Birdwatching in Chicago

We are in peak birdwatching season in Chicago. Spring is here, migration is in full swing, and over 300 species are flying in, around, and through our town.

Today I went over to the spillway with my five year old son and we saw 30 different species. The black crowned night heron is listed as endangered in Illinois, but a few make this spot their nesting place. They sit on the spillway intensely hunting for fish and eventually their chicks do too.

We also caught a brief glimpse of the belted king fisher, one of my personal favorites, along with black and white warblers, yellow warblers, brown creepers, blue gray gnatcatchers and northern water thrushes.

We kept hearing a woodpecker pecking and by the sound of it we were sure it was something big. So my son and I hunted it down. We found a tiny downy woodpecker on a dead branch. He was making a great racket.

This great spot starts at Albany and Carmen, by the North Park College track, and goes to Lawrence Ave. and the river.

Don't delay! Spring migration doesn't last forever.