It was a double birding walk weekend for us.
Saturday (09/14) morning we headed out to Bowes Creek Woods in Elgin for a bird walk hosted by the Kane County Forest Preserve. I was feeling rather exhausted since the day before so I opted not to bring my camera along which turned out ok because no migrating birds were to be seen, even though we still had a good time.
The walk was led by the same guy as last month, Josh, who is very personable & knowledgeable. We learned that migrating warblers will take cues from chickadees on where to find food. In addition, they are familiar with chickadee warning calls so they know when a predator is nearby. So in other words, if you hear chickadees, there’s a good chance there are warblers nearby (if it’s migration season).
On the walk we met a fellow photographer named Nick who tipped me off to a good website to buy reliable used camera equipment (I’d love to get more lenses). He and I also exchanged Instagram handles. I love meeting locals on these walks and seeing where they are finding interesting birds.
Afterwards we stopped at the library to check out their book & media sale and bought a few things.
Later that afternoon my friend whom I met while volunteering for a cat rescue many years ago, T, stopped by to bring me some Bigelow tea which was so nice of her. We got to hang out and chat for a few hours.
Sunday (09/15) morning we headed over to West DuPage Woods to join the DuPage Birding Club on a field trip. I had emailed the leader on Saturday asking whether they had any available spots left but hadn’t heard back, so we took a chance they’d let us join them anyway. They did even though the group was full and everyone was so welcoming! (Note: We later decided to join the club even though you don’t have to be a member to attend the field trips).
Our leader, Diann, impressed me when she remembered my name and came running over to point out a monarch butterfly I might want to photograph.
The walk itself was very long (scheduled to be 2.5 hours but was actually 3) and we did see a magnolia warbler, although I wasn’t able to get a photo of it. I did get a good photo of a rose-breasted grosbeak though!
I’m glad I decided to bring along my camera this time. There was one other person with a camera too. We learned a lot and explored a part of the forest preserve we had never seen before so that was fun.
That being said, the walk left us exhausted so we quickly grabbed some groceries on the way home and spent the rest of the day hanging out in the house away from the heat.
I love all these bird walks we’ve been going on lately and will miss them when it grows too cold.