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Fall Bird Walk at Montrose Point – Led by David Baker
Come join Village member David Baker for a late afternoon bird walk at Montrose Point. We will welcome back the warblers and others that we saw in the Spring as they make their way from their nesting grounds in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada and seek warmer climes for the winter. It’s a fun challenge to identify the fledgelings and the adults as their bright colors of spring are gone. We don’t call them “confusing fall warblers” for no reason. We will meet at 4 pm at the entrance to Montrose and conclude by 5:30. Wear appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes. Bring your binoculars too.
It looks like a normal, overgrown strip of bushes on the lakefront. But Chicago’s “Magic Hedge” at Montrose Point is actually a happy accident leftover from the Cold War.
Back in the 1950s, the US Military took over this exact spot to build a secret Nike missile base, designed to shoot down Soviet bombers if they ever attacked Chicago. To hide the ugly barracks from the public, the military planted a thick wall of honeysuckle bushes.
Eventually, the military left and the missile silos were demolished, but the bushes remained.
Because Montrose Point juts out so far into Lake Michigan, it creates a geographical trap. Millions of exhausted songbirds flying south for the winter see this tiny strip of green bushes and drop out of the sky to rest.
Today, the “Magic Hedge” attracts over 300 different species of rare birds, making it a world-famous destination for bird watchers and a completely serene, hidden escape for locals.
Have you ever walked the trails at Montrose Point?
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