Field trip recap: Crabtree Nature Center

Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Geoff Williamson, Montrose Point, April 30, 2023.

words by trip leader Sammy Cabindol

Four birders found themselves on a fall migration bird walk at Crabtree Nature Center during a rather warm morning Sept. 29. Fall felt distant as the trees’ leaves barely had any signs of color change. The walk began with the faintest songs of Red-winged Blackbirds, conk-la-ree! The group strolled along to Crabtree’s Phantom Prairie eastern trailhead and marveled at the site’s expansive marsh and grasslands. The birders looked out intently for any signs of bird activity.

Then, Sammy exclaimed “Northern Harrier! In flight headed right—now landed just out of view!” The bird’s white rump patch was visible as clear as day. Sammy adjusted his view and found the harrier perched near the ground just before taking off again. Another birder called out that the harrier had landed in a tree which contradicted Sammy’s observation. Funnily enough, it turns out there were two Northern Harriers! The group excitedly watched as the Northern Harriers flew in tandem until their view was obscured by nearby trees.

Northern Harrier. Photo by Dustin Weidner, Steelworkers Park, Oct. 6, 2023.

The group, starstruck and cheery, continued along the trails to find more birds–-or so they hoped. The first section of Bur Edge trail yielded hardly any bird activity, so the group turned back around to Giant’s Hollow trail to turn their luck. But again, few birds were observed by sight. Distant calls of Blue Jays and Golden-crowned Kinglets rang through the forest to provide the group with some bird action.

The birders visited the site’s frog ponds which, as the name suggests, had many frogs. American bullfrogs and green frogs hopped about the ponds’ logs and rocks as the group crept closer. Not many birds showed themselves to the group, but the birders didn’t lose hope. They followed the chicka-dee-dee-dee calls of Black-capped Chickadees to get sights on more birds. Trekking deeper into the trails, they finally came across the chickadee commotion and laid eyes on them. The chickadees came within an arm’s length while calling away.

Where you find the chickadees, you tend to find other birds. The birders scanned the nearby trees, noticing White-breasted Nuthatches, various woodpeckers, and a Magnolia Warbler. The elation only lasted so long as the flock flew on with no more birds to be seen.

Without the sight of any more birds on the trails, the group left for the parking lot only to be surprised by the increased bird activity there. A skulking Swainson’s Thrush provided them with poor looks, but the nearby Palm Warblers more than made up for that.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Photo by Randy Shonkweiler, Washington Park, May 10, 2022.

Just as the birders were about to leave Crabtree, there was a final burst of bird species in rapid succession: Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. After great looks of those birds, the group tallied a total of 43 species.