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The Green Forester > Campus Birds
Birds and Birding at Lake Forest College
The large number of bird species observed on the Lake Forest College Campus (see list below) testifies both to the richness of Lake Forest College as a bird habitat, and also to the fervor with which birdwatching is pursued by members of the College community. Various features of the natural environment and campus community combine to make Lake Forest College a birding mecca among liberal arts colleges. Among these are:
- Ravine woodland. The floristically-diverse old-growth deciduous forest growing in the ravines that cradle the campus support some of the region’s less-abundant breeding and wintering woodland birds, as well as a full complement of the woodland migrants that pass through the region in spring and fall.
- Shooting Star Savanna. The College’s restored savanna supports a densely vegetated understory in which many species of grassland-loving migrant birds have been found, and in which brilliant blue Indigo Buntings breed.
- Proximity to Lake Michigan. Our location approximately one kilometer from Lake Michigan places us in good position to observe waterbirds occasionally flying overhead, as well as large numbers of migrating birds that may become concentrated along Lake Michigan’s western shore during spring and fall migration when there are strong west winds.
- Lake Forest College Bird Observatory. This is the name given to the observation platform on the roof of the Carnegie Building on middle campus. During the spring and fall migrations, faculty, classes, and even birdwatchers from outside the College community frequently visit the Observatory, where the above-treetop vantage point affords spectacular bird viewing opportunities. Virtually every species of raptor occuring in the eastern and central United States has been observed from the LFCBO, as well as a great variety of migratory ducks, geese, cranes, nighthawks, songbirds, swifts, shorebirds, and even migrating Monarch butterflies. Upwards of 3000 Sandhill Cranes, 300 Turkey Vultures, or 500 Broad-winged Hawks have been counted from LFCBO in spans of a few hours.
- Chicago Birdathon. The “Alcid-minded professors,” Lake Forest College’s faculty/staff team, has been a strong competitor in Chicago Audubon Society’s annual Cook County Birdathon, taking first place in the event in 4 consecutive years from 2002-5.
Bird species observed on Lake Forest College campus
Compiled by Caleb Gordon following American Ornithologists’ Union taxonomy
15 orders, 43 families, 184 species as of 10/24/07
Anseriformes
Anatidae
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Gaviiformes
Gaviidae
Common Loon
Pelecaniformes
Phalacrocoracidae
Double-crested Cormorant
Ciconiiformes
Ardeidae
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Cathartidae
Turkey Vulture
Falconiformes
Accipitridae
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
Falconidae
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Gruiformes
Rallidae
Sora
Gruidae
Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane
Charadriiformes
Charadriidae
Killdeer
Scolopacidae
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
American Woodcock
Laridae
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Caspian Tern
Columbiformes
Columbidae
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Cuculiformes
Cuculidae
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Strigiformes
Strigidae
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Short-eared Owl
Caprimulgiformes
Caprimulgidae
Common Nighthawk
Apodiformes
Apodidae
Chimney Swift
Trochilidae
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Coraciiformes
Alcedinidae
Belted Kingfisher
Piciformes
Picidae
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Passeriformes
Tyrannidae
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Vireonidae
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Corvidae
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Alaudidae
Horned Lark
Hirundinidae
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Paridae
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Sittidae
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Certhiidae
Brown Creeper
Troglodytidae
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Regulidae
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Sylviidae
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Turdidae
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Mimidae
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Sturnidae
European Starling
Motacillidae
American Pipit
Bombycillidae
Cedar Waxwing
Parulidae
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Connecticut Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Canada Warbler
Thraupidae
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Emberizidae
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Cardinalidae
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Icteridae
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Fringillidae
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
Passeridae
House Sparrow
Click on images below for larger version
Female Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)
Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus)