by Matt Hayner, LCAS board member

While the Empidonax Flycatchers (Acadian, Alder, Least, Willow, and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers) of Northern Illinois may be visually indistinct and difficult to characterize by sight alone, our summer-resident Eastern Kingbirds possess one of the most distinctive markings amongst North American birds: the white terminal band on their tails. However, it turns out this is not the only high-contrast characteristic of the species.

Eastern Kingbirds are known scientifically as Tyrannus Tyrannus (family, species), and the redundancy of the name is indicative of the birds’ behavior. From Cornell’s birdsoftheworld.org:

by Matt Hayner, LCAS board member

We’re now past the steep part of the spring migration in Lake County: April and May were filled with the visual delights of charismatic warblers, diverse water birds, and iridescent hummingbirds. However, perhaps underappreciated is the auditory richness of bird calls and songs that also fill the air during (and after) a migration.

Kenn Kaufman, field editor for Audubon magazine, says, “Birds, like other creatures, must be able to recognize their own kind, at least during breeding season. While some other animals may identify potential mates by smell or other chemical cues, birds generally rely on sight and sound.” For people, learning to listen to birds and

While annual cicadas are commonly heard singing in Lake County every year, there is a population of periodical cicadas that only emerges here every 17 years. This massive emergence is expected in May and June of this year (the last periodical emergence occurred in 2007). Millions of cicadas will tunnel out of the soil, crawl up trees, sing, mate, lay eggs, hatch into nymphs, and complete their life cycle returning to the soil under trees where they live on tree sap until their next emergence in 17 years. The periodical cicada population in northern Illinois is known as Brood XIII.

There has been a decline of 3 billion birds in North America since 1970 – a 30% decrease. The front lines of conservation for birds are found where people live – our own backyards. There are several ways you can help birds thrive in Lake County, most importantly by providing habitat for bugs and birds at home. The greatest habitat benefits are provided by landscaping your yard with locally native plants that provide a variety of food for birds year-round covering breeding, nesting, migrating and winter seasons. Plant leaves, fruits, nuts, seeds, and nectar are food for birds - and for the bugs that are food for birds. Shrubs and trees are especially important sources for nests and shelter as well as food.