(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A kind of bird that normally winters as far south as Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota has made rare appearances in the Chicago area recently.
It’s called the evening grosbeak, and it’s been spotted in Will County.
“If you’re a birdwatcher, it’s a big deal because this is something we don’t get to see all the time. This is kind of special,” said Bob Bryerton, a program coordinator for the Forest Preserve District of Will County who works at the Plum Creek Nature Center in Beecher.
Prior to last weekend’s sighting, Bryerton had only seen an evening grosbeak once before, and that was at the nature center where he worked.
“I was actually doing some yard work, and I turned around and there was a bunch of them on a feeder and, like I said, it’s weird because you don’t see them, but I knew immediately what they were,” Bryerton said.
Evening grosbeaks are almost the size of a robin, Bryerton said. They have a big, heavy, finch-like bill, as well as yellow patches on their body — and the birds are a striking sight.
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Bryerton said he’s not the only one who has seen them in the area.
“I just talked to someone,” he said. “They recorded 65 at one time on a feeder, which they are claiming is the most ever recorded in Will County, Illinois, anyway, at one time.”
Bryerton said when evening grosbeaks show up, they don’t stick around very long. Take, for instance, the recent spotting in his backyard.
“They came back multiple times in that day, but they haven’t been back since,” he said.
“I get a lot of house sparrows, and I get a lot of stuff that, maybe, people aren’t too excited about, but I feed them anyway in hopes ’cause every once in a while rare stuff shows up on the feeder that will just be passing through,” he said.
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