“I want you to put the word out there that we back up.” The feeder cam is online again and ready for spring migration. 🪶

Why is Montrose Point such a migration hotspot? Flying straight across the lake from places like Indiana is faster, consumes less energy, and is probably safer than going around the lake. The point juts into the lake and has the food and shelter that is critical during migration. 🪶

Which movie did Bruce Lee fight Chuck Norris in? 🤔

This 1835 map shows “Milwalky” as a county taking up all of SE Wisconsin from the Baraboo Hills all the way to Lake Michigan. Interesting stuff @newberrylibrary.bsky.social today.

The jig is up, the news is out - the Little Calumet River was once the River Styx, at least according to this 1822 map. Another interesting find @newberrylibrary.bsky.social.

Today's newsletter: Montrose Dunes in the words of people who were there at the start. “I had never seen anywhere like that in my entire life. Literally in the middle of one of the densest cities and one of most well used parks and it had just kind of sprung up.” www.twibchicago.com/p/baby-dunes...

The river crested at about midnight last night. Here it’s about twice as wide as usual at least. #ilwx

It looks like the North Branch will be at flood stage in a couple hours. #ilwx

Red-winged Blackbirds arrived back on February 20 this year, a little earlier than usual. Here's some trail cam video from that first day back (along with starlings). Arrival dates for the last five years: 2026 February 20 2025 February 28 2024 March 1 2023 February 24 2022 March 5 🪶 🐦‍⬛

Today's #newsletter took a look at the creation of the Magic Hedge, left behind by the Army at Chicago's Montrose Point. Here's a 1973 aerial image with the location of the hedge. The point was a lot emptier then, and it was just this one hedge that drew in so many warblers.

I made this graphic to show how the Bears' stadium in Indiana would affect nearby birds and the ones heading north in spring migration. If they don't hit the big glass facade of the stadium, they'll need to go around it to get to Lake Michigan and points north. (Forgive my graphic design skills.)

Ok, so I am not surprised that a Common Raven finally showed up at Montrose Point (354th species alltime) what with sightings in SE Chicago and Indiana Dunes in recent years - it’s only a surprise that it took this long!

Did you know? Chicago’s Garfield Park once was home to Mute Swans. Animal menageries were common in European parks and became popular in the US as well. Exotic animals including European Mute Swans were housed in several Chicago parks c. 1900.

A rainy Christmas Bird Count recap and a look at Wolf Lake and the Bears, all Indiana today. open.substack.com/pub/twib/p/d...

Ah, tomorrow we’re going to get into one of my favorite topics via the newsletter - the Bears’ stadium situation!

Robins everywhere, cardinals singing, and siskins wandering, all in today’s newsletter www.twibchicago.com/p/notes-on-w...

Today's newsletter takes a look at the years the Army occupied Montrose Point, home to a command center for the missiles stored at Belmont Harbor. Due to outcry, shrubs were planted in front of the barracks, which became the Magic Hedge (portions visible today). www.twibchicago.com/p/the-army-s...

Possum kingdom here in the neighborhood. From early January.

In this house, these are the Seahawks we celebrate. 🪶

We’re excited to share today that the Newberry has received a $4 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to expand access to our Indigenous Studies collections and strengthen collaboration with tribal nations. www.newberry.org/news/newberr...

Shards of ice forming and cracking this morning on Lake Michigan. The north wind was pushing a sheet of ice into a big boulder along the jetty. Sound on 🔉 for some ASMR. #chicago

There are a handful of ducks at the edge of Belmont Harbor where some water is still open. Goldeneye, scaup, and mergansers. In the snow this morning.

For the newsletter, I took a look at the construction of the Montrose-to-Foster extension in the early '30s and the drive to expand parks on Chicago's north lakefront. At the time, it was said Montrose Beach was the largest artificial bathing beach in the world. www.twibchicago.com/p/how-montro...

Testing out my Sony macro lens in the snow today. The flowers from last summer are nicely catching the snowfall. I appreciate the subtle brown tones the lens picks up. 🌺 🌱 🪴

Today would have been the birthday of the late Hazel Johnson, the Altgeld Gardens resident known as the mother of the environmental justice movement. Ms. Johnson was the namesake of one of Monty & Rose's 2020 chicks (along with Esperanza and Nish). www.peopleforcommunityrecovery.org/our-story/le...

There have been big flocks of robins--often more than 50 birds at a time--feasting on berries near Washington Square Park and the Newberry Library recently. I'm not sure I've seen so many in a very urban area of Chicago in winter. 🪶

I’ll be teaching a class on bird behavior—using historic texts. It starts in April and runs four weeks, plus a field trip! Newberry.org

From maps that become art to a rack of Rand McNally road maps, straight out of gas stations of yore, “Mapping Outside the Lines” covers a lot of ground.

Re-sharing this post from a year ago for no reason at all 🙃 www.twibchicago.com/p/what-green...

Wow, it's been a while since I updated this (around 2020)! Since then Montrose added Broad-winged Hawk, Mountain Bluebird, Short-tailed Shearwater, Pileated Woodpecker, Ferruginous Hawk, Eastern Screech-Owl, Gull-billed Tern, White-faced Ibis, and Cassin's Sparrow. 🪶

Some of us may long for the day when birding becomes the professional equivalent of bass fishing. www.twibchicago.com/p/what-is-a-...

One of my favorites was meeting Ken Burns in a back hallway of the US Capitol.

This year hasn't been about the rarest birds or the getting the best photos. Here's a brief look back! www.twibchicago.com/p/six-birds-...

How it started, how it’s going. First photo from a Christmas bird count two weeks ago (-1 F), second from this morning’s count (55 F and a downpour).

One of my avian highlights of the year, filming young Great Blue Herons in a nest in walking distance of home. Forgive the quality—filmed with an iPhone through a scope—birds were about 300’ away but a neat experience. 🪶

A Cooper’s Hawk took out a Rock Pigeon on my street a few days ago. Murder bird! 🪶

In addition to being a novelist, yes, he is a birder (as anyone who's read Freedom can attest)!

Today's post is an appreciation of artist and Chicago icon Tony Fitzpatrick. Tony and I weren’t great friends, and I’ll be the first to say I didn’t really know him that well. I only benefited from his generosity and absorbing some of his world view. www.twibchicago.com/p/the-birdma... 🪶

Amazing how many of these still exist in some form or another!

It was fun catching with maybe the only local birding columnist in the Chicago area recently. Jeff's written for the Daily Herald for 20-plus years and has a new book available. www.twibchicago.com/p/a-conversa...

Me with Ben Hecht’s Oscar last week @newberrylibrary.bsky.social. He won it as screenwriter for 1927’s Underworld. Yes, he used it as a doorstop. #filmsky

“It was a national tragedy and one that bound the Great Lakes together. The ship was funded by a company from Wisconsin, built in Michigan, laden with taconite from Minnesota, and staffed by a crew from Ohio. The troubadour who told its story was from Ontario.” www.twibchicago.com/p/in-the-roo...

Who doesn’t want to curl up for a nap on a gloomy fall day? 🌱 🪴

Always be birding and you might see something new! These House Sparrows were rummaging and scratching through some leaves just like a White-throated Sparrow might do. Not sure what they were finding - worms? seeds? - but it must have been delicious. On a very urban corner here in town. 🦉

Asters still in bloom at Montrose Beach Dunes, Chicago, last week. 🌱 🪴

A long time before Monty and Rose, Chicago had a very different connection with plovers. Introducing Plover Joe. www.twibchicago.com/p/plover-joe

I believe this was Odell, IL, and you can hear I-55 in the background.

Throwback to a very foggy day on Halloween three years ago. I was passing through a small town and there was a merry go round spinning and spinning and no one in sight. 😱

Spotted cucumber beetle. 🪲 🪴 🌱

Trying out a new lens on a backyard marigold. 🪴 🌱