----------------------------------------------------- DuPage County, Illinois RBA for February 16, 2005 Date: February 16, 2005 Location: DuPage County, Illinois Number: 630-406-8111 Coverage: Western suburbs of Chicago Editor: Eric Secker DuPage Hotline Site: http://www.bcnbirds.org/hotline/ Official DuPage Birding Club site: http://www.dupagebirding.org ----------------------------------------------------- Highlight Species: SHORT-EARED OWL ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK NORTHERN SHRIKE GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE BALD EAGLE ____ DUPAGE COUNTY ______________________________________ At Springbrook Prairie birds seen this week include a NORTHERN SHRIKE, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and NORTHERN HARRIERS. Two or three SHORT-EARED OWLS were also seen hunting again on February 13th. They have been seen north of the (relatively new) parking lot off of 83rd Street near Book Road. Directions: take 75th street east from Route 59, turn right on Book Rd., then right on 83rd St. Park in the lot on the right. CAROLINA WRENS continue to be seen near McDowell Grove Forest Preserve. A BALD EAGLE was seen at an unreported location in DuPage County this week (near Argonne Labs?) ____ FERMILAB SIGHTINGS _______________________________ At FermiLab on February 11th, a couple GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen on the Main Ring Lake. A NORTHERN SHRIKE is also being seen near the south end of Lake Law. 25 COMMON MERGANSERS were also seen on A.E. Sea on February 13th. Current Access: The buffalo and bird-watching areas are now open to the public. Photo ID must be presented, but bird-watching / buffalo passes are no longer required. Visitors may also once again enter from either the Batavia Road or Pine Street entrance. Many other roads remain closed, however. Please see the link below for full details. Current Access at FermiLab: http://www.fnal.gov/pub/about/public_affairs/currentstatus.html ____ UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS _____________________________ Saturday, February 19, 2005, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Gull Frolic - Winthrop Harbor. This event is co-sponsored by the DuPage Birding Club together with several other organizations. Past events have featured speakers and videos on gull identification, coffee and doughnuts in the AM, and pizza or chili for lunch. Soft drinks will be available for a charge. A donation fee of $10.00 of more is suggested to help defray the costs. We can view the gulls and waterfowl from inside a warm building, and there are plenty of gull experts to help ID the birds. And a chance to check out different scopes if you're in the market! Bring some loaves of day old bread if you can, chumming brings the birds in closer. Take I-94 north to Russell Rd. Exit east to Sheridan Rd. and go right/south a few blocks into Winthrop Harbor, then left into North Point Marina. Follow the signs to the Yacht Club. If you plan to attend please send a quick email to David Johnson at djohnsoda@comcast.net. Additional Trips and Information: http://home.xnet.com/~ugeiser/dbc/fieldtrips.html ____ DUPAGE BIG YEAR CONTEST 2005 ______________________ For Big Year updates or to learn more about the club's Big Year Contest, visit the link below. http://www.bcnbirds.org/hotline/bigyear/index.html _____________________________________ Thank you to everyone who called or emailed reports to the DuPage Birding Club Hotline. ===== The DuPage Birding Club Hotline DuPage County, Illinois (western suburbs of Chicago) 640-406-8111 mailto:dupagehotline@yahoo.com http://www.bcnbirds.org/hotline/