{"id":18031,"date":"2025-12-12T09:44:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/?p=18031"},"modified":"2026-01-12T15:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:35:39","slug":"alexis-favorite-birds-and-bugs-and-furry-things-spotted-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/2025\/12\/12\/alexis-favorite-birds-and-bugs-and-furry-things-spotted-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexis\u2019\u00a0Favorite Birds\u00a0(and Bugs\u00a0and Furry Things)\u00a0Spotted\u00a0This\u00a0Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the month of December, the University Libraries staff make lists and check them twice. What are these lists about? Anything! You can look at past years\u2019 lists here<\/a> and stay tuned for more lists!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year 2025 was the year my husband and I got serious about birding. We downloaded Merlin and eBird (two very<\/em> valuable resources for birdwatching). We secured some good binoculars and some good shoes, and we kept our eyes to the sky and the tree branches. We spotted some fun things this year. Here are some of my favorite bird finds as a novice birder + 3 other cool specimens I spotted along the way. (I must also admit none of these photos were taken by me\u2014my camera skills are not this great.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Northern Yellow Warbler: <\/strong>This little buddy became my favorite bird this year. It is a stunning bright yellow\u2014the best color in my opinion, measuring up to a whopping 5 inches on average. This songbird is one of 50 species of warblers that live in North America. I like it so much that I bought a pair of yellow warbler earrings this fall. Every time I wear them, I am reminded of the joy I felt seeing this beautiful creature in person.  <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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    1. Coopers Hawk: <\/strong>The\u00a0Cooper\u2019s Hawk\u00a0is a common yet very stealthy bird of prey.\u00a0We spotted\u00a0one of these guys\u00a0at\u00a0Montrose Point Bird\u00a0Sanctuary\u00a0in Lincoln Park.\u00a0Fun Fact: Male Cooper\u2019s Hawks tend to be\u00a0smaller than and\u00a0submissive to female\u00a0hawks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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      1. Bald Eagle:<\/strong> At the beginning of this year, I was religiously watching the live stream of Big Bear Park in California\u00a0whose\u00a0Nest Cam showed the laying, hatching, and growth of 2 baby bald eagles.\u00a0The live stream created so many questions in my mind about these\u00a0birds,\u00a0and I spent so much time researching them.\u00a0I fell in love with\u00a0this\u00a0species.\u00a0I\u00a0had no\u00a0clue\u00a0I would see one myself in\u00a0person in\u00a0Hobart,\u00a0Indiana after going apple picking.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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        1. Double-crested Cormorant:<\/strong> This pterodactyl\u00a0goose\u00a0has got\u00a0some serious dance moves.\u00a0I saw a colony of about 200 of them sitting on a structure out in Lake Michigan\u00a0while standing on\u00a0a pier. It was terrifyingly beautiful to see these matte black dancing birds turn a\u00a0huge\u00a0manmade\u00a0structure into a shadow on the horizon.\u00a0Look for them in the piers and along the coastline.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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          1. Red Bellied Woodpecker<\/strong>: This little guy woke up the entire campsite while we were camping in\u00a0Oak Mountain State Park in\u00a0Pelham,\u00a0Alabama.\u00a0It took\u00a0us\u00a0a minute to spot\u00a0him,\u00a0but his call and\u00a0drumming sounds\u00a0were unmistakable.\u00a0However, when spotted, his barred back and bright red cap made him an unforgettable sight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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            Entomology Special Guests:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            1. Chinese Mantis:<\/strong> Able to measure up to the size of a Northern Yellow Warbler (5in), this\u00a0non-native species\u00a0that\u00a0some classify as\u00a0an\u00a0invasive\u00a0species\u00a0is a common mantis\u00a0that\u00a0you will find in the warmer seasons\u00a0here in Chicago. I found one sitting on the door frame of my building in September.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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              1. Marbled\u00a0Orbweaver:<\/strong> Spider\u00a0Gwen may have been trying to contact me this fall by putting this bright yellow spider with junk in\u00a0its\u00a0trunk on the stairs leading up to my home. Was it a\u00a0warning or\u00a0was it a\u00a0greeting?!\u00a0Ol\u2019\u00a0Spidey Gwen\u00a0here\u00a0never revealed her true intentions,\u00a0BUT at least I got to see this beauty in the process.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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                A Mammal Friend\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                1. Groundhog:<\/strong> How much wood could a woodchuck\u00a0chuck,\u00a0if\u00a0a woodchuck could\u00a0chuck wood?\u00a0<\/em>I\u00a0probably should\u00a0have asked him after he startled my\u00a0husband\u00a0and I\u00a0before dashing\u00a0away faster than I knew any\u00a0marmot could.\u00a0This\u00a0chonky\u00a0boy was very hefty in preparation for hibernation season. I hope he rests up so he can enthusiastically tell us Spring is coming early\u00a0when we ask in\u00a0February.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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                  Alexis Pearson-Kern\u00a0is the User Experience and Assessment Librarian on the Systems Team for Loyola University Chicago Librarians. When she is not at Cudahy or Lewis Library, she is\u00a0probably baking, bird watching, reading, watching anime, crafting, or being the house servant to two very adorably demanding bunny rabbits!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  During the month of December, the University Libraries staff make lists and check them twice. What are these lists about? Anything! You can look at past years\u2019 lists here and stay tuned for more lists! The year 2025 was the year my husband and I got serious about birding. We downloaded Merlin and eBird (two very valuable resources for birdwatching). We secured […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":383,"featured_media":17957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/383"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18031"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18043,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18031\/revisions\/18043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}