Obstacles still stand in the way for women, minorities and young birders to feel welcome within the community. It shouldn’t be this way, because our shared love of birds should bring us together, no matter our circumstances. This is a small step, but we hope it leads to our organization and other local groups continuing to raise diverse voices of individuals who are making important strides in the birding world.
That’s what brought me to historic Graceland Cemetery on Chicago’s North Side for a walk with Larry “Skillethead” Krutulis earlier this month. He is perhaps the dean of Chicago’s cemetery birders and has 174 species on his Graceland list.
I needed a cackler for my 2018 year list and it seemed a lock since a few birds had been reported online. As much as eBird and social media have transformed birding, it’s still challenging to pull up to a hotspot and expect to find the bird.
Check out COS board member, Stephanie Beilke’s recommended reading! Stephanie is a Conservation Science Associate with Audubon Great Lakes. She leads marsh bird monitoring to inform conservation in the Chicago area and Indiana. She also volunteers with the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors.
As we watched, the bird landed close to the road and disappeared into the brush. When we looked down into a gap in the brush we realized what were seeing….
