First New Years's birds spotted by veteran watchers
Rhonda Nelson greeted the new year as she has for decades - with a walk and the first bird sightings of 2016.
On Friday, she was joined by about a dozen others as the Kane County Audubon Society hosted "Rhonda's Annual New Year's Day Bird Walk" at Hickory Knolls Park in St. Charles.
"I've been doing this walk for at least 20 years," said Nelson, for whom the walk is named. Most of those years it was an informal gathering of friends who looked for their first bird of the new year as they walked around Nelson Lake, west of Batavia.
"One year, Bob (Andrini, president of the KCA) said, 'We need to do this walk every year,' and I said, 'I'm already doing it!'" So the program is held in honor of Nelson's many years of leading the walk. She is now retired.
Some of the birds spotted Friday were downy woodpeckers, chickadees, tree sparrows, red-tailed hawks and at least two doves. The three-mile walk was followed by lunch at Rookie's in St. Charles.
The Audubon Society features another walk at 8 a.m. Saturday at Nelson Lake/Dick Young Forest Preserve on Nelson Lake Road, three-quarters of a mile south of Main Street in Batavia. It is open to all. For details, call Terry Murray at (630) 896-3219.
For more on the group, visit kanecountyaudubon.org.