ILYB Summer 2015 eNewsletter
Chickadee In Need
My phone rang as I was driving from the train station to my house after work. It was my wife and it sounded like a crisis. She was at my neighbor's house. The floor of their bird house had fallen out and two flightless Black-capped Chickadees were out of the nest and on the ground. "You're the Bird Guy. What should we do?"
I thought for a second, "What should we do?" How about, "What should they do?"
Now, I don't mind being the Bird Guy on the block. In fact, I kind of like it. Being the Bird Guy definitely has its advantages. I've seen White-winged Crossbills and Great Horned Owl in my neighbor's yards, for example. With their permission, I got to photograph these birds up close. That never would have happened, if I weren't the Bird Guy. But, it also has its disadvantages. I get all sorts of interesting questions like: "I saw a bird the other day. Maybe you've seen it before. It was all red, had a black mask, and crested head. Do you know what that is?" "As a matter of fact, yes. That's our state bird..." You get the idea.
Anyway, I told my wife I'd be there in 5 minutes. When I arrived, I found the bird house in a shambles, the chickadees on the ground, and an obviously agitated parent just above them in a tree. I asked my neighbor to keep his cats inside, while I ran home to find something to turn into a makeshift bird house. I thought about a milk carton, but how would I get the nest in there without making a large hole that might also invite predators? I looked in my pantry and found the answer - a rice container with a wide lid! Perfect! In a matter of minutes, the bird house was ready.
As I bent over to pick up the chickadees, my neighbor asked, "You're the Bird Guy. Will the parents abandon the chicks now that you've handled them?" I told my neighbor that the parents would most certainly not abandon their chicks. They had invested an incredible amount effort into seeing this brood succeed and they were oh so close.
I picked up the nest and the chicks and placed the birds into their new home. In a matter of minutes, the parents had found the chicks and had gone right back to their parental duties.
(Whew! I'm glad that worked. A Bird Guy has a responsibility to be a steward of nature after all.)
In this issue of the ILYB eNewsletter, you'll read the stories and see the art of our talented young Bird Gals and Guys, all good stewards in the making. I'm sure you'll be impressed by their progress thus far and, like me, look forward to watching them succeed.
Oh, and I'm happy to report that both chickadees fledged a week later.
Matthew Cvetas, Adult Coordinator - ILYB (aka The Bird Guy)
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Dancing with the Cranes
ILYBer, Ben Marn, took advantage of the incredible opportunity to witness the migration of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska with the Iowa Young Birders. He recounts his experiences below:
"In March, we went to Kearney, Nebraska to see the incredible migration of Sandhill Cranes (75-80% of the birds are Lesser Sandhill Cranes) along the Platte River at Rowe Sanctuary/Iain Nicolson Audubon Center. The blinds are great (see photo) and you can tell that the people who work and volunteer there really love their jobs."
To continue reading about his trip, click this link to visit our facebook site.
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Graduating Members
We'd like to extend our congratulations to our graduating members. Come back and bird with us soon, men. You will be missed. Help us wish them good luck in college.
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Aaron Gyllenhaal: Congratulations on your acceptance to Illinois State University!
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Nick Minor: Congratulations on your acceptance to the University of Minnesota!
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New Members
Join us in welcoming our new members. It's great to have you in the flock!
RJ Alvarado, Rachel Assaf, Kishin Carmona, Nate Cvetas, John Fabrycky, Grant Koch, Daniel O'Connor, Claire O'Connor, Thomas O'Connor,
Natalie Torres, Wiktor Pawlus, Evie Skog, Nicholas Skweres, Benedict Sullivan, Miriam Sullivan, Cecilia Wille and Keemy Wille.
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Make a Difference - Give to ILYB
You can make a difference in the quality of programs that ILYB has to offer by offering your time or by making a donation to our organization. Consider giving to ILYB today. Your generous gift will help us foster young birders in Illinois and enable us to support the future growth of tomorrow’s birding community leaders, scientists, and environmental stewards.
A big thanks to Dave Willard for sponsoring our May Field Trip to Palos by donating $1 for every bird we observed during the trip!
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The Raven in the Rain by Ava Norman
In a spring rain at dusk by a strong young tree with mottled bark and no buds or leaves. A lone raven stands, black as death. Silhouetted against the gray-pink sky, alone. Standing vigil, for something neither you nor I can know of, for we can’t comprehend it. It stands there on the pure green grass while crystalline drops fall about it so dark as night, as black diamonds, as death so beautiful so graceful so solemn so deadly still, standing vigil, the raven in the warm spring rain.
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Artwork by Catherine Gilbert
Catherine Gilbert's oil painting of a Northern Pintail won a second place ribbon in the high school division of the Illinois State Junior Duck Stamp Contest. It also received an honorable mention for the midwest region in the scholastic art awards this past February.
Catherine submitted an oil painting of an Emperor Goose for this year's Federal Junior Duck Stamp Competition.
Beautiful work, Catherine!
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Chicago Audubon Honors 13 Who Protect Environment
Congratulations to Illinois Young Birder, Nick Minor, for winning the Young Environmentalist Award from the Chicago Audubon Society! The Chicago Tribune featured him in an article that talked about his study of natural history.
Follow this link to read more at the Chicago Tribune Website.
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