Dick Young Forest Preserve (or as I grew up with, Nelson Lake Marsh Nature Preserve)

Although a brisk morning, me and Kelly bundled up tight and went to Nelson Lake Marsh in Batavia for some autumn birds. I was certain it would add a few avian wonders to Kelly's list, as it has mine for so many years now. My footsteps are all over this place, the first being those of a preteen. I spent many weekends walking the trails, admiring familiar feathered faces and searching for new ones. It's a beautiful preserve, with prairie, woodland, savanna, a large marsh (technically a kettle), and a 40-acre lake. I was excited to finally be taking Kelly there.


We parked by the old silo at around 9:15 and began walking towards the lake lookout. It was overcast and drizzly but the birds were active. As we approached two returning birders I stopped, took up a karate stance, and told them to tell us what ducks were on the lake.

The man fell to his knees and grabbed my coat, "Please don't kill us, Mister. Please, please don't kill us!"

"The ducks," I said calmly. "Tell me the names of those ducks and I'll spare your worthless little lives."

"G-g-green-winged teal," said the man, shivering. "And scaup. That's it. That's all we saw."

"Don't lie to me punk!" I yelled, drawing a chop high into the air. "I will slice off your head with my hand if you lie to me!"

The woman fainted.

"I swear to God that's all we saw. Those are the only ducks we saw!"

I lowered my weapon and clutched my binoculars. "Okay, I believe you. Now pick up your ho and go. And don't ever show your faces around here again, understand?"

The man gulped. "Yes, yes, I understand. I understand! Thank you."

As he began smacking his wife's cheeks, me and Kelly turned and resumed our walk to the lake. Kelly took my hand and gave me a seductive look. "That was sexy," she said.

The rest of our visit was quite pleasant. We walked maybe a quarter mile to the north before deciding to turn back. The most common birds we saw, by far, were Cedar Waxwings and American Tree Sparrows. Afterwards, in the car, we wrote down all the birds we saw in the "birder's shorthand" that I use:

A Goldfinch 5+
B Jay
BC Chickadee 2
C Goose 20+
C Waxwing 50+
DE Junco 20+
Fox Sparrow 10+
Gull sp.
GW Teal - small flock
M Dove
N Cardinal 5+
RB Woodpecker 2
RT Hawk
Scaup sp. (too far away to ID) - small flock
Tree Sparrow 40+
WT Sparrow