Lost Hummingbird 1,000s Of Miles From Home Spotted In Illinois

You're a LONG way from home little guy. 

Chicago native Nathan Goldberg isn't just any bird watcher. He's the reigning birdwatching champion of Illinois in 2020. A title that apparently is a real thing. I don't say that to mock the hobby of bird watching, I'm sure it's a great time, I know I love walking in the woods, I'm just surprised that there is a "winner" each year.

Anyway, Mr. Goldberg stumbled upon a once-in-a-lifetime find while walking through the LaBagh Woods forest preserve. A vivid blue-green broad-billed hummingbird. If you're not a birdwatcher or ornithologist (are there any non-birdwatching ornithologists, like someone that just refuses to take their work home with them?) that might not mean anything to you, but it's pretty rare.

WTTW - It's only the third time the bird has been recorded in Illinois and the broad-billed is "far and away" the rarest bird ever observed at LaBagh Woods, according to Jeff Skrentny, coordinator of the Chicago Ornithological Society's habitat restoration work at the forest preserve.

It is hummingbird season now in Illinois. I currently have a feeder hanging from my office window but I haven't had a hit yet.

I haven't seen a wild hummingbird since I was 9 years old at a rest stop in Colorado. Riley O'Neil says he gets swarms of them every year at his house so I'm hoping someone will stop by.

My main bird goal this summer however is to get a crow to befriend me. We have a bunch of them that fly around the field in the back and I'm just hoping I can start trading food for shiny objects by Labor Day.

I obviously have some big plans for this summer, wish me luck.