Herring Gull at Montrose

Montrose Harbor
Chicago on the Lakefront at Montrose

Saturday, January 21st, 2006, 11am

After running today, I decided to take a quick look and see what was around North Pond, Belmont Harbor and then stop quickly at Montrose Harbor. My first two stops netted me Canada Geese, Mallard Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Ring-billed Gull, House Sparrow, Rock Dove, Hooded Merganser, American Crow, and European Starlings.

When I got to Montrose I immediately heard a Blacked-capped Chickadee near the golf course, and though I did not find it, I also didn't look very hard. I also noticed, now that I was trying to pay attention to gulls ahead of Gull Frolic that would take place in a few weeks at Winthrop Harbor thanks to IOS (Illinois Ornithological Society), a pack of gulls on the ice and on the docks in the harbor. Ring-billed Gulls everywhere, but there was one, no, two, three, four, maybe 9 much larger gulls now that I paid attention and LOOKED. They had to be HERRING GULLS (photo Andy Vidler), and a quick look at my Sibley's confirmed that they were.

I spent most of my time looking at one close Herring Gull adult that showed classic nonbreeding winter plumage. There were three juveniles too, but I didn't have the confidence, or patience, to try and learn what they were. That was fine; I had my second gull of the year, bird number #27 for the year, and #19 for Chicago. And it was just too cold to stay any longer; I was hungry after my run. Nothing else caught my eye, so back to the car I went. On my way, right above my car was an American Robin singing tentatively in the cold wind. It was Chicago bird #20. It was a nice cheery sign that winter doesn't last forever. It put a smile on my face along with my new gull:

#27 HERRING GULL

Three woodpecker day at Indian Road Woods

Indian Road Woods, Chicago, Illinois
East of Central Avenue north of Elston south of the Chicago River

Thursday, February 19, 2006, 315-4pm

I had to run an errand up near the Edgebrook Golf Course so I decided to cross the river and check out the Forest Preserve area on the other side of Central from Edgebrook; Indian Road Woods.

I drove all the way into the main lot, and parked. I got out of the car, and the first thing I heard was the distinctive screech of a Red-tailed Hawk. I would learn that their is a pair of them at the Edgebrook Golf Course from another birder I would meet who was walking up the path as I was walking down it. She also pointed out to me that this area and LaBaugh Woods were great places for warblers in the spring.

I walked down to the Chicago River and just listened. Northern Cardinals singing and woodpeckers rapping. But what kinds of woodpeckers? It didn't take long to find a pair of Downy's. I had never heard them calling or making their contact calls before, but in this old growth mess the seemed happily flitting and calling about. Learning to hear that call would help me know this bird was around in future trips to the field.

What else? It was only a matter of minutes before I got a real treat, a Downy and a HAIRY WOODPECKER (male photo Robert Houde) next to each other on a branch close enough that I could clearly see the difference in the size of the birds and their beaks. Once you see their bills side by side, just once, it is a whole lot easier to identify either in the field when you see them individually. Their bills are very distinctive once you have seen both. Before my time was done, I had spotted both the male with the red mark on his head, and the female without it. I felt pleased to have had this happy coincidence to see the two species together, and to see both the male and female Hairy Woodpeckers. I got bird #25 for the year and #17 for Chicago.

I had to get back to the office, but I had to look from the top of the parking lot just one more time before I headed home. Another Downy, a pair of Hairys, and then a shock of red on the head of something else. A Northern Cardinal? No, ladder back black barring, woodpecker shape and movements, a new bird. A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER (photo Andrew Shive) just sat there for me to watch for another 5 minutes or so. And while I was watching him a Hairy flew right up next to it, about a foot away, and it was like they were just giving me a size comparison of the two species for future reference. It was bird #26 for my list, and #18 for Chicago.

A Dark-eyed Junco gave me a hello right before I got back into the car, then was on my way back to the office with two new woodpeckers:

#25 HAIRY WOODPECKER male & female
#26 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER male

My "Big Day" on the lakefront, HA!!!

North Pond, Chicago, Illinois
North of Fullerton between Cannon & Stockton Drives

Belmont Harbor, Chicago, Illinois
Chicago lakefront between Belmont and Addison

Monday, January 16th, Martin Luther King Day, 2006, 10-1130am

I had to take the kids and myself to get flu shots first thing this morning, they were great. Once we got back, I decided it was a nice day for birding and that I would go out to treat myself to a little Jeff time on this federal holiday honoring Mr King.

Where to go? I decided to check out North Pond just north of Chicago's free Lincoln Park Zoo. I had never really looked there carefully even though I have parked right next to it hundreds of times as it is where my running partners often start our Saturday and Sunday runs.

I got there and as I was walking up toward the pond, I heard some Black-capped Chickadees, which would be a new Chicago bird for me. But before I could even think to look for them, I saw a hawk move from one tree to another by the pond. He stayed low down in a large tree near a box that had something to do with the pond's water circulation system so it wouldn't completely freeze over in the winter.

I got within 50 or so feet of him and just began studying him. I had no idea. None. I had never tried to ID a hawk or raptor of any kind ever before, except for a Bald Eagle, and I had no idea where to start. Its back was a lot like a Northern Goshawk juvenile, and it had a faint but distinct lighter stripe above the eye, the eyes were yellowish brown, its beak was yellow with a black tip, the folded wing tips did not reach the end of the banded tail feathers. I watched him, he watched me. I looked in my Sibley's, he looked over the pond. He was faced away from me, so I couldn't see his breast or belly area.

After 20 minutes of this, which was frankly very exciting for a rookie urban birder, the hawk took flight to go a few trees down. That is when I noticed distinct rufous or redish shoulders, and I decided RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (photo Raul Quinones). A minute or two after landing there, he jumped up and moved high into the sky as he started flying south toward the Lincoln Park Zoo. His undersides were orange and barred as best as I could tell. I may never know if this was a Red-shouldered Hawk, how do you ever really know until you have seen something in the field several times and had it confirmed with or by someone else? But for now, I was counting it as life bird #21, Chicago bird #9. If I learned later that this wasn't what I thought, I would have to painstakingly readjust my records.

After it left, I found my Black-capped Chickadees right away, they became bird #10 for Chicago. Then right next to the edge of a pond was a group of Mallard Ducks, but one of the females was a uniform washed out creamy brown color. A hybrid of some sort? Albino? I would learn the coming Sunday from some birders who helped me spot a similar Mallard at North Point Marina, that this was called a leucistic bird, and the condition was known as leucism. It was not rare, but was definitely unusual for Mallard females. I don't know if this is true or not, but I have only been birding for 22 days, and I have now seen two leucistic Mallard females (photo Jeff Skrentny).

Next, I walked to the south end of the pond where there was separate open area of water, and besides a few gulls, Mallards and Canada Geese, there were three ducks hanging out on the far side of the pond. The two had dark heads with white on them, one had his head round with a large white comma on the whole back of the head. The second had a flat head with a white swipe going to the back of his head where he had a crest that almost looked like a punk haircut. Both had black backs, brown rufous sides that looked finely barred, and all three had really narrow bills. HOODED MERGANSERS (photo Paul Wiesike), two males, one displaying his crest, and a female; bird #22, #11 for Chicago.

There were also Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, as well as three large white domestic Mallard Ducks. At least I think they were Mallards by the company they kept. I needed to warm up, so off to the car I went, three new birds here, off to Belmont to see what I could see there.

Once I got to Belmont, I immediately saw a gray bodied brown headed duck with a distinct yellow eye. It was very skittish, but easily enough to identify, a COMMON GOLDENEYE (photo Chuck Roberts). As I walked up the harbor, I also saw several completely different looking ducks with a notable white spot right before the beak below the eye. This, I would learn, was the male Common Goldeneye. Sure they may be common, I would come to learn with more trips into the field, but today they were new for me, birds #23 and Chicago bird #13.

It was getting cold for me, and I had to get some hours in on my desk. But before I left there was one more new bird. It had a black head with a punk feathered crest, a shockingly thin red bill, a dark breast, black back and gray flank and it was very low in the water. There was a differently colored bird that was similarly shaped, must be the female of these RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, bird #24 for the year and #14 for Chicago.

I took a quick hike up to see the Mute Swans in the harbor, and on the way I saw a Northern Cardinal, several American Crows, some House Sparrows, Rock Doves, and an unexpected male Downy Woodpecker. It was a good morning of birding, a 17 species day with four new species:

#21 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
#22 HOODED MERGANSER male & female
#23 COMMON GOLDENEYE male & female
#24 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER male & female

Our visit to Prairie Crossing near Crystal Lake to see the Kauck's

Prairie Crossing, Grayslake, Illinois
my friend John & Carrie's house on the north side of Prairie Crossing

Sunday, January 15, 2006, 10-11am

John and Carrie use to live near us in Wrigleyville, but they had since moved to Prairie Crossing near Grayslake almost at the Wisconsin border 45 miles from Chicago's north side. We couldn't just have brunch with them now like we use to. Families made visiting even more infrequent. That John and I loved beer and single malt scotch, sometimes in quantities, made visits an overnight occasion because nobody wanted to drive after that kind of fun.

They had been asking us to come up and visit them and stay the night over the last half year, but, because of the above, we just never made the time. Finally, in early December we finally made plans to visit them in Prairie Crossing on the afternoon of the 14th, and spend the night visiting with our families. It was a great night of beer, billiards, and socializing, as it always is.

Yes, it was a late night, and yes, three kids meant we got up earlier that all of us would have liked. Once we finally had them fed and began working on our breakfast, I grabbed their bins and checked out what I could see at their feeder in the back yard. It wasn't real active, but right off the bat I spotted a dark sparrow sized bird with a light underside. I had no idea what it was, but Carrie did, it was a DARK-EYED JUNCO (photo by Muskrat) and once I started looking, they were everywhere. They would become life bird #18 and Illinois bird #9.

Right after that I found the unmistakable male HOUSE FINCH (photo Robert Houde). I had these at my feeders in the city, and I knew they were not Purple Finches because there whole head wasn't red, and this finch has streaked flanks. The females (photo by Hap) had a plain head without the whiteish eyebrow of the Purple Finch. Yes, I had seen them many times before in my life, but since I started counting, they became birds #19 and Illinois bird #10.

A bit later in the morning John said there is the DOWNY WOODPECKER (photo Mary Claypool) at the feeder, and I had bird #20 or the year, Illinois bird #11. Of course I didn't know it was a Downy, and in Sibleys the Downy and the Hairy both look a lot alike to me. Then I read the description, noticed the bit about the bills, and this one definitely had a smallish bill. What about the small dark bars on the white tail feathers? Yes, they were there too. John was right, it was a Downy Woodpecker, and the red mark on the back of the head meant this was the male.

We had a great visit, and despite John having told me that they had a Bald Eagle at Lake Leopold last year, and a Great Horned Owl in the neighborhood on a regular basis, the best I could do was these three common birds. That was good enough for this wonderful visit with friends we don't see as often as I wish we could, and I had three new birds:

#18 DARK-EYED JUNCO male
#19 HOUSE FINCH male & female
#20 DOWNY WOODPECKER male

Mute Swan at Belmont Harbor on Saturday run

North end of Belmont Harbor
Chicago on the Lakefront between Belmont and Addison

January 14th, 2006, 1145am

This morning's run didn't start out so well. My heart periodically beats irregularly, and occasionally it doesn't make my Saturday run so comfortable. Rarely, I can't finish a run I begin. Today my heart was just a bit off, and I had to ask Mike and Ed if we could take a walking break after both the first and second mile of our run. Not typical.

We began our run to the south and were now at the 6.5 mile marker just north of the Drake Hotel at the North Avenue Beach. I told the two of them to take off and run to the 7.5 mile marker where we had planned to turn around, and I would hope that my heart would get back to normal with a little rest so that I could resume our planned 15 mile run together when they caught back up with me going north.

I walked briskly to the 7 mile marker, and it was there that I saw three ducks that I had noticed the week before. White sides, dark head, I would imagine they were Greater or Lesser Scaups. Probably Greater Scaups, but no field glasses and I couldn't positively make this ID.

Mike and Ed caught up with me where I let them go at the 6.5 mile marker, and my heart was finally beating regularly. From this point on I had a great run.

At Belmont Harbor on the way final stretch south to end our run, I saw the MUTE SWANS (photos Jeff Skrentny) that I have seen in the harbor the last two years, and this year they were with a juvenile. Of course the last two years I didn't know that you ID a Mute Swan by its bright orange bill, both the Tundra and Trumpeter Swans have black bills. I also didn't know that like House Sparrows & European Starlings, these impressive birds, too, are European imports. Makes such an impressive bird feel like a cheap ID once you know that. But for me it would be bird #17 for the year, and for my official life list.

Additionally, again, I noticed several other ducks that were not ducks I could identify. If only I could stop and identify them I would have some wonderful new birds on my life list. But I wanted to finish my run first, and Mike wasn't stopping for any birds anyway, so to the car we went. Once there I wasn't doing anything except going home to get the family ready for an overnight trip to Prairie Crossing near Grayslake to see our friends the Kaucks. Hopefully it would offer some birding opportunities as this is a great natural area 45 miles north of here, and with some luck those ducks would still be there Monday for my run, after which I would take a walk to do some real birding.

So today I got the Mute Swan, an impressive bird for bird #17, but I was more thrilled I knew how to tell it from the Trumpeter Swan, and I couldn't wait to get some new ducks on Monday when I would bring a change of clothes so I could walk the lakefront looking for new birds. Plus there were the birds that we'd see at the Kauck’s in Prairie Crossing this afternoon, I hoped. But for today, my new bird was the:

#17 MUTE SWAN w/juvenile

Mourning Dove at Edgebrook Golf Course

Edgebrook Golf Course, Chicago, Illinois
East of Central, south of Devon, entrance just north of Chicago River

Wednesday, January 11th, 2006, 430pm

Tonight I was doing an errand that took me near the Edgebrook Golf Course parking lot on Chicago's northwest side, and I always go in if I have time when I am driving past to see if I can spot the large 14 point white-tailed deer buck and his group of does that I regularly see there.

There were no deer tonight. Everytime I seem them it amazes me that a group of more than 10 white-tailed deer can be right here in the city, so close to all that is so urban, including a buck that is so impressive. In Wisconsin, where I grew up, a buck that impressive would be a much sought after prize for the hunters I grew up with.

Tonight, all I would see was my first MOURNING DOVE (photo Matt Fletcher), bird #16 of the year, and bird #6 for Illinois. It is easy to spot Mourning Doves here, as there is nothing else quite like them. Not so in the south, but here, even seeing one in a tree top, and then watching it fly to the ground at a distance without field glasses is an easy ID. Besides, I know I will see them again in my yard on the ground below my feeders. Beside my European House Sparrows, they are my most regular visitors. Hey, at least I don't have Pigeons...at least not yet. My latest bird:

#16 MOURNING DOVE

The backyard Cardinals

4100 block of north Monticello, Chicago, Illinois
Monticello & Berteau streets

Monday, January 9th, 2006, 3pm

Finally got around to filling the backyard and front porch bird feeders this morning, and when I checked to see who was eating the seed, I saw the hordes of European House Sparrows that always eat my feed, AND much to my delight, saw two NORTHERN CARDINALS, a female (photo Jose Navarette), note bright red bill and distinct red on wing feathers, and I believe a juvenile male, eating what the sparrows had knocked to the ground in the backyard. They would be birds #15 for the year, and Chicago bird #5.

We have had a family of Northern Cardinals in our neighborhood since we moved into our house here on Monticello on Chicago's northwest side, but to see them now that I was a birder seemed like an especially nice welcome back to the city. I believe one was a male because his feathers had more red tint to the feathers, I would guess the other was a female. Correctly, I guessed I would see more of their group in the coming days...I did. It is always such a thrill to see such brightly colored birds, even though I can't stand the MLB team that takes their name.

Nine days into my new avocation as a birder, I added two more Illinois birds to my Illinois list, and one new bird to my to my life list:

#15 NORTHERN CARDINAL female & juvenile male?

PS...does anyone know what kind of feed a backyard bird feeder like I can use that will keep the sparrows away and attract birds I would be more interested in seeing eat at my feeders on a daily basis?

My first lakefront run as a birder

Running path beginning at Diversey, Chicago, Illinois
Chicago at the lakefront starting Diversey

January 8th, 2006, 815-10am

Back in Chicago, and because I didn't do my normal lakefront run yesterday as I was out very late Friday night, I was out on the lakefront this morning with Mike, my running partner, for a 6 mile run.

We do many of our runs here in Chicago on the unbelievable 18 mile Chicago Park District running path along our beautiful lakefront. This may be the best running path of any major city anywhere in the US, especially after you factor in the bathrooms, half mile markers, available water on the whole path, and, of course, wonderful urban views of our beautiful city. Typically we start just north of the path 4.5 mile marker at the year round water trough that the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) recently rebuilt for us runners at the site of an old horse trough watering hole that horse and buggy riders used to water their horses. Don't see those on the path any longer, we runner "Clydesdales" like myself are the only horses using the trough now.

The lakefront path we use begins at the Diversey Harbor Lagoon, and to the north goes past the Belmont Harbor, the Montrose Harbor and two lakefront migrating bird sanctuaries. The birding opportunities are extensive. Recently, I read that over 250 birds either spend part of their year or migrate through the greater Chicagoland area every year. Did I know that?

Anyway, as it was my first opportunity to run on the lakefront path since I began my 2006 birding quest, I was jazzed to see what I could see. I wasn't sure I would be able to ID much, but it would give me some ideas on what to spend more time exploring at a later date.

Exploring at a later date would definitely be the plan...all I positively IDed today was European Starlings and the omnipresent Canada Goose. But I did notice a number of ducks I didn't recognize in the Belmont Harbor, gulls everywhere, and I couldn't wait to get back to explore Belmont Harbor more thoroughly. Including the Rock Doves (Feral Pigeons) I saw at Kimball & Irving Park on the way to the lakefront this morning, I had three additions to my Illinois life birding list: Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon), European Starling, Canada Goose.

One last Colorado bird to say goodbye

Conoco Gas Station on Pena Boulevard, Denver, Colorado
near Denver International Airport

January 5th, 2006, 11am

I thought my birding was done for our Colorado trip, but I got one last easy ID when we stopped to fill up the rental car with gas at the Conoco on Pena Drive at DIA. Flitting about as only they do in such concrete urban places, I saw a host of HOUSE SPARROWS, doing what they do best, eating garbage and scraps of dropped food left by those of us in a rush to fly home. Can't miss the male (photo David Roach) black throat, rufous nape and that white wing bar. Or the females with them, especially with that yellow eye stripe. Another boring bird, but it was #14 for the year.

My expectations had been so much greater, 5 days in Colorado, surely I could do better than 14 birds. But I didn't. And then when I stopped to consider what birds I had positively IDed, they were the birds I grew up with...American Robin, Rock Dove, House Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, European Starling, Mallard Duck, Canada Goose, American Crow and the Ring-billed Gull. How pathetic.

At least I was able to spot that Bald Eagle to start my birding career on January 1st, and see the Black-billed Magpie, Stellar's Jay and the Rockie Mountain variety of the Gray Jay. Those were nice finds for a rookie birder like me. But now the Colorado trip was over, and my birding skills were going to have to be honed in Chicago for the next few months. At least there I will have my field glasses by my side!!!

#14 HOUSE SPARROW male & female

Boulder birds near Frasier Meadows

Thunderbird Lake & East Boulder Community Park, Boulder, Colorado
Near Frasier Meadows on Boulder's East side

Wednesday, January 4th, 2006, 10am-3pm

The weather never cleared up yesterday, and eventually we simply had to bite the bullet and hit the road to Boulder for the last part of our visit in Colorado. We would finish it by spending two nights seeing Lynne's mom and Anna Grace's Grandma Jean. The drive from Frisco to Boulder was a pain until we got off of I-70 just east of Idaho Springs where Hwy 6 winds its way into Golden. The snow stopped by the time we got on Hwy 6, but it was windy. In Golden we would catch Hwy 93 to Boulder. It was windy in the canyon down to Golden, but on the plateau from Golden to Boulder it was so wind that day that we saw a semi-truck & trailer blown onto it's side, and a large livestock trailer blown off the pickup truck that was towing, clear across to the other side of the road. Driving the car was like riding a bucking bull.

Despite the wind and snow from Frisco to Idaho Springs, we arrived safely and enjoyed one last Christmas celebration with Lynne's mom Jean, brother Woody, Anna Grace & Robert. Of course, before last night was over, Anna Grace and I took the walk to the small aviary that Frasier Meadows has, and said hello and good night to the 15-20 birds that were kept there for the residents.

After sleeping in late, again, we decided to start our day with a walk from where Jean lived at Frasier Meadows to the park that Anna Grace loved so much near the East Boulder Community Center. Robert, Woody and I were ready a bit ahead of everyone else, so we walked across the road from Frasier Meadows to a small pond there called Thunderbird Lake to see what water foul might be there. Just Mallard Ducks and Canada Geese. The only new find there was the lowly EUROPEAN STARLING (photo Matt Fletcher), bird #10 for the year.

Once Anna Grace, Lynne & Jean got down to join us, we walked from Frasier Meadows across the Hwy 157 pedestrian overpass on Sioux Drive. Once across, we walked to the East Boulder Community Park where AG got to play, and Robert and I would see what birds we could find on the two ponds there. Only Canada Geese, and one duck that I couldn't see well enough to identify as it was on the far side of the pond, and I forgot my glasses. So we walked around to the east side of the building, and knocked off bird #11, the ubiquitous ROCK DOVE (photo Roland Ripoll), or Feral Pigeon, a group of which were on the building's roof. We saw the Natural and Brown adults on the roof.

This was a disappointing birding walk thus far, so I hoped that crossing 55th street to the nature path there would be better birding. Didn't hear much, didn't see much, so we began walking back to meet up with everyone else. On the way back I finally heard some birds, and then saw them in the reeds next to a small pond/marsh area on the east side of 55th street just north of the path. They were sparrows of some kind, and once again, not having my field glasses with me would keep me from a positive ID. I feel they were Song Sparrow's, but without glasses, and without knowing their call, I will have to go back to ID them another day.

By this time Lynne called to see where I was, so we caught up with them and began the walk back. Woody finally spotted the magpies I had hoped to see while I was in Colorado, but again, no glasses, and no positive ID to see that they did indeed have the black bills I expected them to have. In addition to the magpies, I saw a graw jay-like bird about the size of a Northern Cardinal that had a crest and a black necklace. Once again, not having my field glasses cost me a chance to identify another bird.

As we crossed the Hwy 157 pedestrian overpass to head back to Frasier Meadows, I was able to identify one more easy bird, right to the left of the overpass was a pale adult AMERICAN ROBIN sitting in a branch in it's ever so dignified manor welcoming us back to Frasier Meadows. Bird #12 for the year.

After our walk, the day progressed lazily. I was anxious to go attempt more birding. Eventually, Jean and Woody joined me in a drive up to NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, I had hoped to walk on the trails their might allow me to see a few more birds. So we drove up Table Mesa Drive to its end at NCAR. As we walked from the car to the NCAR building, I saw a few LBTs (little brown things), but didn't see anything long enough to even get my glasses up to my eyes. But the trip was not a loss, because once we got to the trail on the west of the building Woody immediately spotted a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (photo Chuck Roberts) that I was able to ID...I got my magpie, it was bird #13 for the year.

Right after that I spotted another American Robin, and then sharp eyed Woody noticed a grey bird right behind the robin. I watched it in the glasses for 10 minutes...I guess it was a Townsend's Solitaire. Bit smaller than the robin, gray overall, it was facing directly at me, white eye ring, black eye & small black bill. But I couldn't see it's wings, and though it was in a juniper tree on a steep dirt bank and it was perching inconspicuously enough, to quote the Sibley's description. I gave up after 10 minutes, it wasn't going to move for me, and well, maybe I just wasn't birder enough to wait this Townsend's Solitaire out.

The phone rang right after I caught up with Jean & Woody, Lynne needed help with Robert who wouldn't nap, so off we went to get him for adventures of a different sort...shopping on the Pearl Street Mall. It was hardly a great bird day, four easy birds:

#10 EUROPEAN STARLING winter plumage
#11 ROCK DOVE (Feral Pigeon) natural & brown adult
#12 AMERICAN ROBIN
#13 BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE

Birds between intense snow showers

Temple Trail, Frisco, Colorado
South side of Frisco, behind Mountain Side Condos at the end of 5th street

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006, 11am

This morning was no early riser either. But the budding birder in me didn't feel any loss today because when we awoke, we awoke to an intense snow with wildly blowing winds. It was unlikely any birds would be out in weather like this.

After a very late breakfast, the sun finally popped its head out, and though it was still rather windy, we really wanted to take the kids out in the snow for a ride on the sled on the Temple Trail just behind the Mountain Side Condos where we were staying on the south side of Frisco, Colorado, with our friends Rob & Liz.

We bundled up the kids in their winter wear, Robert in a snowsuit that made movement for him impossible, we grabbed the sled and headed for the trail. To get to the Temple Trail, which runs between Breckenridge and Vail (at least...my group ran the Colorado Relay Race on parts of it in September of 2002), we simply had to go out the building, cross the field and the creek to the west of the building, and start heading north on the trail.

As soon as we rounded the building and set eyes on the field, I immediately heard a half a dozen different birds loudly going about their late morning routines now that the wind and snow had let up. As a rookie birder I didn't have the skills to recognize all of them, but I immediately knew one of the annoying loud squawks was a Steller's Jay. Now to just find it. It didn't take long, it flew into a small tree 30 feet away, and well, if you have ever seen a STELLAR'S JAY (photo Tyler Allred), it is hard to confuse its dark or pale blue body and blackish head with that unforgettable crest. It was bird #8 for the year. Now the family wanted to go sledding and didn't care.

So we got moving again, and once we were half way across the field through the extensive 5-8 foot brush, I HAD to stop to see if I could identify the back headed birds hurriedly zipping about in the brush. One finally sat still enough for me to see that it looked like a BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE (photo Matt Fletcher). But then it whistled the distinctive fee-beeeee call and I knew I had my bird, #9 for the year. By this time I had my guide book open, and I noticed that I had to make sure I didn't have myself a Mountain Chickadee instead. For my field observations, for me it came down to the white edged wing feathers and no obvious white eye brow which the Mountain Chickadee has.

I finally satisfied myself that it was my 9th bird of the year once I logged onto the BNA Online site (http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/) and heard the distinctive fee-bee whistle again there. It sounds nothing like the Mountain Chickadee's call, despite what the guide book might say. After going to the site and listening to the calls online there, I also realized that I was hearing at least one other Black-capped Chickadee making the chick-a-dee-dee call that I thought was another bird. Of course now that I am back in Chicago where I periodically see Black-capped Chickadees in my back yard, I wish I had seen the Mountain Chickadee instead, but it was what it was.

At this point, field guide in hand with an impatient wife and family, I packed up the guide, put on the gloves and we headed to the trail. There we found a small incline to see if Anna Grace was game for going down a hill, and she was. After 3 or 4 short runs down the hill, Lynne asked her if she wanted to go down a bigger hill. She did. The big sledding hill was just across another field, and away we went. On the way I was hearing birds everywhere, the sun was out and so were they. My plan was to get us to the hill and see what I could ID. Problem is the weather changed quicker than we could say Ivory-billed Woodpecker. In an instant it was snowing, the wind was whipping snow in our face and it hurt. We were back in the condo in 20 minutes and didn't see any more birds today, but for today we added two more birds and saw birds 8 & 9:

#8 STELLER'S JAY
#9 BLACKED-CAPPED CHICKADEE

Lynne saves the day, we find Gray Jays

Hoosier Pass Pullover
Colorado, Hwy 9 south of Breckenridge at 11,000+ft

January 2nd, 2006, 3pm

I am not sure that most serious birders would have slept in as late as I did this morning with so many new birds to discover and ID, but we were on vacation and it was our goal to do little and enjoy some time together as a family while we were in Colorado. Our day got off to a slow start, but we did make one nice bird find before our day was done.

After we finished up at the Cherry Creek State Park yesterday, Lynne and I drove with our family from the south side of Denver where it was 55 degrees and sunny at 430pm, to Frisco Colorado, via I-70 and the Eisenhower Pass, 83 miles away, where it was cold, snowing and just under 20 degrees 85 minutes later. That's Colorado.

Once Lynne and I got the family moving the next morning, we wanted to drive past "our mountain," Mt Quandry, on the south side of Breckenridge, to see the place where we shared our nuptials 4 years earlier in September, and then drive up to Hoosier Pass to look at some of the four 14ers of the Mosquito Range that we had hiked to the top of in the past; Mt Lincoln, Bross, Democrat & Sherman.

While we were parked at the pull over at the top of the pass, I noticed a jay like bird flitting about on the other side of some park cars. I immediately grabbed my western field guide and turned to the section on jays. But I couldn't seem to find the birds we were looking at, an unbashful group that had no problem gliding right up to the side of our car. They were about the size of a Blue Jay or Stellar's Jay, but were light grayish white overall, with a mostly gray/white head, dark eyes and short dark bill. These birds did have a slightly darker gray nape, and I thought they might be GRAY JAYS (photos Jeff Skrentny). But in my field guide, the Gray Jays were darker in color. Yet, they made the right weeeoo whistle, and sailing glide while in flight, but they were just too light compared to the drawings in my Sibley's.

I waited patiently for one of them to get close enough to photograph for later ID while Lynne read the description of the Gray Jay over again. Thankfully she was paying attention and noticed on the bottom right of the guide drawings for the Gray Jay, there was a different head for the Adult Rocky Mountains birds. It was a group of Gray Jays playing about, but they were a slight color variation found only in the Rockies. I had bird number 7 for the year, the Gray Jay with the Rocky Mountain coloring.

#7 GRAY JAY Rocky Mountains coloring

The first trip into the field

Cherry Creek State Park and Cherry Creek Lake, Denver, Colorado
Several locations on south and east sides of lake

January 1st, 2006...230-430pm

Once I woke up on New Year’s Day, Carmen told me about my correctly identifying the owl hooting in his yard earlier that morning, and we began talking birds. Turns out he just got himself a Peterson’s Field Guide so he could begin birding too. We both felt that our once robust hikes up Colorado 14ers would be put on hold for a bit as we each now had young families; he a boy that was 3 and a daughter that was 11 months, Lynne & I had Anna Grace at 2 & ¾ years, Robert at 6 months. Both of us felt short hikes, or drives to bird viewing areas might be more likely, for now, than long hikes or climbs up mountain slopes as we did together just a few years earlier.

As we compared notes, and took stock of the day that was unfolding, he suggested we take a short drive down to the Cherry Creek State Park and Reservoir that was less than a mile away. Everybody agreed it would be great to soak up some Colorado sun and take a short hike on this 50 degree New Year’s Day, so we left for the park after lunch.

The day got off to a quick birding start. On the drive over we saw a Great Horned Owl in a tree just inside the park near the West Entrance for the park, but as it was a bird Carmen already had, he didn’t stop the car for a true identification. That darn owl got away from me twice in one day. Why do I guess that this is going to happen many more times in my birding adventures with birds a lot more difficult to find. I gently chewed Carmen out about not stopping once he got us down to the Cottonwood Creek bird viewing area, where he was taking us in hopes to see some water foul on the reservoir. He laughed and asked if I wanted to drive back. I said no, and we hit the trail with families in tow.

We walked into the Cottonwood Creek area, and everywhere we looked we could see bird nests as we worked our way down to the water’s edge. I told Carmen this was going to be a great place to ID birds once migration and mating season arrived. He couldn’t have been more pleased. But today in the Cottonwood Creek area it was windy and nothing was to be seen or even heard. So Carmen suggested we go to the bird viewing area down by the water’s edge about a football field from where we were.

Once we got down to this viewing area I immediately spotted a large bird flying to the northwest from the wetlands preserve in the park that were just to our east. Holy shit, it was a BALD EAGLE. You can’t miss that large dark body, large white head and stark white tail. Of course I had seen many Bald Eagles through the years, especially on my two trips to Alaska, but here was my first 100% verifiable ID of my first bird as a birder: A Bald Eagle.
Carmen and I were thrilled.

Maybe it is because I am a big city boy who seldom sees such things in the city, or maybe it is because I grew up in small town middle America where my parents taught me great respect for such wonders, but I must say it never bores me and always thrills me to see a Bald Eagle in the wild. We watched it fly/soar casually to the center of the reservoir to some open water where it glided to a landing on the ice. Later we learned from others in the park that several other Bald Eagles were also seen there that afternoon. We only saw the one, that was wonder enough.

After seeing the Bald Eagle, we saw that the reservoir was frozen solid on the south side where we were, and Carmen decided we should head to the north east side of the reservoir at Dixon Grove. On our drive over we stopped to see a hawk or raptor of some kind flying on the edge of the wetlands preserve near the park office. Even though we stopped, neither of us was skilled enough to make an identification.

Upon reaching Dixon Grove, we saw quite quickly what our birding for the balance of our day together would be; CANADA GEESE (photo Steve Plant), gulls and crows. Okay, these were not the kinds of birding IDs I have ever read anything about in any of the bird books I have read thus far, but even the great Sandy Komito needed to ID these common birds on his way to 745 birds in his incredible Big Year of 1998.

I never knew how hard gulls were to identify. I never knew how many types of gulls there were. But after some quick work together with our guide books the obvious ID was the RING-BILLED GULL (photo Keith Matts). We settled on this ID because of the four small but distinct white spots on the primaries when the gull was standing, the yellow legs, the dark ring on the yellow bill, and the white tips to on the top and bottoms of the black wing tips when the gull was in flight. Plus it was the only gull likely to be found in the Denver area this time of year. They weren’t shy either, so we got a number of real good looks at these gulls, there were dozens, maybe even two hundred or more of them in this lagoon area.

The 3rd bird ID of the New Year was the AMERICAN CROW (photo Peter Vercruijsse). Again there were several dozen of them right in the area, the caaw was unmistakable, the tail feathers were short and rounded, and the flight was strong and direct. I have seen enough American Crows in my life to know them from the larger Common Ravens. Our 4th ID for the day was any one of the hundreds of Canada Geese I have grown up seeing since my first trip to Horicon Marsh in the late sixties (see first blog entry). On our way back to the car from the beach, I spotted the orange underwing and gray head of a NORTHERN FLICKER (photo Chuck Roberts) in flight. As it turned in its rapid flight I could see its brown back with the bold narrow black bands on its back and upper wings along with its bright white rump. Being familiar with the bird made it an easy ID for bird number 5 of the day.

Finally, as we were driving back around the park to the west entrance, we made a quick stop at a pond to the east of the model plane airfield. There were a number of duck species there, but my 6 month old son Robert began acting up and we needed to hit the road to Summit County to meet our friends Liz & Rob whose condo we were going to stay at in Frisco. I was only able to positively ID a male MALLARD DUCK (photo Paul Vallender) for my 6th bird of the day on my first day of birding. Nothing fancy, but hard to miss the dark green sheen of its head, the white neck ring, and the brown breast. And so day one as a birder concluded with six positive bird IDs of:

#1 BALD EAGLE
#2 RING-BILLED GULL
#3 AMERICAN CROW
#4 CANADA GOOSE
#5 NORTHERN FLICKER
#6 MALLARD DUCK male

Not Al Levantin’s 45 from his 1998 "Big Year" January 1st, but I am not him, nor do I ever expect to be, but I sure appreciated how his story has motivated me to learn more about how to be a birder.

My first bird?

Englewood, Colorado
Denver's south side near Cherry Creek Lake and Cherry Creek State Park

Sunday, January 1st, 2006, 10am

Lynne & I flew to Colorado on New Years Eve for a 5 day visit to Denver, Summit County and Boulder to see friends and family. We had a quiet New Years Eve at Lynne's friends Jeanine and Carmen. That night we stayed in their guest room, and at 530am I awoke to a squirming daughter. She was restless, and it woke me up. Little did I know her waking me up would allow me to identify my first bird as a birder.

As I lie in bed I heard the unmistakable hoot of an owl. It was the unmistakable ho hoo hoo hoododo hooooo hoo of a Great Horned Owl. I heard it distinctly 5 or 6 times. It sounded like it was in Jeanine & Carmen's back yard. When Anna Grace eventually woke up too early, I told her to listen for the hooting of an owl outside. Her focus on this was just what she needed to fall back asleep.

Lynne, Robert and Anna Grace all got up and went downstairs before I did. Anna Grace apparently told her mother that daddy told her to listen to the owl as she tried to fall asleep. Her mom laughed and made some slanderous comment about daddy's new birding quest which host Carmen overheard. He told her that I very well might have heard an owl, as they had a neighborhood Great Horned Owl (photo Carmen Yon) that was regularly spotted on neighbor's roof tops. Lynne couldn't believe it, so Carmen showed her the excellent photos he had taken of the bird, and she could only laugh that I was right.

But as I didn't see the bird, and am only a rookie birder, I can't count this one, at least not yet. I got lucky with this identification. But now I know where I can find at least one Great Horned Owl if I haven't found one before our annual summer trip to Colorado this August. Then I will be prepared to see this owl, instead of just hearing it!

It was just a matter of time before this happened

On a flight from Chicago to Denver with my family

Saturday, December 31st, 2005, 11am

My wife's nickname for me when we were courting back in the mid 1990's was Birdman. Out of my third story condo window in Chicago on the corner of Grace & Freemont, I hung three bird feeders where over the course of a year, I spotted 14 different bird species at my feeders. Eventually my condo association sued me to take them down because of the "mess."

I have watched birds all my life. I continue to watch them today. I have had them as pets several times. I have bird feeders in both our front and backyards. My daughter Anna Grace's first word was "birdz," as I regularly showed her the sparrows, finches and Cardinals that ate at our front porch feeders.

My first recollection of seriously watching birds took place at Horicon Marsh in a November of a year before, or shortly after, my sister Joanne was born in 1967. The water froze early that year, before the height of migration season. The Canada Geese continued to try and land in formation on what they expected to be water. As they hit the ice it was nothing but a tangle of confused and angry wings, feathers, legs, necks and bills. It was one of the most wonderfully riotous natural spectacles I had ever seen.

From that day until now, I would imagine that as active bird watcher I have seen between 150-200 different bird species. I am counting none of them as a birder, I am starting with clean slate as I step into this venture. This may seem silly to some, but really, it is the only way I can build a life list that is accurate and not filled with the inaccuracies of memory.

Collecting has also been a passion of mine ever since my dad and then my grandfather introduced me to coin collecting at age 5 or 6. I collected coins seriously throughout my childhood and into my senior year of high school. I even won some awards for displaying my collection of "error" coins at the 1978 ANA (American Numismatic Association) Annual Show in St Louis. But in college my interest in coin collecting subsided as I had little disposable income to collect new finds. It was then that I discovered the wonderful realm of collecting experiences instead of things. Books read, places and miles hitchhiked, number of different beers consumed, and rock concerts attended. Hey, it was college, it could have been worse.

As I grew older my experiential collections would lead me to trying to see every play in the Shakespeare canon (completed when I saw King John on May 19, 2004, at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier), attending every Major League Baseball Park (completed in June of 2005 when I saw the Cubs beat the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego...it was my 46th ballpark since I began my quest in 1993), running a marathon in every state (currently at 47 marathons and ultras run in 27 states), and climbing to the top of every Colorado fourteen thousand foot peak (at 14 of 52...this one is going to be hard).

I like diverse and challenging life collections. It was only a matter of time before collecting and bird watching became birding, to use Kenn Kaffman's distinction from the early pages of "Kingbird Highway." I knew I was edging closer to this birding reality after I read "The Big Year" and then took my family to the Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area in Indiana to see the annual Sandhill Crane migration. The birders I met were so friendly and inviting and freely shared their passion and scopes despite my lack of any birding knowledge.

Then I read "Grail Bird," and I really wanted to share those birders passion for finding the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. I wanted to be part of that, no matter how peripherally as a rookie birder in Chicago. But once I started reading Kaufman's "Kingbird Highway," and found that Santa had left me "Sibley's 2003 Eastern & Western Field Guides" in my Christmas stocking, I was hooked. I knew that my interest in birds was going to evolve from being just a bird watcher to an active birder. I set the start date for this next quest to begin as January 1st, 2006.

What follows are my experiences as a rookie birder trying to develop the skills and learn how to go to the places that will someday make me a member of the 600 Club...maybe even the 700 Club before it is all over...but by then I hope not to be a rookie birder any more!