Seeing some more birds!

Hello everyone! So I know it has been a while since I have written, but finals are just around the corner and there are so many group projects, papers, and studying to do. It is overwhelming sometimes, but it nice just to sit back and take a break and write a few words to you guys!

So for today, I wanted to talk about a field trip that I took for my Ornithology class this past weekend. Yes, this post will be another one all about birds, BUT, surprise! The field trip is slightly different than last time.

Out field trip took place in Caldwell Woods. It is located right down Devon Street in Cook County and runs along the Chicago River. We got up at the crack of dawn (well, 7am, but 7am on a Sunday morning when you are a college student might as well be the crack of dawn) and headed out in rain and cold to see some birds!

In our previous field trip, we saw plenty of shorebirds like gulls, terns, and ducks. Since this field trip was in the woods, we were expecting to see plenty of different species and we did. We saw a TON of woodpeckers including the Red-bellied Woodpecker, the Downy Woodpecker, and the Hairy woodpecker. They are quite beautiful to look at because of their bright red, black, and white coloring. We also saw some beautifully blue Blue Jays and red Northern Cardinals. Another bird we found was the Brown Creeper. It is this small bird with a brown back and white belly who also has a curved beak. It rarely flies, but instead just creeps up the bark of the tree. It kind of looks like a miniature squirrel if that makes any sense at all!

The best birds by far were the cute little Black-capped Chicakadees. They have a wonderful song and are so small that they could fit snugly in the palm of your hand. The best part of the day however, had nothing to do with birds. We saw 25 deer in the forest preserve, 25! Living in Chicago and being surrounded by skyscrapers all day means that seeing 25 deer is like seeing enough nature for a year. It was truly incredible to be super close to deer and some were even baby deer.

The whole trip was a lot of fun, and even though I was starving by the end of it, it was not such a bad way to spend my Sunday morning. Yeah for school field trips!

P.S. I apologize for having no pictures, but in the rain and cold, bringing my hands out of their pockets did not seem like something ideal!