Day 19, Sunday, May 10, 2020

Female mallard with ducklings, photo by Bob Dolgan, Montrose Beach Dunes, May 2019

Happy Mother's Day--to avian mothers, too!

We are still tabulating the results from yesterday's Global Big Day, but the early results show that Cook County is on track to top last year's total of 683 checklists in eBird, which is quite a feat. Only the folks in Tompkins County, NY, appear to be ahead of us; Tompkins County is home to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where eBird was born, so you can imagine there are a lot of birders there and a lot of eBird enthusiasts!

While everyone had an enjoyable time, this year's weather played a factor yesterday: the day started with a near-record low of 31 degrees. Spring in general has been about a week behind last year's pace, meaning many neotropical migrants have remained to the south of us. 

Birders made it to some off-the-beaten path locations to participate in Global Big Day and the Illinois Spring Bird Count, which coincided this year. The below photo of a Green Heron was taken on a survey of the Canalport Riverwalk, a slice of green space along an industrial area of the South Branch of the Chicago River. The heron was feeding behind a barge docked in an old slip. Again affirming that nature does love Chicago!

Photo by Bob Dolgan