Field Trip Report: Jackson Park
Words by Joann Umeki
Sammy Cabindol led a group of seven eager birders on a winter walk through Jackson Park on Sunday, Feb. 23. Soon after leaving the frozen Columbia Basin on the south side of the Museum of Science and Industry, an American Kestrel, which was sighted before most of the group arrived, landed to give the rest of us a view. We then headed toward Wooded Island, where the trees and skies were quiet, except for the song of distant Black-capped Chickadees, a few European Starlings, and American Crows.
American Kestrel. Photo ob Steve Pearson, Jackson Park, Nov. 28, 2022.
With frozen lagoons on either side of the island, not even the fountain in Garden of the Phoenix attracted a visitor. The group walked on, scanning small holes in trees for signs of birds, and larger holes for raccoons. We were not disappointed, and spotted two raccoons looking snug in their well-known tree home. Surprising us, though, was a darling rabbit, hunkered down in a hollow log just off the path.
The beauty of the bare trees is one of the pleasures of winter birding, and Sammy pointed out burr oaks, sycamores, and one of his favorites, the hackberry. Its gnarly, warty bark makes it one of the easier trees to identify, and it provides fruit and sap for birds and insects alike. As we crossed the bridge leaving the island, we added a few Northern Cardinals, Canada Geese, and Mallards to our checklist.
Red-shouldered Hawk. Photo by Dustin Weidner, Big Marsh, Oct. 28, 2023.
Sammy had been receiving notifications of sightings of a Surf Scoter in the Jackson Harbor area, so rather than heading back to the starting point, the group decided to chase the sea duck. Just after passing the golden Statue of the Republic, a hawk was spotted perching at street-level on the shore of the frozen Inner Harbor. As the bird flew off across the road, Sammy identified it as a Red-shouldered Hawk. We could clearly see the banding on the tail. We got another look as the raptor returned to the inner harbor, possibly to keep the lone ice fisherman company.
From there, we made our way to the mouth of the Jackson Park Outer Harbor. On Lake Michigan, there were a few Red-breasted Mergansers, along with rafts of ducks too far out to identify. We kept an eye on a pair of birders with a scope and tried to follow their line of sight to a target, but they seemed to give up on seeing the scoter before we did. Our spirits about the missed scoter were soon lifted by the landing of a flashy male Bufflehead on the open water in the Inner Harbor. He joined the party of Common Goldeneyes, Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Mallards. Ring-billed Gulls sat next to Herring Gulls on the frozen part of the harbor, which created a great opportunity to see their size difference.
On the walk back through Bobolink Meadows, Black-capped Chickadees were now active along the path, and a Red-tailed Hawk flew over and landed on the island. Further north, we spotted a second kestrel perched in a tree across the lagoon, raising our raptor count for the day to four! Between Wooded Island and the Jackson Park Inner and Outer Harbors, 17 species were observed, including a few lifers for some!