Birds of Illinois

Yesterday started very early -- before sunrise. It was the start of a May "Big Day". The goal was to record as many species as possible in a day. I will post separately on the results of the Big Day, so suppose you could call this the Big Highlight of the Big Day.

My family & I were at Van Patten Woods this afternoon when a flock of Short-billed Dowitchers appeared out of nowhere and started feeding on the edge of Sterling Lake.

I love days like this. For a start, it was a day off work. It was also a very pleasant morning to be out. On Saturday I went to Grant Woods as part of the Spring Bird Count. I returned today to see if I could capture on digital film some of the birds we saw.