Illinois Birding Journal

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6/11/05 & 6/12/05  Trip to Galena, IL  (Jo Davies county)

Estimated cumulative time you watched:
1 to 4 hours

Daylight temperature:
Low: (70- 80 degrees F)
High: (50 to 70 degrees F)

Daylight precipitation:  Shows and Thunder
Total depth of snow cover: None

In Galena, IL (Jo Davies county) for a relaxing weekend and here's what I saw on Saturday and Sunday

At the Chestnut Mountain ski resort breakfast area - 2 Swainson Hawks flying overhead and landing on the ski light posts oblivious to all the people on the ground walking about! 6 other Swainson Hawks spotted  on the way to the resort.

On a boat trip on the Mississippi near lock 12 in Iowa (?) 6 Bald Eagles so obvious that the boat captain pointed them out so everyone got a great look.

Also thought I saw a Raven near the water at the bottom of the Chestnut Mountain ski resort. I had the binoculars on it for about 5 minutes and it was looking for food along the shoreline.

Also seen in limited birding time in Galena on Blackjack Road near the Goldmoor and Chestnut resorts:

Pileated Woodpecker
Trumpeter Swan
American robin
northern cardinal
mourning dove
Canadian geese
mallard duck
Sandhill crane
American goldfinch
Red-winged Blackbird
Killdeer
Eastern Kingbird
American Crow

Mark Wehmhoefer
Cary, IL (McHenry)
webmaster@wildbirding.com
www.wildbirding.com

1/29/05 & 1/30/05 - Starved Rock, Utica IL (La Salle County)

On the way back from Champaign, Illinois visiting my son, my wife and I decided to stop at Starved Rock.

1/29/05 - 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM - Stood at the Waterway Visitor Center platform and saw 12 Bald eagles.  and at least 15 nests! Quite a show as we show 5 or 6 Bald Eagles at the same time  fishing right in front of the visitor center. At one point 2 adult Bald Eagles were  fighting in mid air with talons out trying to wrestle a fish away from each other. It looked like the fish just fell back into the water. Several were people taking photos,  so I expect at least one of them got that great shot. Just down the road from the visitor  center we saw some cars parked on the side of the road, 2 more Bald Eagles right across from the crowd. We then drove across the bridge into the main park only to see that 7/8 of  the parking lot was covered with solid ice. We ventured down the road to the river and  boat area. We saw another 2 Bald Eagles in the trees across the river.

Total 16 Bald Eagles for Saturday.

1/30/05 - 7:am to 9:30am - Tried to get in the Waterway visitor center parking lot, but it was  locked. A slow moving barge prevented any views from that side of the river. On the way back to the main park area, I stopped at the spot where 2 Bald Eagles were seen yesterday and  both still there. Went back over the bridge to the main park. We were the first car in the  parking lot. We walked as far as we could to the wall across from the Waterway visitor center  before the ice stopped us. We saw 7 Bald Eagles from that side of the road. The wind  was blowing in our face so we left to find another viewing spot. We went back down the road to the boats and saw 1 Bald Eagle.

Total 10 Bald Eagles.

We turned left out of the park lot and headed to Ottawa.  We then stopped at a park area (can't remember the name). On the way in we saw 6 Cardinals flying across the road. On the water there were several branches sticking out of the water. At the boat ramp, We saw 5 Bald Eagles on the stumps with 5 more Bald Eagles flying in the air.
Looking a little longer we saw another 5 Bald eagles straight across from the boat
ramp. 15 Bald Eagles at a place down the river, in the open water, just sitting
on some stumps. On the way out we saw 4 Cardinals flying across the road again.

Total 15 Bald Eagles.

We then drove a little further down the road and stopped at a small roadside spot.
Total 12 Bald Eagles sitting on stumps in the open water.

Total 37 Bald Eagles for Sunday - my personal best record for one day. Oh did I mention the thousand of gulls, hundreds of geese and several ducks we saw too.

12/27/04: Cooper's Hawk,   Arlington Heights, IL (Cook)

A Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperii was seen directly outside the Wild Birds Unlimited store at 312 E Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, IL about 10:30 am Monday morning.

I was in the store deciding on a mid-range Eagle Optic binocular that was a surprise Christmas gift from my wife. I was looking outside the store to test a couple of Eagle Optic binocular models when I spotted the Copper's Hawk.  The bird was on a light post about 1 1/2 blocks directly ahead of the store front entrance.  Me, my wife and the store clerk were able to see the bird with the binoculars. The bird stayed for about 15 minutes, just enough time for me to test the Eagle Optic binoculars I was interested in. The clerk said a Cooper's Hawk has been seen in the same area for the past month.

I ended up buying the Eagle Optics Ranger Platinum 10x42  instead of the 8x42 because the extra magnification (20 percent closer according to the specs), was noticeable when viewing the Copper's Hawk.

11/28/04:  Lincoln Park Bird Sanctuary - Chicago, IL (Cook)

I looked off the platform for a few minutes but saw nothing or heard nothing
about 9:30 am on Sunday morning. A couple of other birders weren't doing any better.

On the way back to the car, I heard some chirping and saw a few birds flying between 2
trees. At the large trunk tree just to the right of the yellow gate of the
Bird Sanctuary I saw 3 birds with the binoculars.

Downy woodpecker, red bellied woodpecker and a yellow-bellied sapsucker

Mark Wehmhoefer
Cary, IL (McHenry)
webmaster@wildbirding.com
www.wildbirding.com