Birds, critters, cars and more critters

BY JOHN KARRIGAN
published Oct 6 08

Low flying flocks speckle the fall skyline.

Thanks a lot to Michael Williams for the great Cooper’s Hawk photo and to Lynn Gilbertson for the nice letter last month. I know Lynn knows the owl is a Saw-whet, not a Snow Wet, so once again heads must roll at the Southside Pride copyediting department.

It was good that Michael Williams got the Cooper’s Hawk pictures when he did because the hawks have been pretty scarce in September. Most of the other usual fall birds have been at the park. Lots of people have commented to me about how they enjoy watching the Double-crested Cormorants. There are usually six or eight of them every day, some mature and some—the lighter colored—immature. They can be seen in the water, on the island shore or roosting in the tallest tree on the island. The mature male Wood Ducks are starting to return to their families at Powderhorn. You forget how colorful and beautiful they are when they have been gone all summer. The Wood Duck and Mallard young are coming along fine and the Canada Geese young are now identical to the adults. There are now often up to 50 geese on the lake. It’s always a pleasure to see large or small groups of them as they leave the lake in the evening, sometimes barely above the rooftops and treetops. Ring-billed Gulls are starting their fall gatherings above the park, on the ball fields, and once in a while on the water. A Pied-billed Grebe is often on the lake, but is usually hard to see.

Away from the lake (but in the park), there have been Common Yellow-throated Warblers, Redstarts, Crows, Northern Flickers and Chimney Swifts. I saw a Great Crested Flycatcher on the same day I saw the Yellow Throats and the Redstarts. There are some Yellow-rumped Warblers and Eastern Phoebes that might stay for a while longer.

One new park sighting for me was American Toads. They have probably been there forever, but I had not seen any until late one damp September night when I was looking (unsuccessfully as usual) for owls. I also saw one (and I think two) Black-crowned Night Herons on another late night owl search. I have also seen, on my day and night walks, a rare Powderhornian Water Cat, or it could be just a normal small black cat that should be at home instead of stalking around the lake edges at all hours.

Now for the big lake finale, and a proper denouement (a term that literary greats such as myself use). Around noon on September 17, I heard and then saw a large noisy colorful “big rig” tow truck going past the house heading toward the park. I figured he was either lost or something was in the lake. I headed out with my trusty binoculars and keen observational powers. As I got to the park, at 15th Avenue and 35th Street, I saw a Sheriff’s SUV towing a water patrol boat and using its siren. Eventually there were 19 vehicles of various sorts (police, sheriff, park board, etc.) two boats, many people (cops, sheriffs, divers, passersby) and one DNR guy in a canoe (more about this later) assembled at the west end of the lake. After various steps, fits and starts, etc., a full size, early 1980s Oldsmobile four-door hardtop was pulled from the lake, loaded on a second (flat bed) tow truck, and then everybody dispersed. No, there were no bodies in it. Some people thought it had been there three to five years. As an expert “car watcher” (like a birdwatcher but different), I believe it had been in the lake 15 or 20 years. There wasn’t much left of it. It was noticed because of the low water levels and the clearer fall water. You can easily see the tracks and rust flakes where it was pulled out. This was a “life list” car for me. In the past I have seen a full-size Chevy and a mid-size Olds Cutlass pulled from the lake but never an early ’80s full-size Olds.

Now back to more normal things. The denouement. It turns out the DNR guy was not there for the sunken car, he was checking the lake for the dreaded invasive Giant Elodea (Brazilian Water Weed), and he found none. The pump (the filling pump, not the emptying pump) was turned back on, then off for major repairs, and then back on again, so the water level is finally, after months of very low levels, rising again. By the way, the DNR guy was a very friendly and well-informed public servant.

Now the transition from the park to the yard, the segue (another literary term used by great writers). At about 11:30 p.m. the day before the Oldsmobile sighting, I was walking south from the park to home and Rocky Raccoon was walking along the same sidewalk about 50 feet ahead of me. He (or she) climbed one of the few large boulevard elms left on the block and watched as I went by, but would not come down to visit with me. I have not seen any raccoons in the yard so far this fall, but there has been a rabbit on a few occasions.

The yard has been good with Robins, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Downey Woodpeckers and of course English Sparrows and Pigeons. Two White-throated Sparrows arrived late in the month and may still be here. A Hairy Woodpecker was eating at the tube feeder today. A neighbor three doors down reported a Hummingbird, but I have not seen any this year.

The most common bird I have seen on recent road trips has been the Turkey Vulture, with other views of Pelicans, Egrets, Wild Turkeys, Bald Eagles, Crows, Red-tailed and Cooper’s Hawks, and one lone (probably the last one for this year) Common Night Hawk.
Please think about voting on Nov. 4 before you are swept away with the breathtaking wit and humor of my November column, which will come out that day.
Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of Southside Pride.

Thank you.