Field trip recap: Sunday Social

 
Twenty two people in jackets and hats, with binoculars, smiling at camera, along stone edge of boathouse with lagoon and trees in the background.

words by trip leader and COS board member Chris Holden

On a sunny fall morning, 22 people gathered at the Humboldt Park Boathouse for an early November edition of the COS Sunday Social Humboldt Park Bird Walk.  

The level of experience of the birders ranged from days to decades. We did a quick review of binocular basics and scanned the lagoon before embarking on our walk.

Front view of a duck on the water. Grean head with red eyes, white eyebrows, multicolored beak, white collar, red breast with vertical white and black bars on the sides followed by yellowish sides.

Wood Duck. Photo by Chris Holden, Humboldt Park, Nov. 2, 2025.

An inquisitive (and likely hungry) pair of Wood Ducks quickly approached us and proceeded to follow along with us for a good while, likely in search of snacks (that were not forthcoming). 

After encounters with a White-throated Sparrow, a Downy Woodpecker, and two American Kestrels, we crossed paths with another birder, who informed us that a Sandhill Crane had touched down in the park not far from us.  Given their spectacular and uncommon Humboldt Park landings, we quickly made our way to the ball fields north of the playground. We were rewarded with great views of the bird feeding on the grass. 

Tall bird with long black legs, gray feathers scalloped with light brown on body, and long gray neck. A red patch sits on top of the head over an orange eye. Long, thick bill caked with grass and mud. Standing in green field, profile looking left.

Sandhill Crane. Photo by Dan Wendt, Humboldt Park, Nov. 2, 2025.

After getting our fill of the crane, we continued onward, seeing park mainstays, including Northern Cardinals, American Goldfinches, and a Red-tailed Hawk. We also saw some late-fall arrivals such as American Tree Sparrows and Golden-Crowned Kinglets.  As the trip was wrapping up, we were delayed in our return to the Boathouse by visits from a Red-Breasted Nuthatch, an Orange-crowned Warbler, and others. 

At the trip's end, our total number of bird species seen and/or heard was 24.

 
Field TripKris HansenHumboldt Park, Sunday Social