We’re at it again, we birders. The Oak Park Migration Bird Walk group began its spring 2025 season on Friday, April 18, at Thatcher Woods. Fifteen of our 100 members walked near Trailside Museum, where we saw a Barred Owl, which we decided was in the area to visit its caged compatriot being cared for by the museum.
As usual, we walked across Chicago Avenue to see what was happening in the woods along the driveway to the Pavilion parking lot and around the great meadow to the west of the lot.
All in all, we had a very good first day, seeing 30 species of birds, including Purple Finches, a Northern Harrier, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Hermit Thrush and a Yellow-rumped Warbler, commonly the first warbler of spring.
We continued the next day at Columbus Park (report not in yet) and will have 13 more outings, ending on May 30, by which time a large proportion of our spring birds will be at their breeding grounds in the boreal (northern) forests of the U.S. and southern Canada. Many species stay around, of course, making warm weather birding a continuously satisfying activity.
August sees the reverse migration beginning, and we go out again starting toward the end of that month to see the birds heading south, many of them in different plumage. The fall migration continues into November and even December, with the Sandhill Cranes flying over us in large numbers. But we end our fall migration walks in mid-October, since most of the migration has occurred by then.
Our group is open to birders who would like to join us, no matter your level of experience. If you’re a beginner, we’ll help you get the hang of it. We suggest that you come with binoculars. Borrow a pair from a friend or relative to start. Once you’ve decided that birding is for you, we can recommend what binoculars to get for yourself.
If you’re interested in walking with us, contact Ed McDevitt at mcdevitt.ed@gmail.com. You’ll get information on where to show up and how to get there. You’ll become part of our group messaging that will report on our outings and bring you news of interest to the group.
Even if you don’t want to join us, go spend a bit of time just looking up and around. You might be surprised at seeing birds that you’ve never noticed!
Ed McDevitt
River Forest
