Ruddy Ducks, Other Birds Converge on Restored Wetland

Yellow-headed blackbirds, ruddy ducks, and pied-billed grebes were among the nesters this past spring at Paul Douglas Forest Preserve in northwestern Cook County. Not known to have nested there before, these three species herald wonderful things to come at this wetland restoration site.

The Paul Douglas Forest Preserve in Hoffman Estates had always had a wetland, but it often dried up as summer approached, and nesting aquatic species could not use it. To restore the wetland, the Forest Preserve District constructed a low dam across Poplar Creek near Central Road. The surrounding fields were scarified and planted with prairie grasses and wildflower seeds.

Among the first species to show up at the restored site were great blue herons, seen bringing nesting material to the newly installed tower platforms. The herons eventually built five nests, and in July there were eleven nestlings. The wetland is providing a healthy diet of fish for the herons.

The next, and most surprising, response was the appearance of the yellow-headed blackbird, which is endangered in Illinois. Six were seen altogether, and in July females were carrying food into nesting areas.

State-threatened pied-billed grebes have also nested, and two different pairs raised young. Altogether, there are twelve pied-billed grebes at the preserve.

Ruddy ducks, with their brilliant blue bills, spent time at Paul Douglas diving for food and doing courtship displays. Then, in July, eight ducklings were seen trailing single-file behind the mother. The group included another female and four males. Other birds seen over the summer include sora rail, American egret, common moorhen, American bittern, Virginia rail, dunlin, least and spotted sandpipers, black-crowned night-heron, lesser yellowlegs, and double-crested cormorants. Ducks seen included northern shovelers, blue-winged and green-winged teal, ring-necked and wood ducks, and gadwalls. Increased numbers of swallows (northern rough-winged, tree, bank, and cliff) and purple martins were noted.

Kudos to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which funded the restoration.

— Stan Stec