Ok, so I am not surprised that a Common Raven finally showed up at Montrose Point (354th species alltime) what with sightings in SE Chicago and Indiana Dunes in recent years - it’s only a surprise that it took this long!
A historic postcard shows a swan in her nest on an island in an urban park.
Did you know? Chicago’s Garfield Park once was home to Mute Swans. Animal menageries were common in European parks and became popular in the US as well. Exotic animals including European Mute Swans were housed in several Chicago parks c. 1900.
A rainy Christmas Bird Count recap and a look at Wolf Lake and the Bears, all Indiana today. open.substack.com/pub/twib/p/d...
Ah, tomorrow we’re going to get into one of my favorite topics via the newsletter - the Bears’ stadium situation!
Robins everywhere, cardinals singing, and siskins wandering, all in today’s newsletter www.twibchicago.com/p/notes-on-w...
Today's newsletter takes a look at the years the Army occupied Montrose Point, home to a command center for the missiles stored at Belmont Harbor. Due to outcry, shrubs were planted in front of the barracks, which became the Magic Hedge (portions visible today). www.twibchicago.com/p/the-army-s...
Possum kingdom here in the neighborhood. From early January.
An image of a raptor called the Osprey, sometimes called a seahawk, in flight with green foliage in the background.
In this house, these are the Seahawks we celebrate. 🪶
We’re excited to share today that the Newberry has received a $4 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to expand access to our Indigenous Studies collections and strengthen collaboration with tribal nations. www.newberry.org/news/newberr...
Shards of ice forming and cracking this morning on Lake Michigan. The north wind was pushing a sheet of ice into a big boulder along the jetty. Sound on 🔉 for some ASMR. #chicago
There are a handful of ducks at the edge of Belmont Harbor where some water is still open. Goldeneye, scaup, and mergansers. In the snow this morning.
Thanks for that!
For the newsletter, I took a look at the construction of the Montrose-to-Foster extension in the early '30s and the drive to expand parks on Chicago's north lakefront. At the time, it was said Montrose Beach was the largest artificial bathing beach in the world.
www.twibchicago.com/p/how-montro...
A wild bergamot seed head with about an inch of snow on top of it.
Testing out my Sony macro lens in the snow today. The flowers from last summer are nicely catching the snowfall. I appreciate the subtle brown tones the lens picks up. 🌺 🌱 🪴
Hazel Johnson with then-Vice President Al Gore in the White House in 1994.
Today would have been the birthday of the late Hazel Johnson, the Altgeld Gardens resident known as the mother of the environmental justice movement. Ms. Johnson was the namesake of one of Monty & Rose's 2020 chicks (along with Esperanza and Nish). www.peopleforcommunityrecovery.org/our-story/le...
An American Robin perches on what might be a hawthorn tree, looking down at a clump of berries.
There have been big flocks of robins--often more than 50 birds at a time--feasting on berries near Washington Square Park and the Newberry Library recently. I'm not sure I've seen so many in a very urban area of Chicago in winter. 🪶
I’ll be teaching a class on bird behavior—using historic texts. It starts in April and runs four weeks, plus a field trip! Newberry.org
From maps that become art to a rack of Rand McNally road maps, straight out of gas stations of yore, “Mapping Outside the Lines” covers a lot of ground.
Re-sharing this post from a year ago for no reason at all 🙃
www.twibchicago.com/p/what-green...
Wow, it's been a while since I updated this (around 2020)! Since then Montrose added Broad-winged Hawk, Mountain Bluebird, Short-tailed Shearwater, Pileated Woodpecker, Ferruginous Hawk, Eastern Screech-Owl, Gull-billed Tern, White-faced Ibis, and Cassin's Sparrow. 🪶
Some of us may long for the day when birding becomes the professional equivalent of bass fishing.
www.twibchicago.com/p/what-is-a-...
One of my favorites was meeting Ken Burns in a back hallway of the US Capitol.
This year hasn't been about the rarest birds or the getting the best photos. Here's a brief look back!
www.twibchicago.com/p/six-birds-...
How it started, how it’s going. First photo from a Christmas bird count two weeks ago (-1 F), second from this morning’s count (55 F and a downpour).
One of my avian highlights of the year, filming young Great Blue Herons in a nest in walking distance of home. Forgive the quality—filmed with an iPhone through a scope—birds were about 300’ away but a neat experience. 🪶
A Cooper’s Hawk took out a Rock Pigeon on my street a few days ago. Murder bird! 🪶
In addition to being a novelist, yes, he is a birder (as anyone who's read Freedom can attest)!
Today's post is an appreciation of artist and Chicago icon Tony Fitzpatrick. Tony and I weren’t great friends, and I’ll be the first to say I didn’t really know him that well. I only benefited from his generosity and absorbing some of his world view.
www.twibchicago.com/p/the-birdma... 🪶
Amazing how many of these still exist in some form or another!
It was fun catching with maybe the only local birding columnist in the Chicago area recently. Jeff's written for the Daily Herald for 20-plus years and has a new book available.
www.twibchicago.com/p/a-conversa...
