Purple Finch & Winter Wren

Jeff and I headed out to Coral Woods in McHenry County today. Its not a very large preserve but it does have a variety of habitat. After seeing several of the usual suspects like Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Eastern Bluebirds, and more, we heard a bird singing that we couldn't immediately identify. I thought it may have been a Purple Finch but then as we approached we heard — then saw — Fox Sparrows. I had pretty much written off the possibility of seeing both Fox Sparrows and Purple Finches but Jeff agreed that it seemed as though there was a call that was similar but not the same as the Fox Sparrows coming from a slightly different direction.

But, we didn't hear the song again so kept on our way. Shortly
afterwards we saw a large group of Fox Sparrows and stopped to look at
them flitting through the trees and on the ground. While looking around
at the sparrows I saw a bird that wasn't
a Fox Sparrow and quickly identified this Purple Finch! We were both
thrilled to see the finch as it was Jeff's first for the state and my
first for the year. I believe that the numbers of Purple Finches in the
state (at least in the North-East) is very low and that populations are
very isolated. They are described as being uncommon - but I have seen
fewer Purple Finches that several of the birds described as rare, like
American Bittern, Bald Eagle, Black Terns, Northern Shrike and Pileated
Woodpeckers - to name a few.

We continued along the path heading back towards the parking lot and came across an even larger flock of Fox Sparrows, numbering well over twenty. Two Swamp Sparrows were mixed in. The Swamp Sparrows haven't gotten their full breeding plumage and are in a state of transitional molt.

We got back to the parking lot and heard a call that sounded suspiciously like a Great Horned Owl so we stopped and looked for a while. We didn't see any owls but while waiting we did see this Winter Wren hopping from log to log and making a chipping call from time to time. Here's a picture of the Winter Wren we saw!


On our way home, we were trying to add to the species list (already over 50) when I saw a bird on the water in Lily Lake in Lakemoor. We stopped to have a look and Jeff said "this would be a great lake for Loons". A few seconds later I said "its a Common Loon!" It turned out to be a beautiful breeding plumage Common Loon! Not a bad way to end the day - but, we weren't done yet. A Mute Swan and Great Egret were at Sullivan Lake adding to a pretty decent day birding. Now if it had only gotten above freezing today...

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Maps of Coral Woods and the many other preserves in McHenry County can be found at http://www.mccdistrict.org/map.htm .