Field Notes: Happy New Year!

Canada Geese. Photo by Nathan Powazki.

By Nathan Powazki, Field Trip Chair

Happy new year, everyone! We hope that you had a great holiday season, filled with great times with family, and, hopefully, some birding! I know I enjoyed going home and getting some Christmastime birding done. Even though the weather has been chilly lately, the birding is still hot, if you know where to look!

As rivers and lakes continue to freeze up north, and smaller bodies of water freeze locally, the waterfowl becomes more and more concentrated at a few hotspots. In several recent visits to Riverbend Forest Preserve in Mahomet, I have seen hundreds of Canada Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, and plenty of gulls, pintails, and mallards.

On closer inspection, there are scaups, mergansers, Cackling Geese, Ring-Necked ducks, and even a scoter! In the woods the Cedar Waxwings and Tufted Titmice are all over, and I have seen Yellow-rumped Warblers and Golden Kinglets as well. Other notable birds include a Common Redpoll at the feeders at Homer Lake Forest Preserve. Those who brave the cold will be rewarded!

If you are looking to do some winter birding, but don’t know where to start, a great place is Clinton Lake, about an hour west of Champaign. Colin Dobson, CCAS president, and I will be leading a birding field trip out there on Saturday, February 12. Due to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases, we won’t be meeting in Champaign to carpool together; instead, everyone will meet at 8 am at 7251 Ranger Rd, De Witt, IL 61735.