How about we go for six bird posts in a row – six consecutive days in row actually wait wait .. let’s clarify that a bit more – six consecutive new birds on the Birding Life List in a row! Yes, that sounds a lot better. The disheartening thing about that is this happens to be the exact number my brother was able to get in the tin when he came down to my neck of the woods (for someone that lives in Chicago, this must feel like the deep South hehehe) for a little birding action a few weeks ago. I did manage to plus one that weekend thanks to a surprising find at a Burger King but stay tuned for that story. Today’s featured post ended up taking some work to get in the tin.
Along with several of the previous posts, this score occurred while birding with Ron at Allerton Park in Monticello IL. We had two encounters this this particular variety. The first came near the main entrance just East of the visitor center. We noticed an interesting bird cross in front of us on our way to the large parking lot in that direction (Linda had just arrived and we were heading over there to see her). Eventually it made its way over to a large evergreen next to the red brick wall. For the next 15-20 minutes we tried everything we could to get a clear shot of it. Based on the seeing the results of that initial sighting come through the digital darkroom I can safely say that was pretty much an epic failure. There was enough there to take credit for the check mark, but nothing I’d really want to show if I didn’t have to.
Hit the jump to read a bit more about this bird .. oh, and learn what it is!
