With 90 years collective residence in Chicagoland, I like to think that my dad and I have the city covered. Curious when the next Egyptologist is giving a lecture at the Field? Look no further than my dad. Need a recommendation for an ice cream parlor, complete with an in-depth analysis of their milkshakes as compared to their nearest competitor? I’ve got your back. Anything nature-related? Between the two of us, my dad and I probably have every zoo, aquarium, forest preserve, botanic garden, and conservatory on speed dial.
How an urban bird sanctuary, therefore, eluded us for over three decades is something of a mystery.
Admittedly, my dad and I are not birders by persuasion. Although we’ve always been captivated by the sightings we’ve happened upon, we’ve rarely explicitly looked for birds. But that’s still no excuse for being oblivious to Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary. First of all, it’s an internationally-acclaimed birding hotspot: since the sanctuary’s inception, over 300 species of birds have made the Magic Hedge–an especially prolific swathe of shrubs and trees–their migratory layover. Secondly, it’s been virtually right under our noses for years. Tucked between Chicago’s two dog beaches (both of which I’ve frequented), on land that once housed Cold War era Nike missiles (which my dad remembers seeing as a child), we both had ample opportunity to stumble upon the sanctuary. Yet we never did.
So when we finally were put in the know of this local wonder, our expectations were precipitously high. In fact, with hopes of seeing everything from loons bobbing in Lake Michigan to snowy owls hunting in the nearby meadow, we probably had set ourselves up to be a little disappointed. That combined with our inexperience at spotting and identifying birds, all while keeping in mind that autumn is prime passerine season, is probably why the few birds we saw looked like “ordinary” sparrows to us.
My photos–the few I managed to get (birds are a new photographic challenge for me!)–revealed otherwise. In fact, we probably never saw the same species twice. Thanks to whatbird.com for helping me identify them!
(Left) A white-crowned sparrow . . . (Right) against the Chicago skyline.
(Above and below) I have a hard time at the Art Institute because when it comes to great art, I never really know what I’m looking at, making it difficult for me to appreciate it. Same with birds. Normally, these are just “ordinary” seagulls to me. But discovering that they’re black-tailed gulls, well, that makes them interesting again. Specificity breeds significance.
Our jackpot moment occurred while walking among the bicycles and fishermen along Fishhook Pier. Up near the warning lamp were a couple of young double-crested cormorants, who were shortly joined by a third! The third one had an awkward time landing, what with its webbed feet not quite being built for handling the rime-rimmed railing. It almost overshot the platform, but was saved by its neck in the nick of time.
(Left) “Air traffic control . . . come in, air traffic control. Approaching destination. Permission to land.” (Right) “Permission granted.”
(Left) A trio of cormorants. One more and they could start a barbershop quartet. (Right) Things were looking up.
(Left) A Swainson’s thrush in prairie grasses neighboring the Magic Hedge. (Right) A Philadelphia vireo in a tree bordering the meadow.
We didn’t find the pond at the nearby golf course, but the flowers we passed during our search sure were beautiful. If anybody finds a plant and flower identifier on par with whatbird.com, please let me know!
The top right photo in this post can be seen at Karen Solem Gallery in Elmhurst beginning Friday, November 6 through December 2009.
http://www.karensolemgallery.com
Thanks to all for the continued support.