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Eight members journeyed
to the prairies of Illinois to view Greater Prairie
Chickens on their booming grounds.
Our first stop was at Englewood Metropark in Dayton,
Ohio. While eating our lunch along the lake we
viewed 8 species of waterfowl and had great views of
a hunting immature Bald Eagle. Among the species
seen were Pintail, Wigeon, Blue & Green-winged Teal,
Gadwall and Wilson’s Snipe. We then continued our
drive to Illinois.
 Saturday
we began our exploration of the local prairies. Our
first stop was at the Prairie Ridge headquarters
where we could see the blinds in the distance. We
spent some time enjoying the Eastern Meadowlarks
singing in the sunlight. While seeking out birds
hiding in the grasses, we noticed a small group of
large birds across the way and had our first distant
views of Greater Prairie Chickens. Since that area
was near a crossroads, we quickly drove over. By
the time we arrived, the chickens had moved on, but
we spent considerable time enjoying the field full
of American Golden Plovers.
From there we explored the nearby Robert Ridgeway
Grasslands Nature Preserve.
After getting a tip, we moved on to a local farmer’s
field of Fox Tail Grass in search of Smith’s
Longspurs. We spent considerable time searching up
and down the road scanning the fields for the
elusive birds. Some in our group saw a small flock
fly over. We ended up coming back the next day with
a guide to actual walk the field. The birds were
pop up and fly a short distance before again hiding
in the grass. Their most distinctive feature was
their short burbling flight call.
Throughout the day we saw Wilson’s Snipe everywhere…
darting in and out of fields and ditches, flying in
front of us as we drove and working the grasses when
we stopped to view them.
The next morning began very early. We arrived
before dawn. We heard coyotes calling in the
distance and then we heard a distant cackle from a
prairie chicken calling out of the dark. Our
arrival in the blinds at 5:30 am was none too early,
as we soon began to discern the distinctive shapes
of chickens out on the booming field before us. As
the light increased, more birds arrived. Up to 7
males displayed throughout the morning, strutting,
booming and dancing. They put on a great show for
us. No hens showed up that morning, perhaps due to
the high wind, perhaps for another unknown reason.
As dawn arrived, along with the high winds, a near
constant stream of blackbirds passed by low over the
horizon. Later as the light increased, the sound of
Meadowlarks filled the air and Northern Harriers
traversed the fields.
After leaving the blinds, we stopped at a small
wetlands along the trail just in time to see an
American Bittern posed in its You don’t see me
upright posture. It stayed frozen in place for a
brief time and then moved further away into the
cattails.
Soon after that we found our last target bird of the
trip perched on a barbed wire fence. The Loggerhead
Shrike posed just long enough for everyone to see it
and then moved on.
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