IN FLIGHT!

NEWSLETTER OF MCHENRY COUNTY AUDUBON

www.McHenryAudubon.org

August 16 Field Trips- Two Great Choices!

Whooping Cranes at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge

On Friday, August 15th the plan is to drive up to Necedah, Wisconsin, to allow us to be out at the

National Wildlife Refuge the next morning at dawn, where we hopefully will see the young whooping

cranes learning to fly behind an ultralight airplane. They practice as early as possible since the winds

are much calmer near dawn. There are several excellent marshes in the area to explore as well as a lot

of nice sand scrub forest. Being on the edge of the north woods will allow us many good options for

finding a large variety of species. Wolves frequent the area, but are hard to spot. The federally

endangered Karner Blue butterflies may still be flying on one of the hiking trails. We can be flexible

with the group on how much time we take to explore the area on the 15th and 16th. Stops along the

way are possible as well as a visit to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo.

Contact Randy Schietzelt at 815-356-1710 by Tuesday August 12th to sign up for this trip and to learn

the options for lodging and car pooling.

Coming Up!

Field Trips Coming Up!

We’ll meet at Kaleidoscoops at 53 North Williams Street in Crystal Lake. This is in old downtown

south off E. Woodstock Street west of Main. We’ll enjoy our ice cream then wander over to the alley

south of Starbucks and set up our lawn chairs. Sunset is about 7:15 p.m. The birds begin their return

to their roost before sunset and continue entering for over an hour. Please RSVP to Stacy at 815-653-

4926 or Nancy Schietzelt at 815-356-1710 so we know how many to expect.

We’ll tell you more about the plans for the day in the next

newsletter. For now, let’s whet your appetite with this

Cerulian Warbler taken there by Karen Lund!

Monday Morning Bird Walks

Highschool Biology in Libertyville, giving him much summer time to get to know the best birding spots

near his Round Lake Beach home. And does he know Rollins Savannah! We arrived to the Drury

Road entrance just south of Rollins Road east of Round Lake Beach around 7:30 a.m. A singing Song

Sparrow the first to greet us - Beau told us he been in that same tree for days. A long loop path (just

over 4 miles!) took us through some beautifully restored grassland prairie, past wetlands.

BlueWinged Teal

Ruddy Duck

Pied-billed Grebe

Double Crested

Cormorant

Great Blue &Green

Herons

Great Egret

American Coot

Greater Yellowlegs

Chimney Swift

EasternWood Pewee

Willow Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Tree, Barn &Rough-winged

Swallows

SedgeWren (lots) &Marsh

Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Common Yellowthroat

Savannah &Henslow’s

Sparrows

Indigo Bunting

Bobolink

EasternMeadowlark

Orchard Oriole

Please join us on the first and thirdMondays for some great upcoming birding. Call Stacy at 815-653-4926 or Doug at

us. - Stacy Iwanicki and Doug Crane

Bird Tales

On Saturday morning May 24 my wife

and I made a trip to theWoodstock

Farm and Lawn Center on Rt. 47 in

Woodstock. As we pulled in to the

parking lot at 9:00 a.m. I said to

Diane, "What is that Mallard duck

doing in the shrubs and trees just south

of the store?". Well not only was it a

Mallard duck but it was a Mama with

nine ducklings in tow. She was

moving quickly to the west and

definitely was on a path to move those

ducklings to water. By the time we got

out of the car she and the nine where in

the area of the flowers for sale and

was moving quickly towards the road.

I looked at the traffic on Rt. 47 and

said to myself, this is going to be an

accident waiting to happen.

I also moved to the road's edge and

watched mom try to make one

attempted to venture in to the road but

the traffic was heavy. She had a good

understanding as not to just bolt into

the road. She made several gestures

to move across the road but pulled

back each time as the traffic continued

to zoom by. The ducklings knew not to

get in front of mom and waited until

she made her move. As northbound

traffic cleared she attempted to move

off the curb, I went into the middle of

the road and tried to stop southbound

traffic but had no luck. Mom held her

ground and for what ever the reason

did not move into the road even though

the northbound lane was clear of any

traffic. But again the northbound

traffic started to flow.

Once again mom was alert and

although wanting to cross Rt. 47

waited until the northbound traffic

cleared. So after the 20 or so cars

passed, she made her move and so did

I. I was as determined as she to get

those ducklings across Rt. 47. This

time after wildly flailing my arms

about I managed to stop the

southbound traffic. At first, I am sure

that the motorists were trying to figure

out what this mad man was doing in

the middle of Rt.47, but soon they saw

the plight of the mom duck and the

nine ducklings waddling across the

road to the curb on the other side.

One-by-one they hopped the curb,

although the last two slipped down but

tried again and finally it was complete.

The traffic was now free to move on.

Several of the motorist and their

passengers smiled and waved at me

seeing what had just transpired.

As I returned to my wife, who was

looking over the flats of annuals to

be purchased, she said, "You should

have seen yourself, it was as if through

your hand and arm motions that you

actually controlled those ducks and

lifted them onto the curb". I watched

as they continued westward across

the parking lot and disappeared into

the trees and bushes behind the stores

on the west side of Rt.47.

Regards,

McHe nry

at the Caffe' Luna in Crystal Lake. It will be on display through the end of September. Lori has over 100

photos of landscapes, prairie flowers, birds and butterflies. One section will focus on Black CrownMarsh

which borders her home property, giving her the opportunity to take pictures at different times showing the

effect of the light cast during certain weather and seasons. Sunrise and moonrise are particularly beautiful.

The Black Crown series features many wetland species, especially marsh birds and waterfowl. Most of

Lori’s photos are concentrated in Illinois but she has included some fromtravels in Alaska andWashington state.

Being Informed, Getting Involved and Making a Difference

There is a woman downstate who has started a free website with webcams dedicated to wildlife viewing. One is

on the Platte River for cranes and the others are spread around Illinois for local species. The site is located at:

Members can send photos to MCA President and nowWeb-master, Randy Schietzelt and he will place them in the

Members Photo Gallery on the website. Please send photos in a low resolution format and one at a time, so that they don't

Sightings & Droppings

April 30, 2008 - This is the last day I observed the pair of

Red-breasted Nuthatches at my suet feeder. They

appeared everyday since first arriving onOctober 17, 2008

--- a six and one-half month stay. - Jim Strzelinski,

Crystal Lake, IL

May 4, 2008 - My wife, Diane, and I observed a Solitary

Sandpiper on the shore of the pond off the Nature Trail at

Coral Woods, Marengo. - Jim Strzelinski, Crystal Lake, IL

May 7, 2008 - A "family" of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

were feeding around my sunflower feeder in the backyard.

By a family I mean a adult male and female and a first

year male as he still was not fully fledged in the male

feathers. - Jim Strzelinski, Crystal Lake, IL

May 11, 2008 - TheCatbird has returned to my backyard.

- Jim Strzelinski, Crystal Lake, IL

May 19, 2008 - The first observation for 2008 of a

Ruby-throatedHummingbird at thebackyard feeder. - Jim

Strzelinski, Crystal Lake, IL

birding! Also, in captivity, was a parrot who would bark and

meow! (Apparently the birdwas brought to the rehab center by

a family who no longer wanted a barking bird!) - Nancy &

Ron Hultstrand, McHenry, IL

corner of Sullivan Lake and Brandenburg Roads, and two

meadowlark is a nice find since that field had been planted to

near 100% big bluestem in the past. Plant diversity is

increasing in that prairie restoration and it seems to be

attracting more bird diversity. - Randy & Nancy Schietzelt,

Crystal Lake, IL

Doug Crane spotted the nest last winter.. I saw him July 1

when out on a boat. We could not see him from the road; just

from the boat. Karen Lund, Genoa, IL

Want to receive your newsletter on-line?

Give us your email address at BogLady@owc.net and we'll email it to you as a PDF file!

Accordingly, let us know if you wish to be REMOVED from the snail mail list.

Thank You Contributors!

Stacy Iwanicki, Karen Lund, Randy Schietzelt, Jim Strzelinski, Lori Valus

Contacts:

President Randy Schietzelt 815-356-1710

BurOak@owc.net

Vice President Walt Dembos 815-338-6831

Membership/Treasurer Dwight Dalton 815-459-6069

Recording SecretaryMyrna Nelson 847-639-3425

Members Darlene Fiske 815-338-0592

Dave Frey 815-338-4866

Dan Wilson 815-648-2389

Doug Crane 815-338-0046

OTHER MCA CONTACTS:

Bird Count Coordinator Rob Gough 815-385-2996

Alternate Dwight Dalton 815-459-6069

Crane Count Coordinator DannyWilson 815-648-4184

danwil126@aol.com

Field Trip Coordinators Doug Crane 815-338-0046

Stacy Iwanicki 815-653-4926

Hospitality Chairs Vince & LuAnn LaSusa 815-356-8625

Illinois Audubon Representative Gary Fink 815-765-0302

Newsletter Editor Stacy Iwanicki 815-653-4926

BogLady@owc.net

Program Coordinator Nancy Schietzelt 815-356-1710

BurOak@owc.net

McHenry County: www.McHenryAudubon.org

Illinois: 217-544-BIRD www.illinoisaudubon.org

National: www.audubon.org

McHenry County Cons. Dist.: 815-479-5779; 815-338-6223

Moraine Hills State Park 815-385-1624

Register for MHSP Bird Walks through Volo Bog at

Volo Bog State Natural Area 815-344-1294

dnr.volobog@illinois.gov

Send Submissions to In Flight...

to editor Stacy Iwanicki at BogLady@owc.net or phone

815-653-4926 or in writing to 9100 Marissa Trail, Wonder

Lake, IL 60097. Proper punctuation is appreciated.

Low resolution please - that’s all we need for this newsletter &

smaller attachments won’t plug the inbox so bad. ;-)

McHenry County Audubon

51% of our members as IAS members as well. You may choose to

www.McHenryAudubon.org

McHenry County Audubon & Friends Calendar

MCA sponsored/cosponsored programs are Bold-Faced See inside for contact info & details...

1 Pancake Breakfast at Moraine Hills State Park Contact Walt Dembos

14 Pleasant Valley Contact Doug & Maggie Crane

19 Lake Michigan Lakefront Trip cancelled - no one volunteered ;0(

3 Rollins Road Savannah Rich Hugel

15/16 Necedah NationalWildlife Refuge Randy Schietzelt (Car Pooling available)

16 (date change) CoralWoods & Sod Farms Jim Turner

McHenry County Audubon

P.O. Box 67

Woodstock, IL 60098

Address Correction Requested

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