May 2018

On May 12, IOS sponsored a field trip to Mississippi Palisades State Park and nearby wildlife areas near Savanna (Carroll County) along the Mississippi River in northwest Illinois. As the weekend approached, cold weather and rain were forecast, with overnight lows in the 40s and daytime highs only reaching the low 50s. As leader, I hoped that the rain and thunderstorms would miss us, or at least give the group a chance to see some birds before the weather forced us into shelter. The weather worked out better than I had hoped. Even though it was cold and damp, the wind died down from Friday and the rain stopped just before dawn on Saturday.

The Mississippi River was running very high and a lot of low-lying areas were flooded and closed, such as Thomson Causeway, Diehl Road, the marsh along the entry road to Lost Mound, and all of the flood bottom agricultural fields bordering the river on the west side of IL 84 north of Savanna. The flooding prevented us from getting access to some of the areas we hoped to visit.

We birded Mississippi Palisades SP, the public areas of the Lost Mound unit of the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge (including Army Depot Road), Spring Lake (also a part of the NWR south of Savanna), Ayers Sand Prairie Nature Preserve and vicinity, a subdivision south of Savanna that has feeders and Purple Martin nest houses, and Doty Road.

The group saw 25 species of warblers, a nice total that included Cerulean (great looks for all!), Kentucky (another great look!), multiple Yellow-throated, and Hooded (another great look!), and a very cooperative male Summer Tanager. 23 of the warbler species were seen at Palisades. We also found all 7 species of woodpeckers in the park, completing a woodpecker slam with 3 sapsuckers.

After the state park we moved on to Lost Mound. On the way, we had a pair of Trumpeter Swans in a flooded field along IL 84. On Army Depot Road, we found a nice variety of dabbling ducks, including a drake American Wigeon. We were unsuccessful in locating the Cattle Egret that was in the marsh the day before. At Lost Mound, we had 6 Northern Mockingbirds, Lark and Grasshopper Sparrows, our only Blue Grosbeak and Dickcissel of the day, and a spectacle of 250+ Cedar Waxwings feasting on Cedar berries.

Satisfied with our Lost Mound results, we headed for lunch in Savanna. While most of us were eating lunch, Cindy and Ethan Brown scouted Doty Road. That road often has mudflats for shorebirds, but not that day. High water flooded the low spots. Ethan found a Short-billed Dowitcher at a distance, the only shorebird highlight of the day.

After lunch, we drove to Spring Lake. On the scouting day, we walked the entire 4 mile circumference of the levee system. Because of the forecast thunderstorm, we limited the trip to a hike to the overlook on the east levee and some scoping from the parking area. We were pleased to find 3 Common Gallinules from the overlook. Other species included another pair of Trumpeter Swans, multiple Sora, a Least Bittern and distant looks at Black and Forster’s Terns. Several Marsh Wrens were singing from the cattails. We avoided walking out one of the secondary levees to look for a male Yellow-headed Blackbird seen there the day before because we found a pair of Sandhill Cranes on it with a very young colt. Because of the high water in the lake, there was no place that the adults could move the chick that would not involve a direct confrontation with birders. We agreed to leave the crane family undisturbed.

Ayers Sand Prairie had one of the most wanted birds of the trip-Loggerhead Shrike. We found it fairly quickly thanks to Davida’s keen hearing. She heard it singing from inside a cedar as their car passed by. The bird emerged and flew to several shrubs and a fence line, giving terrific flight views.

Leaving the shrike, we headed for the subdivision with Purple Martins and Eurasian Tree Sparrows, finding both quickly and in adjoining properties. The Martins completed a swallow sweep.

The day ended for most of the group on Doty Road, where we were unable to find Ethan’s dowitcher, but we added Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpiper.

Davida and Dale Kalina and Ted Wolff decided to return to Lost Mound in the evening to look and listen for some night birds. They recorded 3 Woodcocks, 2 Whip-poor-wills and 2 Henslow’s Sparrows.

Including the 3 species found by the evening group , the trip list was 138 species, a pretty respectable total considering that there was no shorebird habitat.

We had a great group who all contributed to finding and sharing birds with the others. I particularly thank Cindy and Ethan Brown for all of their great scouting help on Friday and for finding a lot of birds (Ethan has great hearing!) for the group, and to the entire group for their excellent birding skills and good humor and company. I had a great time birding with them in one of my favorite areas of the state.

Dan Williams