITTLE YELLOW

The highlight of our dragonflies was a RAINBOW BLUET.  Other dragonflies and
damsels were usual suspects, most of them found along Franklin Creek at Nachusa
and nearby Franklin Creek SP.  Some include:

PRINCE BASKETTAIL
BLUE DASHER
EASTERN PONDHAWK
EBONY JEWELWING
TWELVE-BANDED SKIMMER.



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

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Hi all,

Sunday 7-3-05:0635-1110H(1mi walk + 11mi drive)_Sun_65-80f_Wt Deer(9)_E
Chipmunk_Cicadas_No Skeeters.

While visiting my youngest in Peoria slipped out for a little AM birding at this
wonderful SP and historic Jubilee College campus.

Best bird: Kentucky Warbler.

Nice to see 5 Purple Martin and 19 E. Bluebird (nest boxes present).

Misses from past visits: Blue Grosbeak and N. Parula.

Tallied 54 species as follows:


2 Turkey Vulture ¨   ¨ Cathartidae

1 Red-tailed Hawk ¨  ¨ Accipitridae

4 Mourning Dove ¨   ¨ Columbidae

>>>5 Yellow-billed Cuckoo ¨ One fledgling ¨ Coccyzidae

1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird ¨   ¨ Trochilidae

1 Belted Kingfisher ¨   ¨ Cerylidae

7 Red-headed Woodpecker ¨ adult entering nest cavity ¨ Picidae

13 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨ two fledgling ¨ Picidae

12 Downy Woodpecker ¨   ¨ Picidae

2 Hairy Woodpecker ¨   ¨ Picidae

10 Northern Flicker ¨   ¨ Picidae

>>>2 Pileated Woodpecker ¨ One heard + one sighted(F) ¨ Picidae

8 Eastern Wood-Pewee ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

1 Acadian Flycatcher ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

2 Eastern Phoebe ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

2 Great Crested Flycatcher ¨   ¨ Tyrannidae

7 Yellow-throated Vireo ¨   ¨ Vireonidae

1 Warbling Vireo ¨   ¨ Vireonidae

10 Red-eyed Vireo ¨   ¨ Vireonidae

13 Blue Jay ¨   ¨ Corvidae

23 American Crow ¨   ¨ Corvidae

>>>5 Purple Martin ¨   ¨ Hirundinidae

6 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨   ¨ Hirundinidae

5 Barn Swallow ¨   ¨ Hirundinidae

13 Black-capped Chickadee ¨   ¨ Paridae

23 Tufted Titmouse ¨   ¨ Paridae

15 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨   ¨ Sittidae

4 Carolina Wren ¨   ¨ Troglodytidae

14 House Wren ¨   ¨ Troglodytidae

6 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ¨   ¨ Sylviidae

19 Eastern Bluebird ¨ four fledgling ¨ Turdidae

4 Wood Thrush ¨   ¨ Turdidae

25 American Robin ¨ some fledgling ¨ Turdidae

8 Gray Catbird ¨   ¨ Mimidae

1 Brown Thrasher ¨   ¨ Mimidae

5 European Starling ¨   ¨ Sturnidae

15 Cedar Waxwing ¨   ¨ Bombycillidae

1 Ovenbird ¨ sighted ¨ Parulidae

>>>1 Kentucky Warbler ¨ Possibly two; past Turkey Hollow turn-off 1/4 mile in
route to Jubilee College ¨ Parulidae

7 Common Yellowthroat ¨   ¨ Parulidae

>>>6 Scarlet Tanager ¨   ¨ Thraupidae

5 Eastern Towhee ¨   ¨ Emberizidae

11 Chipping Sparrow ¨   ¨ Emberizidae

18 Field Sparrow ¨ two fledgling ¨ Emberizidae

3 Song Sparrow ¨ One fledling ¨ Emberizidae

16 Northern Cardinal ¨   ¨ Cardinalidae

20 Indigo Bunting ¨   ¨ Cardinalidae

10 Red-winged Blackbird ¨   ¨ Icteridae

3 Eastern Meadowlark ¨   ¨ Icteridae

10 Common Grackle ¨   ¨ Icteridae

5 Brown-headed Cowbird ¨   ¨ Icteridae

3 Baltimore Oriole ¨   ¨ Icteridae

25 American Goldfinch ¨   ¨ Fringillidae
10 House Sparrow ¨   ¨ Passeridae


Take Care.

Jed Hertz
Kankakee, IL (Kankakee County - 60mi South of Chicago)
Photos: http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jhh_60910/my_photos
SAVE KANKAKEE RIVER ROAD PARK

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I spotted a Buteo cirling and seeming to hover over the wooded area on
the east end of Knoch Knolls Park this morning. Instead of the usual
red-tailed hoarse 'keeeeer' it was  calling  'kree kree kree kree kree
kree'  ascending slightly.
I was with my son, so I didn't get very good shots, but it seemed to
have a red tail from above, and pale patches or areas on both the top
and bottom of its wings near the ends. The wings and tail seemed a bit
long for a red-tailed as well.
If someone could take a look at the pics and either post a comment there
or reply here, I would greatly appreciate it.
http://www.teune.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=46
thanks,

Ed Teune
Naperville, IL Will Co.
ed @ teune.com

I birded Harborside International Golf Course in the Lake Calumet area of
Chicago from 6:05pm - 6:30pm on Sunday (7-3-05). During my visit there I saw the
following birds:

1   LEAST BITTERN
4   BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS (including 2 fledged juveniles)
1   COMMON MOORHEN (adult)
80  RING-BILLED GULLS (juveniles)
5   CASPIAN TERNS
8   LEAST SANDPIPERS

And of course there were lots of BANK SWALLOWS at the Harborside nesting
colony. The LEAST BITTERN (sorry Craig!) was perched at the edge of one of the
Phragmites reed islands in the middle of the lake. The COMMON MOORHEN was
swimming at the edge of the same reed island.

In addition, 3 (adult) LITTLE BLUE HERONS and 8 LEAST SANDPIPERS were at
Burnham Prairie Marsh (140th St. just west of Torrence Ave. in the Village of
Burnham) on Sunday afternoon.

Walter Marcisz, Chicago, Cook Co.
WJMarcisz@...



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 7/3/05 8:12:42 PM Central Daylight Time, WJMarcisz@...
writes:


> In addition, 3 (adult) LITTLE BLUE HERONS and 8 LEAST SANDPIPERS were at
> Burnham Prairie Marsh (140th St. just west of Torrence Ave. in the Village
> of
> Burnham) on Sunday afternoon.
>

    Should read: "140th St. just EAST of Torrence Ave..."

    Walter Marcisz, Chicago, Cook Co.
    WJMarcisz@...


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My first FALL LEAST SANDPIPER at Montrose Beach this morning.  They were feeding
bugs from the beach grass. I think they are adult.  I took some photos, please
see Surfbird web: 
http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery20

Also, at Montrose Meadow area, there was a male COMMON YELLOW-THROAT was singing
with GRAY CATBIRD.   Three GREAT BLUE HERON flew over the Fishing Pier, and the
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL still at the Beach.  AM.GOLDFINCH, HOUSE FINCH,
WARBLING VIREO, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, WAXWING were there.

Yesterday morning, I saw a YELLOW WARBLER fledgling and its father near by.

Kanae Hirabayashi
Chicago  IL  USA
kanahira@...