Pond rodents

I had a moment of uncertainty yesterday when I saw that someone had mentioned online that they saw a muskrat at the golf course pond. But I checked some online information and consulted a guide to mammals, and I'm certain that the massive rodent I saw out of the water was a beaver. Somebody at the pond this morning said they had seen a beaver, too.

It was fairly quiet at Montrose today, but I totaled 35 species. There was a yellow-crowned night-heron at the pond. This is a rare sighting for Chicago as we are at the northern extreme of its range.

Elsewhere, in North Suburban Vernon Hills, a chimney caught fire because of a bird nest. No one can seem to figure out what kind of birds built the nest. I have a guess.

Avian day

Observations from a day driving around Cook County...the morning started with a common yellowthroat in our next-door neighbors' front yard...the great blue herons are back on their nests at Busse Woods, where you can see a rookery from I-90...I saw three turkey vultures soaring low over Paul Douglas Forest Preserve...The Cook County Forest Preserve sites in the Northwest Suburbs are a new frontier for me. There is also an extensive swampy area at Arthur Janura Preserve that looks promising...I saw an american kestrel dive onto something right off I-90...a pair of mute swans have taken up at an office park pond just north of I-90 near Schaumburg...three white-tailed deer were sitting in a highway easement just east of O'Hare...I heard a white-crowned sparrow call outside a church in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the city's West Side...at the same church, house sparrows were clinging to the building's stone walls. I don't know why they do this...

Weather delay

Northern Minnesota was raked with snow a couple times in April. One unfortunate consequence was a mass die-off of songbirds. Warblers, kinglets, swallows and bluebirds didn't have insects to eat because of the white stuff. Let's hope these species recover swiftly.

Here in Chicago, spring still appears to be running behind because of the frigid winter we had. Our front-yard bulbs and ferns are not near as tall as they were this time last year.

Uptown rodents

I wish I had my camera. That was my first thought when I saw two beavers this evening less than a half-mile from our home in Uptown.

I was able to get some evening birding in today. The conditions were pleasant: mid 60s and clear and I found 39 species in a limited timeframe. I took a quick detour on the way home to a small, kidney-shaped pond that serves as a water hazard at Marovitz Golf Course. There is a tangled, fenced area with a bunch of downed willows that is usually good for a few spring migrants. Peering through the fence, I noticed a round form on a big log about 10 yards away. I assumed it was a stump until I saw it's paws, whiskers and matted fur (pelt?). The big rodent froze for a while, gripping a willow shoot. Then it proceeded to munch on the shoot in a fashion similar to a yard mulcher. A second beaver was in the water swimming away from shore. Meanwhile, there were two golfers finishing the hole about 100 yards away. The perching beaver continued to gnaw on limbs, this as golfers and joggers and cyclists passed within view.

Cougar weather

First, the Tribune is reporting that the North Side cougar traces its ancestry to the Black Hills of South Dakota. This was the same cat that was in southern Wisconsin a few months back.

Second, I couldn't let April end without one last post about the weather. The low of 31 yesterday at O'Hare tied a record, and the high of 44 was extremely rare. On Monday, snow fell in much of the area. We may have seen the last freeze of the season. According to meteorologist Tom Skilling, a "heavy frost" has never struck the lakefront beyond May 14. Seven to 15 miles inland, the corresponding date is May 29.

Dunes drinking

I have to preface this post by saying I'm not an alcoholic and I (mostly) don't need alcohol to have fun.

Our visit to Indiana Dunes was tainted by a new ban on alcohol in Dunewood Campground. Not just consumption of alcohol or possession of alcohol, but all alcohol. Like $5,000-fine-and-possible-imprisonment alcohol. (The rule was enacted in February 2006.)

I love Indiana Dunes. Our camping trip there was very nice--few people, secluded site, crisp air, good scenery. But it was hard to relax knowing the bottle of wine and 22 ouncer of beer we had could send us to jail. Now, I've camped and drank in many places where there was an alcohol ban. Typically, I shrug this off as a nuisance and then quietly will have a few. Not here. Besides dozens of scary signs, a fellow camper told us that he and his party were thoroughly searched the last time he was there. This isn't relaxation in the woods. This is like entering the Green Zone.

I would argue it's un-American to outlaw drinking in a campground. Nipping from a flask on a brisk night by a campfire is everyone's right. Clearly there is no harm in this.

Indiana Dunes should focus on important rules regarding quiet hours and take the lead from progressive camping locales like Wisconsin and Quebec. Twenty-four hour quiet hours should be established, and you should not be able to hear other campers from your site at any time. All music should only be played through headsets.

We didn't get "caught" drinking, but the spectre of the possibility made it hard to relax. We should have probably left when we saw the first sign. Now we know not to come back. Campchicago.net ratings will be adjusted accordingly.

Dune ramble

A weekend trip to Indiana Dunes yielded 62 bird species. Highlights included sora (seen at Cowles Bog and heard at Miller Woods), northern waterthrush and orange-crowned warbler. We also heard a blue jay imitate a red-tailed hawk, and we may have heard an elusive sedge wren calling in the bog. Woodpeckers were everywhere -- we identified all six that occur locally (pileateds unfortunately do not occur locally). In addition, at our campground, a barred owl began calling around 6:30 p.m. yesterday and continued flying around and calling all night and into the morning. The weather was brisk, in the upper 40s, but comfortable.