Field Notes: Geese, Ducks, and Swans

Blue-winged Teal. Photo by Jeff Bryant.

By aerin tedesco, CCAS Field Trip Chair

We’ve moved past the longest night and the daylight will now start to get longer. This means more daylight for birding! Keep your feeders and water features stocked, especially if we hit some cold snaps or get a decent snowfall. We continue to see a variety of geese, ducks, and swans this winter season.

One species that has been spotted a significant amount of times in Champaign and neighboring counties in the past weeks has been the Northern Shrike. And the even rarer Loggerhead Shrike also showed up in Champaign County in mid November. Always a treat to see these little baddies perched atop a bare tree over a prairie or meadow, looking for prey to impale!

CCAS led a field trip to River Bend Forest Preserve on December 5. Birders who braved the chilly damp weather were treated to views of Blue-winged Teal, Common Merganser, and Greater White-fronted Geese. A few days later a mega rare  Red-necked Grebe was seen at River Bend and birders flocked from all over the state to see it.

Watch for Woodcock walks to be posted for mid March and keep enjoying those winter birds!