A few days ago on February 12th, I took a trip with my mom and the Illinois Young Birders to Ryerson Woods Forest Preserve in Deerfield, IL. We met Sheryl DeVore and Steve Bailey, two of the authors of Birds of Illinois, and also great birders. They led us on a trip into the preserve to try to find Barred Owls and Great-horned Owls. Steve has a fantastic imitation of a Barred Owl that is very loud and accurate. After 15 minutes of him calling, he was finally answered by a Great-horned Owl. Soon after, a pair of Barred Owls called, performing their piercing, staccato-like vocalizations. Neither of the two owl species seemed very interested in us, so we only were able to hear them. No problem. They still counted for my Year List (a list of every bird seen or heard in Illinois), according the the listing rules of the ABA. The birds seen on this jaunt boosted my Year List total to 40 Species.
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On February 13th, I was sitting at home doing homework. All of a sudden, I received a text message from a friend saying that there was a Long-tailed Duck at Monroe Harbor at that moment! I really wanted to see this bird and was able to convince my dad to take me there. I walked around the lip of the walkway, near the waters edge, looking eagerly for the bird. All I saw were:
Common Goldeneye
Horned Grebes
And these Red-breasted Mergansers
But then, out in the blue, I finally found this female Long-tailed Duck. It was fishing very actively, and after a few moments caught a fish. I was able to get a picture of the fish before it went underwater for another search for more:
Amazingly, the duck kept getting closer to me, and came within 15 feet of the walkway I was on, allowing for amazing looks at its beautiful plumage. Below is a photo of it after it had come closer to me:
Next weekend is the IOS sponsored Gull Frolic, which I will be attending. I will post about how it went when I have time. Thanks for reading!
Until next week,
Nathan
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