This is the part one of six of Birdfreak’s 72-hour birding extravaganza. Our goal was to find as many bird species as possible within Winnebago County, Illinois. Olive-sided Flycatcher at Rock Cut State Park We began our 72-hour birding event at 0330 at Pecatonica Wetlands in the hopes of finding bitterns and rails. We struck
Tag: bird count
72 Hour Bird Count Preview
May is our favorite time of year as thousands of colorful, amazing birds make their way into northern Illinois. Last year we decided to enter the birdiest county contest for our county, Winnebago, which involved doing a 72 hour consecutive block of birding. (Of course, we didn’t bird for all that time, but any birds
2008 ICF Crane Count
Today was the 2008 International Crane Foundation Crane Count and we were positioned in a wonderful location known as Moody Marsh. We began our count at 5:30 in the morning, a perfect time for birdsong, especially during migration. Moody Marsh (taken with the video camera) Our first birds were a group of Northern Shovelers that
Great Backyard Bird Count – Nygren Wetlands
Birding is important on many levels and on Saturday it provided a great escape from the terrible happenings at NIU on Valentine’s Day. We were signed up to lead visitors around the roads of Nygren Wetlands, a spectacular natural area in the northern part of Winnebago County. The Natural Land Institute was holding a Winter
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DeKalb Christmas Bird Count
Since the nearby DeKalb Christmas Bird Count was on the same day as the Rockford Christmas Bird Count, December 15th, it was one we had to miss. Mike Andrews, compiler for the count, let us know how their day went. They had 21 people out in the field and 4 feeder watchers this year. There
Rockford Christmas Bird Count
The Rockford Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday, December 15th in our home town of Rockford, Illinois. This is our second of four counts this season. The Birdfreak Team was split into two groups so we were able to see a wide variety of birds. It snowed from the time we began (around 7
Lost Mound Christmas Bird Count
This is a recap of our first of four Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs). This year marks the 108th year for Christmas Bird Counts. The Lost Mound is located in northwestern Illinois, bordering the Mississippi River near the town of Savanna. This area was once a bustling army depot and now is partially a portion of
Winnebago County Spring Bird Count Results
The results are in from the Spring Bird Count and they are a rather mixed bag. First of all, Winnebago County had 164 species, the sixth lowest total in the last 10 years but ten more species than 2006. At least 12 missed species were seen during our 72-hour birding event (but that was two
