Having open water in below freezing temperatures is a great way to attract birds. We have a heated bird bath at the Callaway Nature Preserve and decided to set up our Wingscapes BirdCam and see who was coming to get a drink. Shock of shocks, this squirrel was captured getting a drink. Someone crashed this
Tag: birding Illinois
Snowy in the Snow
Snowy Owls make a yearly appearance in northern Illinois but most of the sightings are around the Chicago area. In fact, the last accepted record in our count, Winnebago, was some twenty years past by the airport. So when we got a call that one was not far from home, we excitedly made the trek
Illinois Birder’s Forum
Ovenbird Illinois birding just got a whole lot better. There is a new place for birders to go to find information about the birds and birding issues in Illinois. The Illinois Birder’s Forum offers an open place for discussion about conservation, laws, birding hotspots, rare birds, and more. Become a member today if you are
It’s Raining Nuthatches and Juncos!
As fall descends upon us, it’s bringing us plenty of cold air and feathered ones from the north. The Callaway Nature Preserve has been full of Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, and White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches. We had nine Red-breasted Nuthatches hanging out with us on Sunday! Although we are sad to see many
10 Reasons to Bird Illinois
Illinois has no coast, although Lake Michigan can look like an ocean at times. Illinois has no mountains, yet the southern portion of the state has cliffs and canyons that you’d think belonged out west. And Illinois isn’t a wandering bird hotbed like Alaska, Arizona, or Florida, yet there have been quite a few rarities
Flood at the CNP
Rockford’s been hit hard with a bunch of flood-inducing rainfall, an eerily similar event as what happened in September of last year. Last night we had somewhere between 5 and 7 inches of rain in a short period of time, flooding roads and creeks all over the city. The Callaway Nature Preserve (CNP) has a
Afton Forest Preserve
My sister (SnowyOwl) and I (Veery) went to Afton Forest Preserve after our classes last Wednesday to see if we could find any shorebirds hanging out. We knew it was going to be a warm trip. According to a Dekalb bank, it was 95 degrees out at two o’clock as we headed out. We observed
Cooper Sunday
The reason birding has been slow at the Callaway Nature Preserve. There are nesting Cooper’s Hawks at the Callaway Nature Preserve, and they find loads of stuff to eat because our neighbor has yet to mow the lawn this year…
