Bird watchers in Lake Forest started the new year with a rare treat — spotting a Bohemian waxwing.
The bird typically spends its winters in Northern Wisconsin, Northern Michigan and Canada, but one ventured south and was spotted at Shaw Woods on New Year’s Day.
Emil August saw a post in the Illinois Birding Network Facebook group early that morning about a Bohemian waxwing sighting. He and two other birders raced to Lake Forest to see the bird for themselves.
August knew the bird was extremely rare for Illinois. He had seen a Bohemian waxwing only once at Jackson Park in Chicago two years ago.
“It is a spectacularly beautiful bird, and it’s certainly high on every birder’s list, especially in the Chicago area where it’s really, really rare to see,” he said.
August spotted the bird high in a tree tucked against the trunk, which he said is not an ideal position for a photograph. He gave himself two hours to wait for a better angle, but the bird never flew down to show itself.
Once, though, the bird dropped down to a heavily wooded spot. The bird flew back up, and August tried capturing the image, but the sun was right in his face and the branches surrounded the bird.
He thought the day was lost, but he managed to capture one acceptable picture before he left.
“The picture was pretty good, but I’m a very fussy photographer and I would’ve waited all day to get a good picture if it was moving around. But, it was pretty sedentary,” he said. “Most of time in shade, and tucked against tree.”
The Bohemian waxwing may be the highlight of August’s year — even though it just started — but he still has more birds to see. He said Lake Forest is a great place for bird watching, and he’ll search for northern shrikes, owls, raptors, blue herons and ducks throughout the winter.
And maybe those birds will be more photogenic.
Angelica LaVito is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
