North Central Illinois Ornithological Society

Olive -sided Flycatcher

Steviegee — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:38:06 +0000

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?

Another Harris’ Sparrow

Dan Williams — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:23:24 +0000

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.

Harris’ Sparrows

Dan Williams — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:25:17 +0000

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.

Date change for field trip !

Barbara Williams — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:12:22 +0000

Announcing a date change for the field trip to Nachusa Grasslands and Lowden Miller State Park scheduled for June 2nd. The trip has been moved back one week to June 9th. Everything else is the same. With questions call Barbara Williams at 779-537-3352

Smith’s Longspurs on Edson Road

Dan Williams — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:08:18 +0000

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.

Kites return to Rockford

Larry Balch — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:43:01 +0000

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!

Common Nighthawk arrives in Rockford

Dan Williams — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:06:06 +0000

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.

More arrivals at Page Park, Rockford, then toward Pecatonica

Dan Williams — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:02:16 +0000

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.

Recent arrivals at Page Park, Rockford

Dan Williams — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:48:45 +0000

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.

NCIOS field trip to Deer Run

Jack Armstrong — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:36:39 +0000

5 hearty souls went on the field trip to Deer Run Forest Preserve on Sat. April 28. 59 bird species were observed. Birds of note: 2 Blue-winged Teal, 7 Wild Turkeys, 2 Sandhill Cranes, 1 Solitary Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, Tree Swallows, N. Rough-winged Swallow and Barn Swallows, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, E. Towhee, 8 Sparrow species- Chipping, field, Lark-(Scoped from 20 feet), Savannah, Grasshopper, Song, Swamp, White-Throated, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, N. Oriole.
Some wind- about 20-30 MPH, little rain and a delightful 45-8 degrees .

Jack Armstrong