Burlington Prairie – Dickcissels
July 27, 2011
Article in: Birding
I took Bella Nova Scotia to a local forest preserve called Burlington Prairie. The weather was hot (as it has been everywhere lately) so we just took a fast loop. Dickcissels were calling constantly from all directions.
Dickcissel
Bella Nova Scotia
Thirsty pup going for a drink
Beautiful open farm country!
Digiscoping Among Ghost Trains at Lost Mound
July 22, 2009
Article in: Photography
Lost Mound is located where the once vibrant Savanna Army Depot once was (still there, just not operational). It is part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge and is a birder’s paradise, yet still fairly unknown.
The signs and sights tell you otherwise, but Lost Mound is unbelievable when it comes to birds. Nestled along the Mississippi River and forested palisades, this crumbling munitions mecca provides habitat for birds not normally thought of in northwestern Illinois. Birds like Blue Grosbeak and Upland Sandpiper nest, Eastern and Western Meadowlarks mix, and Henslow’s Sparrows are relatively easy to find.
Lost Mound is grossly underbirded and much of the prime habitat is unaccessible, so there are more hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.
Typical habitat of Lost Mound: strange decaying building among intriguing foliage
While there are miles and miles of roads, only a few are open to the public. Much of Lost Mound is blocked with barbed wire and strict signs. Much of the explosive ordinances are still unaccounted for, making hiking out of the question. Train tracks run every which way and you are free to explore the open areas.
I brought Bella along to walk some of the roads with me and of course, did a bunch of digiscoping.
Dickcissels are extremely abundant yet I kept on getting them posed in poor lighting.
This Northern Mockingbird was vigorously defending his territory with variations of Western Meadowlark, Dickcissel, and even a bit of train sound effects.
Grasshopper Sparrow letting loose
Western Meadowlark
Lost Mound has a lot of history as an artillery firing site and was only officially closed in March of 2000. There is over 9,400 acres of land being managed, some four thousand (!) of which is sand prairie/savanna. These rare habitats are why this is such an intriguing place.
Over time the goal is to fully clean up the area to better manage and allow more public access. However, the price tag of $350 million has considerably slowed the process. We hope over time the land will be improved greatly and more birders can lose themselves at the Lost Mound.
Phriday Photo – Canon’s Last Firing?
July 3, 2009
Article in: Photography
After spending an evening hiking and chasing a storm with Bella, I discovered a slight problem. The trusty Canon Rebel XTi that had taken a TON of shots was unresponsive. I have no idea what happened and will be taking it into a camera store this weekend but this Dickcissel could well be one of the last shots fired by a wonderful camera.
Phriday Photo – Dickcissel Singing at 800mm
June 19, 2009
Article in: Photography
Dickcissel {Spiza americana} 800mm [Canon 100-400 lens with 2x extender]
Learn more about Dickcissels at Cornell’s All About Birds
31 Cool Bird Facts #4 – Dickcissel
October 4, 2008
Article in: Birding
Dickcissels [Spiza americana] are a fun sparrowish bird of the prairies and are considered (ignorantly) as an agricultural pest on their wintering grounds. Populations declined greatly in the 1960s and 70s, but are somewhat stable now.
In preparation for fall migration, Dickcissels begin assembling in larger and larger flocks that gradually coalesce into flocks of thousands. Winter roosts can number into the millions of birds. – Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds
Deer Run Birding Field Trip-Survey
June 15, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Saturday we were part of a wonderful field trip to Deer Run Forest Preserve, the place we have been surveying since December 1st. We had around 15 birders and saw quite a few nice prairie birds REALLY well.
Spiderwort
Over the last few days Veery and Birdfreak have each been out to Deer Run but not for an official survey. So for the field trip, we decided to merge all the birds sighted into one “mini” survey.
One of the big highlights was a new bird, a Clay-colored Sparrow, the 16th species of sparrow found here. This was found the previous day, but not relocated on our field trip. However, everyone had scope-views of Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrows and also great views of Dickcissels and Eastern Meadowlarks.
There were numerous Lark Sparrows, a confirmed nester as we witnessed them carrying food and feeding their young.
Eastern Kingbird (taken a few weeks ago)
Another new bird for the survey area was one of our prairie favorites, Dickcissel. We had both males and a female but heard them more often than we saw them.
We have now tallied 5,962 individual birds of 141 species.
Dickcissel
