Field trip recap: Humboldt Park Sunday Social

 
Twenty people by the stone boathouse railing with the lagoon and trees behind them. They have binoculars and cameras and are smiling at the photographer.

words by trip leader Chris Holden

At 10 am on a beautiful September morning, 20 people gathered for a COS Sunday Social Bird Walk, Fall Migration Edition, in Humboldt Park. The overnight winds had been favorable for potential incoming migrants.  As such, anticipation was in the air, hopefully to be soon joined by birds.

Before we even left the parking lot we spotted several warblers in the adjacent trees, all of which proved to be Yellow-Rumped Warblers, flashing their buttery bottoms as they engaged in flycatching behaviors.

As we began to round the lagoon, we spotted several Dark-Eyed Juncos, and we discussed the joys of seeing them at bird feeders in the wintertime. A distant Red-Tailed Hawk was seen soaring to the south, our first raptor of the day, but not to be our last. 

Large perched hawk, head turned back over its shoulder to look left. Hooked beak, golden eye, brown head and wings, with brown streaks on its shoulders and underbellly, and yellow talons.

Cooper’s Hawk. Photo by Anney Grish, Humboldt Park, Sept. 29, 2025.

We saw a close-up American Goldfinch on Picnic Island, and then got incredible looks at a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk, a nearby unperturbed squirrel providing a good comparison of relative sizes.

We continued our orbit of the lagoon and then crossed the boulevard, with additional highlights including a photogenic Wood Duck, a first-year Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, and many Swainson’s Thrushes (and at least one Gray-Cheeked Thrush). 

Medium-sized bird clinging vertically to the right side of a tree trunk. Long, thick gray bill and dark eye. Head is mottled brown and muted yellow, with black and yellowis brown feathers overlapping like scales on its belly and body.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, first year. Photo by Madhu Nukathoti, Humboldt Park, Sept. 29, 2025.

We then encountered a pedestrian, who informed us they had just seen a perched Bald Eagle ahead of us. We decided to prioritize this and headed briskly along the Prairie River (stopping briefly to say hello to a Great Blue Heron) until we neared the bridge, where we spotted an adult-plumage Bald Eagle in all of its glory. 

Large brown bird with white head and neck and yellow eye, sharply hooked beak and talons, perched on a branch, looking right.

Bald Eagle. Photo by Anney Grish, Humboldt Park, Sept. 29, 2025.

Many other park-goers were camped out enjoying its presence. We joined them, watching it at length (with two American Kestrels circling overhead, increasing our raptor count), as the trip came to a conclusion. Our final tally was 26 species.

 
Field TripKris HansenHumboldt Park