The Careful Observer of Park 566

Northern Harrier. Park 566, February 11, 2022. Photo by Dan Lory.

words by Lauren Kostas

This article was originally published in the Summer 2023 issue of COS’s official membership publication, The Chicago Birder. To receive this quarterly digital magazine, become a COS member today!

Early this spring, Chicago-area birders were treated to a rare visit by a Ross’s Gull. This arctic denizen hadn’t been seen on our shores for decades, and its arrival attracted a group of fans to the beach whose enthusiasm was only rivalled by the Swifties at Soldier Field. The beautiful gull was spotted by local birder Dan Lory who reflected on the discovery in his COS blog series, Dan's Feathursday Feature.

Lory describes his meditative approach to walking his favorite park, and his blog is not only a celebration of a rare encounter but a tribute to Chicago's Park 566. Lory is more than just a frequent visitor and casual observer of the park. Beginning in 2018, he has compiled an annual and comprehensive report on the state of the birds at Park 566. The reports, which feature page after page of photos, record the range of bird activity at the park and track each year’s environmental improvements.

The most recent State of the Birds report describes Park 566 as a 70-acre strip along Lake Michigan, comprised of scrap cement and huge plugs of slag from the former U.S. Steel South Works mill. Despite this inauspicious description, the report goes on to describe five years of environmental restoration and the abundance of bird life at Park 566.Through controlled burns, weed clearing, taking out brush, broadcasting of prairie seeds, and planting hundreds of shrubs, a transformation is underway. Canada thistle and stands of sumac are being replaced by bluestem, coneflowers, bergamot, burr oak, and jack pines. Each spring and summer the prairie blooms, and the grass grows tall, turning to gold by autumn.

The once seriously under-birded and desolate looking park hosts a vibrant mix of migrant and resident birds common to grasslands, savannah, water, and wetlands. Over the past five years, the park has experienced a steady rise in birds, birders, and outings—moving the park into #13 among Cook County hotspots as measured by the number of species observed. Outings grew from 30 in2017 to close to 650 recorded in 2022, with the annual species count around 200.

Illinois Threatened and Endangered Species such as the Osprey, Black-billed Cuckoo, Black-crowned Night-Heron and Northern Harrier have been spotted year after year. Evidence of nesting by Mallards, Dickcissels, Grasshopper Sparrows, and 16 other species has also been observed. Last year, a Say’s Phoebe and Blue Grosbeak were spotted for the first time. The park’s combination of open space, mixed grasses, and wooded fringes are sustaining a glorious variety of grassland regulars, migrant warblers, and rarities. And while joggers, dog walkers, and bikers are visiting the park in greater numbers, the report also delights in the sense of peace and quiet seclusion that can be found there.

The current report looks back at five years of restoration activities and birding data to find clear evidence that the conservation work at 566—particularly the variety and number of new plantings—is making an observable and measurable positive impact on bird life in the park.

The Park 566 State of the Birds reports capture in words and photos the variety and vibrancy of this no-named park and give a sense of its immense potential as the restoration continues.

Below are excerpts of a conversation with Lory on the changes underway at Park 566, his affection for this patch along Lake Michigan, and the impetus for creating an annual report.

American Kestrel. Park 566, October 16, 2021. Photo by Kelly Ballantyne.

Question: Do you recall your first visit to Park 566?

Dan Lory: I don't recall the exact date, but it would have been sometime around August of 2017. I was just getting into birding at the time and read a piece by then COS President Carl Giometti highlighting parks throughout the city and explaining how to bird them. He described 566 as being wonderful for sparrows.

I remember walking the park the first time. I was there by myself, strolling down the middle trail, and I’m looking at everything around me. Okay, I realized I didn't know how to bird, but I thought, What is he talking about? I’m not seeing anything tremendously interesting here. So that was my very first impression.

Not long after, I visited the park with Jason Steeger from the land management team at the Chicago Park District and Carl. Carl wanted to talk about how COS might enhance the district’s work at 566. I was along because I was looking for a way to expend my time and energies to support conservation.

We did a short walk through the park that day. It was in the early winter and raining. The district had just begun their restoration work and the entire park had been burned. It was denuded. It was like walking out in a farmer's field after he cut his crops.

Eastern Meadowlark. Park 566, April 23, 2022. Photo by Emily Tallo.

Q: After these early encounters, what inspired you to keep coming back to 566?

DL: I learned the district had just gotten $600,000 from the EPA for restoration and conservation of 566 and the adjoining beach area. I was a relatively new birder—at least compared to the pros here in Chicago—but I thought it was a nice opportunity to follow the restoration work and see if any of the work brought about noticeable and recordable changes to the number or kinds of birds at the park. I thought, I'll come out here as often as I can and use eBird to record what I see.

I was amazed at the number of birds in that first year. I think I saw more than 180 species, and for me that was a tremendous number. A good many of those were firsts for the park, like the Yellow-breasted Chat. When it came to the end of the year, I thought, Holy cow, there's a lot more bird life here than I realized.

Q: What was the impetus to create the first report?

DL: I was thinking about the hard work of the park district, and realizing what a tough job they have. It is hard to try to satisfy and please all the different interests and users of parks. That made me think about building a report. I wanted to create something to show them the fruits of their work. I thought somebody would probably appreciate having a record, a readable and enjoyable way to look at all the life that’s in that park. Because I sure didn’t see it the first time I went there.

To see the park today, you wouldn't realize what it used to look like. There were stands of sumac and our famous buckthorn. The park district came in and burned all that down. It really looked devastating at first, but then you see the bird life that was there, and remained there as the new plants came up. It was a process to eliminate invasives, and then plant, and then re-cut and replant, and burn and replant, etc.

I pulled together the 2018 State of the Birds report by gathering the data from eBird—my records and the data from all the other birders at 566. I thought it was important to not only report the numbers but bring in photos. You can put a report together with a good list and the number of birds and that is fine. But if you show ten pictures of beautiful birds, people are going to be wowed at what you can see at 566.

To my delight and surprise, the park district really liked the reports. They were able to use them to secure another grant. The abundance of birds and the ability to track the impact of the ongoing conservation actions was helping them make the case for future investment.

Part of my goal in creating these reports was also to gently nudge the district to keep the park as natural as possible. I wanted them to see the value of creating a space to help people enjoy the beauty of a natural prairie. We don’t need to plant a green lawn, put in miles of paved roads or playing fields to have a park that is well used.

Q: It’s amazing what a little attention and care can yield.

DL: I can say, without a doubt, that there’s a greater variety of plant life now at 566 than ever before at the site. That’s a hard statement to make, but I'm saying it seriously, because before the steel plant this area was underwater. The steelworks essentially claimed this area from the lake. After the plant was torn down, in came the invasives. It was a total wasteland, in many ways, before the work of the district.

The bird life that Carl talked about when he first attracted me to the site was able to make do with little more than Canada thistle, lamb’s quarters, and other invasives. Such tough little birds. Now, you can travel just seven miles from downtown to see a nesting Grasshopper Sparrow. That’s great. What a journey. It took a huge steel manufacturer to build the site, then go out of business, then sell it to the city so we can have a park like this. A park that is attracting some beautiful avian life.

Dickcissel. Park 566, September 10, 2022. Photo by Kelly Ballantyne.

Q: You walk the park two or three times a week. What should birders who have never visited 566 look for?

DL: Of course, it depends on the time of year. But I would say, start at the north entrance, right by where the bus stops. Hit that area there. There's a new fence and a large planting of native shrubs that were not there five years ago. Now they're already head high, and that's become a migrant magnet. I’ve spotted 90 different species just in that one area. If you’ve got some time, you can walk all the way down the center path and take in all the summer residents, the nesting birds, the meadowlarks, Dickcissels, and all kinds of sparrows: Field, Song, Grasshopper, and Savannah. In the winter, the lake front is an outstanding place to see waterfowl.

Q: Why is 566 special to you?

DL: At first glance, 566 might seem a little quiet, almost humble. It doesn’t immediately capture everyone’s attention or imagination. It doesn’t have the drama of Montrose, with so many birds in such a relatively small space. However, if you’ve got the patience to walk it and see all the areas in the park, it's a terrific place.

I'm from Michigan originally and I grew up around white pine forests and streams running through cedar swamps. The prairie is something new to me. If you want an experience of a prairie right smack in the city of Chicago, 566 is the place to get it. If you want to know how a prairie feels like in January at zero degrees and wind blowing at 30 miles an hour, or in the middle of summer when its 90 degrees, you can experience that too.

It's a wonderful park.