FIELD NOTES
WILD OF THE WEEK
Mark Aloisio tweeted, “Coyotes get early access to Mallard while the fisherman line stacks up for Memorial Day.”
WILD TIMES
DUCKS UNLIMITED
June 15: Super Quick 66 Gun Raffle, Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet. Contact Vicki Mandurano: (847) 553-7565
ILLINOIS SEASONS
June 16: Perch fishing reopens on Lake Michigan.
HUNTER SAFETY
July 9, 11, 16, 18: Downers Grove, (630) 963-1300 Class 371006-01
DALE’S MAILBAG
``[In late May], on my way home on the Metra train, I saw a bald eagle. We were headed south just past Comiskey Park and I saw an unusually large bird flying ahead of us. At first I thought it was a great blue heron, but it was carrying something. As we got closer, I saw the white head and tail. No doubt, it was a bald eagle. I alerted my fellow train passengers and a few of them saw it too.’’ Paul Morrison
A: For those of us old enough to remember bald eagles headed toward extinction, these sightings are the stuff of dreams.
BIG NUMBER
112: Freshwater record for years of age that bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) can reach, according a study on nature.com. Click here for more on the study.
LAST WORD
“Sometimes, the [green heron] takes an extra step, picking up an aid with its bill — perhaps a twig, feather, leaf, or insect. The heron then drops this bait in the water, freezing and watching for any attracted fish that come to investigate. This tool-wielding behavior puts the green heron in select company with a few other birds, including some crows; parrots; the Egyptian vulture, which drops rocks to break open eggs; and the Woodpecker Finch of the Galápagos Islands, which spears grubs with a spine or twig.’’
American Bird Conservancy, Bird of the Week, May 24, 2019. Click here for more on green herons.
