I have encountered Barred Owls at various places – in Washington, DC when I led bird walks in Rock Creek Park; in Heron Pond in southern Illinois where one haunted the cypress
* All images captured by local wildlife photographer, Stephen Barten. Most owls are nocturnal creatures. They sleep by day and are active at night. But one species is largely diurnal or, more
On an August walk in Cook County’s newest forest preserve, Horizon Farm on Sutton Road, I was surprised to see a large raptor floating low over one of the fields. Its size,
* Above photo courtesy of Ronald Ziegler via Macaulay Library It’s getting late for the passage of falcons through our latitude. Peregrines, except for those that nest in Chicago, and Merlins have
Often when I’m weeding or harvesting in the garden, I hear mewing notes coming from nearby thickets. There is no mistake about the vocalizer. It’s not a cat but a catbird –
Images by Citizens for Conservation volunteer & wildlife photographer, Steve Barten. I heard a Red-winged Blackbird for the first time this year on February 28. At a Citizens for Conservation workday only
One of the unexpected pleasures of the COVID year has been the opportunity to pay more attention to the birds around our homes. Last week someone mentioned to me a small brown
Often on restoration workdays with Citizens for Conservation, participants share sightings of mammals, insects, reptiles, birds, plants they have seen recently. We also pause at times to study something discovered by a
* Featured photo by Barrington wildlife photographer, Stephen Barten When you are trying to get a handle on bird identifications, it’s useful to apply categories. For instance, size is helpful: big as
When the World Trade Center towers were struck on Sept. 11, 2001, I was in New York’s Central Park birding with a friend. As the horror of the events became clearer, I
I wrote last month’s column on the eve of the annual Barrington Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Thirty-one intrepid counters participated in the event on December 16, fifteen of them covering the northwest
For many if not most local birders, watching birds is a pastime largely of spring, summer, and fall. But for the most intrepid, the end of the year brings an opportunity to
On classic early and mid-October days, when the sky reigns brilliant blue over a golden landscape, I love to go looking for sparrows. I head to shrubby border areas in the countryside
It’s interesting how many birds carry the epithet “common” – for example, common nighthawk, common merganser, common goldeneye, common grackle. It is unclear to me who decides that a species is common
It’s snipe season! Yes, for those still thinking that “hunting for snipe” means looking for an imaginary bird, you can be assured that the Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is indeed an actual