Winter a great time for birding in northern Ill.
Hobby offers a chance to get outdoors, beat COVID-19 cabin fever
Without a doubt, avoiding winter cabin fever during a pandemic is tough, but bird watching promises relief, according to Bob Bryerton, Forest Preserve District of Will County program coordinator at Plum Creek Nature Center.
As a naturalist, Bryerton has been watching and counting birds for the last 25 years. He highly recommends adopting the pastime this winter while options for entertainment remain limited.
“Winter is a great time to start birding because you can get familiar with just 10 or 15 species,” he said. “That way, when warmer weather comes and more birds arrive, you can tell them apart.”
Identifying birds and learning about where various species are appearing is easier now than ever before, thanks to social media.
The Forest Preserve District of Will County recently compiled a list of rare and unusual species spotted by bird watchers and naturalists in Will County.
Black-bellied whistling ducks showed up at Monee reservoir in Monee Township.
A Baltimore oriole was seen surprisingly late in the season at Rock Run Rookery in Joliet.
A yellow-crowned night heron and American avocets appeared at Whalon Lake in Naperville.
A Eurasian wigeon appeared in Channahon. Also in Channahon, near McKinley Woods, a great kiskadee was sighted along Front Street on Dec. 2.
“The kiskadee is a rare sighting — it might have been blown off course by a hurricane,” Bryerton said. “Kiskadees are not native to Illinois. They’re from southern Texas, Central and South America, and they’re not a migratory bird. Lots of people have been coming out to look at them.”
Another birding spot that started heating up in early December was the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington.
On a recent weekend along the Group 63 Trail several birds of prey and other wildlife flew amid the buffalo famously featured on the National Park’s webcam.
The bison mostly kept their distance, but they clearly set the stage for what was going on. In keeping with nature, their grazing had reduced the grasses to stubble, creating a literal field day for red tailed hawks, kestrel falcons, and other birds of prey that were busy hunting for voles.
Some birds seemed to swirl against each other, battling for turf, but other tangles involved smaller birds trying to avoid being eaten.
The hike included a couple of detours to explore concrete bunkers covered with trees. It also afforded sightings of pheasants, woodpeckers, sparrows, crows and finches flying into the woods on the prairie’s perimeter. There also was a buck with impressive antlers nestled among the trees — a glimpse of which can be one of the side benefits of looking for birds.
We had arrived around 1 p.m., armed with only a pair of binoculars. The trail lining the huge fenced-in pasture was mostly ours until around 3:15 p.m.
As the gray day started to dim, more-experienced bird watchers appeared carrying cameras outfitted with huge telephoto lenses. They were looking for northern harriers and short-eared owls. Both species are migrant nighttime hunters with wing spans measuring three feet and beyond.
Unlike these more adept bird watchers, I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing, but it was still a great way to spend the afternoon.
Like Midewin, the Will, Cook and DuPage Forest preserve districts have curtailed most in-person instructional activities due to the pandemic, but trails remain open for hiking and bird watching. Many locations maintain regular hours and access to restrooms.
Events related to January bald eagle watching in Illinois have been canceled at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, but it’s still possible to walk nature trails and see the birds hunting over the Illinois River.
For those wanting to learn quickly about birds and where they are appearing, Bryerton recommended establishing an account with eBird.org. The app helps identify birds with photos of winged creatures from all over the world as well as sounds they make.
“By reporting bird sightings to eBird,” Bryerton said, “bird watchers also contribute important scientific information.” The Cornell Lab of Ornithology manages eBird’s collaborative tracking effort, which involves several scientific organizations.
The eBird app links to birding hot spots all over the world but it can be easily dialed down to Illinois. Locations include local nature centers like Little Red School House in Cook County, but also Chicago parks and lakefront areas.
For older adults reluctant to leave their homes and for homebodies looking for new hobbies, backyard birding also offers a great diversion, Bryerton said. “Winter is a great time to feed the birds. As we get storms and the temperatures drop, birds rely more on feeders. So, if you have a feeder, you’ll see them.”
He recommended placing feeders in areas planted with shrubbery or low-hanging tree branches so birds can easily escape predators.
Backyard birders wanting to contribute scientific data used by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Geographic and the National Audubon Society, can visit www.birdcount.org and consider participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 12, through Monday, Feb. 15.
The Audubon Society also offers a link to local birding hot spots at www.chicagoaudubon.org/ chicago-area-birding-hotspots-1.