Posts in Field Trip
Trip Report: Palos Area - 2016 April 9

Many thanks to Shawn for leading an excellent field trip to the Palos area. The 10 of us who attended all enjoyed very large numbers of waterfowl--thousands of American coots, and great views of all three merganser, shovelers, buffleheads, green and blue winged teal, redhead, canvasback, gadwall, wigeon,  pied bill and horned grebes, among others, plus great views of two nesting osprey. . I really appreciated Sean's great eyes and ears in finding all the birds in the reeds on the far sides of the sloughs, and great patience in making counts of the more numerous species.

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Field TripLindsay Wilkes
Lisle Christmas Bird Count 2015 report

The 67th Lisle-Arboretum Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, 20 December 2015. There was only a brief freeze in the weeks prior to count day, so that we had a lot of hope for a good count. The 90 field observers and nine feeder watchers also had reasonably warm weather to work with, without any snow on the ground. Despite this, most field parties bemoaned the lack of birds. 

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67th Lisle-Arboretum Christmas Bird Count Results

The 67th Lisle-Arboretum Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, 20 December 2015. There was only a brief freeze in the weeks prior to count day, so that we had a lot of hope for a good count. The 90 field observers and nine feeder watchers also had reasonably warm weather to work with, without any snow on the ground. Despite this, most field parties bemoaned the lack of birds. 

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Trip Report: Palos Area - 2014 November 3

Sixteen birders showed up on a cool but sunny fall day. It was a great to be out birding. Unfortunately birds have wings and all of the swans seen yesterday were gone. We did have some quality birds. An American Pelican swam around and was very visible. An adult Bald Eagle flew around but quickly disappeared in on of the corners. The waterfowl seen unfortunately were hugging the west side and difficult to ID.

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Field TripLindsay Wilkes
Trip Report: "Birds in My Neighborhood" - 2014 June 5

A group of over 60 students from Mark Sheridan Academy went on a field trip to Palmisano Park on the near South Side of Chicago. The weather on this sunny June 5 was perfect for exploring the grasslands and the old stone quarry of the park. We split into two groups and were able to show the students many of the birds in their Openlands field guide.

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Trip Report: Emiquon/Chautauqua - 2014 April 26-27

Our COS group had two wonderful days of birding in the Emiquon/Chautauqua area.  On Saturday, we concentrated on waterfowl of all kinds and we were certainly not disappointed.  Highlights at the South Globe Unit of Emiquon included great views of 5 Dunlin, 25 Black-necked Stilts, 4 Hudsonian Godwits, 51 Long-billed Dowitchers, 16 American Golden Plovers, 2 Wilson’s Phalarope, and 20 Bonaparte’s Gulls. 

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Trip Report: Lakefront Ducks and Gulls - 2014 February 2014

Geoffrey Williamson led the Chicago Ornithological Society field trip along the Chicago lakefront on Sunday, 16 Feb 2014.  Our group of 13 birders visited Montrose Point, Belmont Harbor mouth, Diversey Harbor mouth, and then hoofed it to the Whiting Refinery Beach in Whiting, Indiana.  Our targets were ducks and gulls, and we did pretty well on both scores.

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Field TripLindsay Wilkes
Trip Report: Burnham Park - 2013 October 12

Christine and I led a COS/Sierra Club group in Chicago's Burnham Park yesterday (Saturday, 12 Oct 2013).  We started at 39th Street and made our way up to about 31st Street and then head back south.  We had 41 species of birds, plus five butterfly species (one Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded/Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tailed-Blue, and Common Buckeye) and one dragonfly species (Common Green Darner).

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Trip Report: North Pond Bird Walk - 2013 August 28

The COS North Pond Bird Walk Wednesday, 28 Aug 2013 at North Pond in Chicago's Lincoln Park  recorded 30 species of birds, three species of odes, two butterfly  species, and two mammal species. Highlights included four species of warblers (NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH,  BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, and AMERICAN REDSTART),  three LEAST FLYCATCHERS, and SWAINSON'S THRUSH. The birding was  really quite slow.

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Field TripLindsay Wilkes