North Central Illinois Ornithological Society

Just had an Olive-sided Flycatcher in my yard. It didn’t stay long. Last year there was one along Spring Creek. Possibly a returning bird?

This one is coming to our feeder and bird bath @ 6055 Safford Rd. In font of house, but definitely not visible from the road. Was 1st seen around 4:00 pm today, and it currently under the feeder at 5:25 pm.

On Sunday, May 6, Ann Whitney reported 2 Harris’ Sparrows coming to a feeder at 2645 Spielman Road, Seward. The home is south of Kelley Road on the west side of Spielman.

Unfortunately, the sparrows have not been seen since Sunday, so they have likely moved on.

Yesterday afternoon, Jeff Donaldson and Matt Vincent found 4 or 5 Smith’s Longspurs on the spring count while driving west on Edson Road near a drainage ditch about 2-3 miles west of the intersection of Edson Road and Friday Road. At that point, Edson Road is the border between Ogle and Winnebago County south of Rockford. The ditch runs north-south under the road.

Larry Balch, Barbara and I, and our friends, Beth Goeppinger and Joe Jacyna, went down there this morning and, after searching for more than 1 hour, had 4 Smith’s around 0945. They were flying and giving flight calls (with some not-very-good flight looks) back and forth over Edson road, about 0.1 of a mile west of the ditch. When the birds landed, they were out of sight behind low ridges in the fields. A thunderstorm with lightning deterred us from staying longer. We left around 10:00 a.m. We also saw a male Lapland Longspur in full breeding plumage. 25 American Golden-plovers flew over, too.

Brad Grover called at 3:40 p.m. to report that he and others were unable to relocate the Smith’s Longspurs, but, on the bright side, they had 25 Lapland Longspurs, 3 breeding plumage Golden-plovers in the fields, and a fly-over Upland Sandpiper.

Dan Williams, I, and perhaps others, have been checking the Bloom School neighborhood daily without seeing any kites through yesterday. However, today Jeff Donaldson spotted a Mississippi Kite soaring east of the school. Between 5 and 5:30 pm, Donna and I found 3 kites. Two were soaring together near Rural St. and Woodlane Ave, which is a few blocks south of the school. A third bird, missing 1 or 2 primaries on the left wing at about the position of P4 or P5, was circling a block west of the school.

They’ve come back just in time for the Spring Count!

After dinner tonight with Larry and Donna Balch in downtown Rockford, the four of us exited the restaurant and immediately heard and saw a Common Nighthawk flying over the intersection of E. State and Second Streets, right over and around City Hall. This sighting is only slightly early. In 5 of the previous 13 years, I have recorded a nighthawk on May 8 in Winnebago Co.

Barbara and I spent 2 hours in our woods adjacent to the Page Park Conservation Forest this morning between 0830-1030. The trees were full of warblers, many in full song, which was very helpful because the leaves were so thick that it was a lot of work to try to see them! We managed 13 species of warblers in that time, with a likely 14th (Black-throated Blue) which called twice, but never showed itself. We took a pass on counting it. Also present were 2 Blue-headed Vireos, several female Scarlet Tanagers, 3 Baltimore Orioles, some Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and a Great-crested Flycatcher.

Heartened by these arrivals, we decided to check a few shorebird spots, like Oliver Road and Telegraph Road. Not much there–the usuals. However, we had a singing Louisiana Waterthrush on the N-S stretch of Oliver Road east of the road across from the beaver lodge. 3 Hooded Mergansers were in the stream below the beaver dam. Warbling Vireos and Yellow Warblers were deafening.

There is a pair of Purple Martins at the martin house at 4 Lakes (they nested there last year), and 2 Green Herons were also there.

The colony of Cliff Swallows is back under the bridge on Telegraph Road just W of Theodorff Road.

The Telegraph Road flooded oxbow just E of town had both species of yellowlegs (+1 flock of 12 Lessers flying), a Solitary Sandpiper, and both regular species of teal. A Yellow-throated Vireo was calling from the hardwood forest across from the spring on Blair Road just after it separates from Best Road.

River Road near Ridott had a Prothonotary Warbler and American Redstart.

Finally, we had 3 Eastern Kingbirds-1 on Saunders Road just S of Telegraph and 2 at Westlake Nature Area. A Shoveler was also at the nature area, and a Common Loon was on Westlake itself. In all, we totalled 19 species of warblers today.

Over the weekend, the following migrant species have turned up at Anna Page Park in northwest Rockford (with date of April arrival noted): Ovenbird (30), Blackpoll Warbler (30), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (27), Indigo Bunting (28), Red-headed Woodpecker (27).

Larry Balch and I heard Warbling Vireos at several locations on Sunday the 29th, plus Grasshopper Sparrow in NW Winnebago Co. on the 29th.

While Barbara was watching Broad-wings over our house, I checked out a few places at Rock Cut SP this morning.

Highlights were a White-eyed vireo calling from the thicket at the start of the equestrian trail that runs South from Hart Road, south of the equestrian campground. This trail goes back to the old hay field that has had Henslow’s Sparrows for a number of years now. In the field, I counted at least 3 Henslow’s, but it is likely that there are at least 4. A pair of Cooper’s Hawks were in display flight over the woods south of the field.

A pair of Broad-wings was circling and calling over the hardwood forest on the south side of the creek below the dam on Pierce Lake. The woods below the dam were full of Yellow-rumped Warblers, gnatcatchers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. A lot of Eastern Towhees and Field Sparrows were heard from the scrub growth on the north side of the paved trail and along the entrance road coming in from the north.

3 Yellow-throated Warblers were heard, two of which were in the White Pines east of the Red Oak day use area driveway entrance.

A pair of Osprey, one with a fish in its talons, were flying over the east end of Pierce Lake. There was a flock of Ruddy Ducks (15) on Pierce Lake, and a smattering of puddle ducks plus some Lesser Scaup on Olson Lake. Other than Killdeer, the only shorebird was a solitary Solitary Sandpiper along the muddy edge at the Pierce Lake dam parking lot.

Seven Broad-wings have already passed over our house (west of town near Anna Page Park) already this morning (10:00 a.m.). Long distance migrants are beginning to arrive!

Barbara Williams