7-3-19 Rockford Register Star building and Nicholas Conservatory
Today, my mom and I are joining our friend John Longhenry, ant the RRStar building to observe the peregrine falcons that have nested this year. The female Louise is returning for a second year of mating on the tower, and a new male Lil Kool has joined her. The male has much more pigmented feathers than the female, which is duller overall. Along with the peregrine falcons, we also saw these species at the RRStar building:
MALL-2
CANG-3
AMRO-1
HOSP-10
MODO-5
After observing the falcons with John, my mom and I headed to Nicholas Conservatory to see if there were any birds there by the river. We were greeted with several great bird species. There are two resident mute swans at the Sinnissippi Lagoon in the Conservatory. The swans are white with orange bills and black facial markings. This distinguishes then from trumpeter and tundra swans, which have mostly black bills. Even though these are owned by the conservatory, I always enjoy seeing them because they add so much majesty to the pond and surrounding area. After seeing the swans, I noticed some movement in the bushes, and a female mallard and her five chicks were walking in a single file line within arms reach of me! The juveniles have fluffy brown and yellow down all over their bodies, and the adult females are streaked brown and tan. There were also five males in the pond and surrounding the pond, which have an iridescent green head and brown body. Along with these species, we also saw:
3 MODO
1 GBHE
15 RWBL
Overall, I had a wonderful birding day. Getting to spend it with family and friends is one of my favorite parts of birding. The peregrine falcons were a lifer for me, and I got to see them with one of my closest birding friends. I could not have asked for a better day.
Gracie McMahon