Birds!
Flighted fauna at the Morton Arboretum
My grandfather had a deep interest in the birds that frequented both his home on the DuPage river in Warrenville and the Morton Arboretum. His journals are filled with details about birds he observed, tracking seasonal comings and goings and the occasional rare sighting.
In a letter to Jean Morton Cudahy, he describes the fervor that ensued after the Chicago Tribune published an article about Saw-Whet Owls taking up residence at the Arboretum:
Despite an intense search, I wasn’t able to track down the aforementioned Tribune article, but I did dig into Saw-Whet Owls. These small round-headed owls take up residence to nest in abandoned woodpecker holes, and roost during the day in conifer trees during its fairly sedentary winter period. Additionally, these birds are vocal only during their short breeding season, and are otherwise quite quiet. Knowing this, I’d imagine it must have been a sharp eye rather than a keen ear that discovered the Arboretum Saw Whets referred to in the letter.
Looking at the range map on the Illinois DNR website, it’s interesting that these owls were spotted sometime in January, as it appears their winter range favors the lower half of the state.
In many of my grandfather’s daily journal entries, he mentions birds he observed both at his home Riverby and while wandering the Arboretum.
In January of 1940, he wrote that he “spent the afternoon at Riverby - watching birds thru the new binoculars. Several Juncos were seen feeding on the ground below the feeder.” Later in the month he “put up a wire suet holder for the birds on the oak tree near the feeder. Black Capped Chickadee and White Breasted Nuthatches found it immediately. Watched an amusing battle between a male Cardinal and a squirrel near the feeder.” Later the same year, he detailed “a truly remarkable sight - 9 male Scarlet Tanagers on rear lawn and in branches and lower limb of oaks all at once. Also several females.”
As for resident birds of the Arboretum, he wrote in 1940 about observing “a flock of 32 Cedar Waxwings at the office today (trees near Adm Building) and many Purple Finches in the Crabapple Collection.” Later, in his 1947 journal, he wrote that he “witnessed a rare sight at the Arboretum this afternoon - two brilliantly colored male Evening Grosbeaks and 4 females - all feeding on crabapple fruits in the Malus Collection. Purple Finches feeding with them.”
My dad remembers his father cleaning the bird baths and distributing seeds and suet every day upon his return from work. It’s clear to me that alongside plants, birds held a special place in his life.
As I was putting together this newsletter about birds, I had an extraordinary avian experience of my own. At a recent chamber concert held at the Arboretum’s Thornhill building, the viola duo was accented quite beautifully through the window behind the performers by a captivating dance of birds. Each pizzicato pluck was punctuated by feathered hops from branch to branch, and runs were met with dozens of birds taking simultaneous flight from the nearby trees. It was quite a miraculous sight, and it felt like the birds were as moved by the music as those of us in the audience.
I couldn’t write about Arboretum birds without linking to some of my favorite bird-related publications:
Ken Lamberton from The Big Yard on seeking owls in North Dakota
And Bob Dolgan from This Week in Birding discusses Rockefeller — the stowaway Saw-whet Owl found in 2020’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, and our chances of finding such a feller in the Windy City’s own tree
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Thanks very much for this wonderful account of saw-whets and for mentioning my piece!