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Birding in Columbus Park, Chicago 
By BROTHER I. THEODORE, F. S. C. 
IN SEPTEMBER, 1951, I was transferred from Cretin High School, Minnesota, 
to teach science at St. Mel High School on Chicago’s west side. As an ama- 
teur ornithologist, I feared my chances for further bird study would be very 
much curtailed by the great distances I would have to travel for observation. 
This brief report on Columbus Park is planned to show how my fears 
were greatly unjustified and to encourage others, who like myself are limited 
by time and means of transportation, to make use of the city parks to 
further their interest in bird lore. 
Since I am situated not far from Columbus Park, I made a trial trip 
there shortly after my arrival at St. Mel and had a pleasant surprise. My 
very first visit revealed not only English sparrows and starlings, which I 
had expected, but 25 species of migrating birds besides. Since October, 1951 
up to the present writing (April, 1953), I have observed 115 species in this 
park, among them a few rare to northern Illinois, not to mention the heart 
of a large metropolitan area. 
Columbus Park comprises only 114 acres, bounded on the east by Central 
Avenue, the west by Austin Boulevard, the north by Adams Street and the 
south by the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railway tracks. With many acres 
of tall trees and shrubs, a lagoon, a golf course, and plantings with under- 
cover, it has proved to be excellent for bird study. In spite of the small size 
of the lagoon, both pied-billed and horned grebes have stopped there in mi- 
gration, as well as several species of ducks, including the wary wood duck. 
Green herons and black-crowned night herons stayed for a short time last 
year. 
The intriguing part of birding in the park is that even on five or six con- 
secutive days, the same species are not always present, and one nevers knows 
just what to expect. Even when the same birds are present several days in 
a row, they are not always found in the same areas. Among the unexpected 
finds was a dead saw-whet owl, the only owl I found until early this spring, 
when a long-eared owl made his appearance. The sparrow hawk is a resi- 
dent, but on occasion I’ve also seen Cooper’s and marsh hawks. 
The pleasing factor of park birding is the element of time involved. I can 
cover the high-lights where the birds are most likely to be found in approxi- 
mately an hour; if there are many migrants, an hour and one-half usually 
suffices to check them all. If I have more time available, there are areas off 
the beaten path that often prove interesting but are not worth covering each 
visit. 
There are not enough large sand or mud flats to attract many shorebirds; 
in spite of this, I have seen many killdeer, the spotted and solitary sand- 
pipers, Wilson’s snipe, and much to my surprise, three weeks ago in one of 
the wooded areas I flushed a woodcock. 
The park has proved particularly interesting during spring and fall mi- 
grations. All five common thrushes stopped over: wood, hermit, gray- 
cheeked, olive-backed and veery. 24 different species of warblers have been 
