Deer Run Bird Survey #10
May 3, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
First off, our good friend Tim did another Deer Run Bird Survey (survey 9.5) at the end of April, adding four new species to the list: Northern Waterthrush, Solitary Sandpiper, Swainson’s Thrush, and Vesper Sparrow. He found 183 total birds and 42 different species!
Friday was Deer Run Bird Survey number ten, our first May survey. A storm was rolling in, so we were booking it!
Virginia Bluebells
There were wild Bluebells and other flowers all over the place (including a bit of Garlic Mustard). Even with the impending storm, birds were active and singing.
New for the D.R.B.S. – Eastern Kingbird
We counted 420 individual birds of 51 species and added eleven new ones for the survey:
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- Eastern Kingbird
- Grasshopper Sparrow
- Henslow’s Sparrow
- House Sparrow (!)
- Least Flycatcher
- Nashville Warbler
- Red-breasted Merganser
- White-crowned Sparrow
Our grand total now stands at 3709 individual birds of 89 species!
Eastern Meadowlark
Lots of Wildflowers
Deer Run Bird Survey #9
April 29, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
This is our ninth Deer Run Bird Survey and the best “migrationally” speaking.
Sparrows (eight kinds) and warblers (four) were the main attraction. Deer Run is an excellent place for sparrows due to all the grasses in the restored prairie.
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Savanna Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
A huge surprise was one of our favorite birds, a Prothonotary Warbler
Not a surprise was this Palm Warbler
Despite cloudy weather, the birds were quite photogenic, including this Eastern Towhee.
Total species sighted: 40 [a new high count]
Total birds counted: 194 (a bit low but the mini flocks of sparrows were hard to count)
New for the survey, 12 species:
- Chipping Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Lark Sparrow
- Lincoln’s Sparrow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Ovenbird
- Palm Warbler
- Prothonotary Warbler
- Savannah Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Barn Swallow
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Survey numbers up to this point:
Total Species: 74
Total Birds: 3,142
Next up, May and more migrants!!
Deer Run Bird Survey #8
April 22, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Our eighth Deer Run Bird Survey of our year long survey was the best we’ve had yet. The weather was wonderful and we had our highest count of species thus far. This should be topped as migration really hits, but we’re happy with what we saw Sunday. Technically, DRBS #7.5 happened on the 6th of April but was done by local birder (and great friend) Tim Young. He added three new species for the count: American Coot, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, & Golden-crowned Kinglet.
D.R.B.S. #8 started off with a bang as we netted Brown Thrasher and Eastern Towhee (new for the count).
Brown Thrasher
We counted 330 individual birds of 39 species and added five new ones for the survey:
- Rusty Blackbird
- House Wren
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Eastern Towhee
- Brown Thrasher
Our total for the survey now stands at 2,948 individuals of 62 species.
Wood Duck
Hermit Thrush – never get tired of these!
Read more about what we are doing with our Deer Run Bird Survey.
Deer Run Bird Survey #7
April 7, 2008
Article in: Birding
Our first April Deer Run Bird Survey (D.B.R.S.) was also the first above 50 degrees and a bonus amount of sunshine made it the “springiest” yet!
Song Sparrow
Deer Run Forest Preserve is coming to life – plants are emerging and the birds are singing all over the place. We actually felt warm for the first time this year as we hiked the damp trails. There were signs of recent flooding and low areas of standing water.
One of the day’s highlights was the many joyous Song Sparrows belting out tunes left and right. We also found five Hermit Thrushes and many Field Sparrows. A soaring Osprey and some calling Sandhill Cranes added to the excitement. Eight new species brought the total up to 54. 168 birds brought our total count up to 2,463.
New species for the survey:
- Field Sparrow
- Fox Sparrow
- Great Blue Heron
- Hermit Thrush
- Osprey
- Sandhill Crane
- Turkey Vulture
- Tree Swallow
Hermit Thrush
D.R.B.S. #6
March 23, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Continuing our Deer Run Bird Survey, we made our second survey for March today.
The weather was much better than earlier in the week when it snowed 4+ inches and we added four new species to our survey list. Our grand total is 46 species and 2,295 individuals.
New birds:
- Hooded Merganser
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Brown-headed Cowbird
We plan on picking up the pace for our surveys and doing at least three a month in April, May, and June.
You can view more information about what we are trying to accomplish with the Deer Run Bird Survey.
Deer Run Bird Survey #5
March 15, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
February was a whirlwind of a month and we didn’t do a single Deer Run Bird Survey. Today we were able to get out for awhile and check out some of the early spring arrivals.
Sunrise at Deer Run
The weather had been in the 40s and 50s the last few days but it was only in the low 30s and most of the trails were still iced over. We didn’t get to cover much ground but we didn’t need to in order to find a lot of birds.
We added 11 new species of birds bringing our total for the survey to 42 species. Some of the highlights included flyover flocks of Wood Ducks and Common Mergansers, Eastern Phoebe, Red-winged Blackbirds, and lots of calling birds (spring is getting so close!).
Today we counted 851 individual birds and in our five surveys have found a total of 1,688 birds. It is still too early to make any sort of analysis of the area’s bird diversity and importance but it is exciting to see how the bird species have changed and look forward to migration and nesting seasons!
Kishwaukee River at Deer Run with minor flooding
Deer Run Bird Survey #4
January 26, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Poor weather has kept us away from continuing our Deer Run Bird Survey (tons of snow and below zero temperatures on our available dates) but we were finally able to do a survey for January. [Read about the Deer Run Bird Survey citizen science project]
American Tree Sparrow
With the trails covered with 8 inches of snow we decided to only walk the “A” loop which is the shortest of the three loops but follows a lot of riparian habitat and open prairie. The bird life was fairly quiet but we saw one more species than our third survey and ended the morning with 17.
Deer Run Bird Survey #3
December 26, 2007
Article in: Bird Conservation
We were supposed to do our third Christmas Bird Count of the season [Dec 23], but blowing snow and zero visibility forced us to turn back. We are dedicated citizen scientists, but sometimes it is better to, as the saying goes, “be safe than sorry”. Especially right before Christmas.
Christmas Eve day we decided to conduct our third Deer Run Bird Survey (and the weather was a lot better than the day before). Birding was pretty slow, but we added three species not seen on the previous two counts: Great Horned Owl, Wild Turkey, and our winter warbler, the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
We had to cross a flooded path, but were rewarded with a good mix of birds near this running water (including the Yellow-rumped).
To date, we have sighted a total of 30 species in our survey area, but we have yet to cover a full third of the area. The number is unlikely to increase too much until spring but there are definitely some notable birds missing: Rough-legged Hawk, Eastern Screech-Owl, Cedar Waxwing, and more.
Of course, the purpose of this survey isn’t to build a big list of birds, but instead discover what types of birds use the area and how we feel the land should be restored to best enhance the diversity of birds there.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
