Sources: Personal records of Urs Geiser (UG), Rodney East (RE), Rose Johns (RJ), Bob Fisher (BF), Caroline Herzenberg (CH), Ed Pentecost (EP), Pat Brewington (PB), John Durrell (JD), Saurin Majumdar (SM), Tom Mulcahy (TM), Diana Jergovic (DJ), Karen Fisher (KF), Joe Michael (JM), Jim Hedges (JH), Michael Rosenow (MR), Kelly Moran (KM) Illinois Spring Bird Counts 1994-2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 (SC), Christmas Counts 1994-2001 (XC).
Last Revision: August 29, 2009 (annual observation); January 9, 2009 (new species), Urs Geiser.
Argonne Birders: Please if you see or know of anything that should go on this list.
The main site of Argonne National Laboratory, operated by the University of Chicago for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), is located in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago, along Interstate 55 (Argonne also rents space elsewhere in the vicinity and has a second large site in Idaho - these are not included in this page). It is a large campus of laboratory and office buildings. About half the area is built up, whereas the other half is in relatively natural (although not native) condition with smallish patches of woods in various stages: mature maple-oak, plantation pine, second-growth scrub. Interspersed are meadow, several marshy areas, and a few small creeks.
Access to the site is restricted to employees and visitors on official business. Therefore, the following list is to be taken as typical for similar, publicly accessible habitat in the area. Argonne lacks large bodies of water or extensive grasslands, thus many locally occurring birds will not be found on-site (Fermilab, another DOE laboratory in the area, has much better representation of such habitat). Refer to the Checklist of DuPage County for a complete listing. Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, which surrounds Argonne and has trailheads on Cass Avenue, has much of the same habitat as Argonne, and similar species are to be expected there.
At the end of 2008, this list contained 180 confirmed and 2 uncertain species. During 2008, 86 species were found. Birds marked with an asterisk (*) are "unusual" (less than annual observations), either because they are rare in the Chicago area (away from Lake Michigan), or because there is no suitable habitat for this species at Argonne even though it may be common in surrounding areas.
First 2009 Common Name Scientific Name Sighting Observer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Mute Swan Cygnus olor * Snow Goose Chen caerulescens Canada Goose Branta canadensis 01/05 UG Wood Duck Aix sponsa 04/08 UG Green-winged Teal Anas crecca * American Black Duck Anas rubripes Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 03/11 UG Blue-winged Teal Anas discors * Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata * Gadwall Anas strepera * American Wigeon Anas americana * Bufflehead Bucephala albeola * Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus - * Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus * Northern Bobwhite Colinus virgianus - * Common Loon Gavia immer - Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps - Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus 04/13 UG - Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias 04/20 UG Great Egret Ardea alba 05/22 UG * Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea Green Heron Butorides virescens 04/22 UG Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax - Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura 03/16 UG - * Osprey Pandion halieatus * Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis * Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii 03/06 UG * Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus 05/09 SC Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis 01/06 UG Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus - American Kestrel Falco sparverius 03/05 UG * Merlin Falco columbarius ? * Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus - Sora Porzana carolina 05/09 SC - Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis 03/09 UG - * American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica * Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus Killdeer Charadrius vociferus 03/11 UG - * Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria 05/09 SC Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata American Woodcock Scolopax minor 03/10 UG - Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis 03/17 UG Herring Gull Larus argentatus Caspian Tern Sterna caspia Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri - Rock Dove Columba livia 08/05 UG Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura date? UG - Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythrophtalmus 05/22 UG Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus - Eastern Screech-Owl Otus asio Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus 01/26 UG * Barred Owl Strix varia - Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor - Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica 04/27 UG - Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris 08/28 UG - Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon 05/09 SC - Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus 05/07 MR Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus 01/05 UG Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius 04/14 UG Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens 01/13 UG Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus 01/15 UG Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus 03/30 UG - Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens 05/09 SC Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe 03/17 UG Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus 05/01 UG Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus 05/09 SC - * Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor 01/09 UG (new in 2009) * Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus - Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons 05/09 SC Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus Philadelphia Vireo Vireo philadelphicus Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus 05/22 UG - Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata 04/20 UG American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos 01/19 UG - * Purple Martin Progne subis Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor 05/01 UG Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis 04/23 UG Bank Swallow Riparia riparia * Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 04/22 UG - Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus 01/15 UG * Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor - * Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis 03/06 UG - Brown Creeper Certhia americana - * Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus House Wren Troglodytes aedon 05/01 UG Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris * Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis - Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satraps Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula 04/22 UG - Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea 05/01 UG - Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis 01/12 UG Veery Catharus fuscescens Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus 05/09 SC Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus 05/08 UG Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus Wood Thrush Hylocicla mustelina 05/08 UG American Robin Turdus migratorius 01/23 CH - Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis 05/01 UG * Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottus Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum - European Starling Sturnus vulgaris 01/09 UG - Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum 05/09 SC - Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera Tennessee Warbler Vermivora peregrina 05/09 SC Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata 05/09 SC Nashville Warbler Vermivora ruficapilla 05/09 SC Northern Parula Parula americana Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia 05/01 UG Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanica 05/09 SC Magnolia Warbler Dendroica magnolia 05/09 SC Cape May Warbler Dendroica tigrina 05/09 SC Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata 04/22 UG Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroica virens 05/08 UG Blackburnian Warbler Dendroica fusca Pine Warbler Dendroica pinus Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum 05/01 UG Bay-breasted Warbler Dendroica castanea 05/09 SC Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata 05/22 UG Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia 05/09 SC American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla 05/09 SC * Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapillus 05/09 SC Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis 05/01 UG * Louisiana Waterthrush Seiurus motacilla * Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis * Mourning Warbler Oporornis philadelphia Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 05/01 UG * Hooded Warbler Wilsonia citrina Wilson's Warbler Wilsonia pusilla Canada Warbler Wilsonia canadensis - * Summer Tanager Piranga rubra Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea 05/09 SC - Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus 04/22 UG American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina 04/20 UG Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla 04/22 UG * Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus * Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca 04/17 CH Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia 03/16 UG Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis 04/22 UG White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys 05/09 SC * Harris' Sparrow Zonotrichia querula Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis 01/12 UG - Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis date ? Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus 05/07 KM * Blue Grosbeak Guiraca caerulea Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea 05/01 UG - * Dickcissel Spiza americana 06/15 UG * Bobolink Dolychonyx oryzivorus Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus 02/10 UG Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna 03/17 UG Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus ? * Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula 03/17 UG Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater 03/30 UG Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius 05/05 UG Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula 05/06 UG - Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus 04/02 UG Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis 01/15 UG - House Sparrow Passer domesticus 01/16 CH
The following birds could also occur at Argonne, as there is suitable habitat or because they would be obvious as fly-overs, but they haven't been observed or confirmed yet to my knowledge.
Cackling Goose, Tundra Swan, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Peregrine Falcon (confirm), Virginia Rail, American Coot, Short-billed Dowitcher, Bonaparte's Gull, Black Tern, Long-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Whip-poor-will, Yelllow-bellied Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, American Pipit, White-eyed Vireo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Clay-colored Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird (confirm), Red Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak.
If you see one of these, I would especially like to hear about it!