MM_081618

18 | August 16, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger life & arts
mokenamessenger.com
Forest preserve combines nature with technology
Megan Schuller, Freelance Reporter
A repetitive bird call with the
rhythmic pattern of a ping-pong
ball dropping on the table echoed
across the Hickory Creek Forest
Preserve Sunday, Aug. 12, as the
bird stayed perched in the cover of
the brush.
“Do you hear that?” Will County
Forest Preserve Interpretive Naturalist
Bob Bryerton asked his birdwatching
hikers. “That is a field
sparrow.”
After hearing the sound, Bryerton
brought up a photo on his
phone to show the hikers what to
look for. The small group of bird
watchers patiently watched the
treelines with binoculars until it
was spotted.
“It’s almost like fishing, in a
way: You never know what you’re
going to get,” Bryerton said. “Every
once in a while on a hike the
birds just sit in the open and you
get to watch them do their thing. It
could be something rare, or it could
be something common that you get
to see in a different way.”
Every bird call that Bryerton
identified, he came up with a mnemonic
phrase that associated each
bird with their call. The grey catbird
has a sort of screeching sound
that mimics that of a cat. Meanwhile,
the red-eyed vireo has a
quick three-note tune that Bryerton
said sounds like, “Here I am,”
repeated over and over with long
pauses in between.
The group spotted more than 20
species throughout the two-hour
hike across 1.5 miles of preserve
trails. Every time a new species
was spotted by the group, Bryerton
logged it in the eBirds app. Managed
by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology,
the site and app is a database
logged by avid bird watchers
around the world.
“[The app] is an easy way for everyday
people to observe and participate
in science,” Bryerton said.
Bryerton incorporated the use of
technology into the hike as a way
to educate the hikers. Using eBird
and the website allaboutbirds.org
Bryerton gave the bird watchers a
general idea of what the bird looks
like so it would be easier to spot.
Meanwhile, the eBird app was
keeping track of the exact location
and quantity of each bird species
he logged along the hike.
“I like sharing this with other
people,” Bryerton said. “I bird
watch a lot and I do see a lot of
interesting things on my own, but
it’s more fun to share with a group.
And when we go with a group, we
see more, too.”
Gregory Hejnar of St. John, Indiana,
often attends birdwatching
and nature hikes within the Will
County Forest Preserves.
“Every time I go I learn something
new,” Hejnar said. “You
don’t have to be an expert to have
a good eye.”
Hejnar said that the hikes have
given him an environment where
he could learn and develop a passion
for it.
“If you want to learn a lot, go
on hikes like this that are led by
people who are familiar with it,”
Hejnar said.
According to Hejnar one of the
highlights of the hike was spotting
an indigo bunting, which is a part
of the cardinal family but has vivid
indigo colored plumage.
Bryerton has been instructing
birdwatching for 17 years across
multiple forest preserves in the
area. From April through August,
he runs two bird watching events
monthly and several more throughout
the course of the year.
“All our preserves have great
opportunities for birdwatching.
Depending on the habitat, you’re
likely to see different birds,” Bryerton
said.
As a longtime bird watcher, Bryerton
urged locals to go out and not
only enjoy nature but take a moment
to stop and listen to the birds.
“I want people to know how
much is here,” Bryerton said. “You
don’t have to go far away. There’s a
lot here that if you have a few minutes
on the weekend, you could see
some really cool stuff.”
RIGHT: Birds often nest and hide
in the underbrush so they are
often hard to spot, but knowing
what to listen for can give away
their locations.
Interpretive naturalist Bob Bryerton, of the Will County Forest Preserve, shows a group how to identify birds
using an app on his phone during a morning bird hike on Sunday, Aug. 12, at Hickory Creek Preserve in
Mokena. Photos by Megan Schuller/22nd Century Media