THE LIST
Thursday, October 21, 2004
(in case you don't already know me as a birder--i'm an amateur aspiring to be a connoisseur! Hence the blog.)
Grant Park, Chicago, October 20, 2004
2 winter wrens
6 juncos
at least 4 white-throated sparrows (ever seen these guys? they camouflage so well that if they're not moving you can NOT see them.)
1 brown creeper
2 late warblers (these are so damned confusing that i can only guess at their true identities. One of them was either a prairie warbler or a blackpoll. Any clues?)
4 lively black capped chickadees
American crows
Gulls
ALSO yesterday morning, leaving the house in a hurry without my binoculars--i walked across the street and heard a rustle in the fallen leaves on the curb.
i caught sight of a red tuft, a longish beak, a lovely spotted wing--he hopped up and checked me out for a while before rising to a nearby branch. dashing back inside to grab binocs and field guide , i realized i'd seen a yellow-shafted flicker, here much later than he was supposed to be. And in the middle of the city! I'd post it on the Illinois birders' listserve, but i'm afraid no one would believe me.
