(Viewed 298 times)

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Spotting Migration Birds with the Chicago Astronomer

Wednesday 22 May 2024 - 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Join the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Astronomer we as spot migrating birds transit the face the Moon along the shores of Lake Michigan at the 31st St Beach.

I will have a telescope targeting the waxing Moon and have the image projected onto a monitor to see how many birds we can count on their way to their summer home. Bird watchers use such observations as a way to monitor the migration number for thousands of years.



NOTE: Although free of charge, interested individuals must register to participate in this activity...

www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/events/birding-night-migration-burroughs-beach#description

(Note: I hear that there is a waiting list at this point.)


The Chicago Astronomer omnipresent across the city.....Astronomy done right.

Astro Joe 

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A clear evening for Birding and Astronomy at 31st St Beach

In this first time ever joint Observation session with the Chicago Astronomer, the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Ornithological Society, our watch was a success. The goal was to catch migrating birds transit across the face of the Moon as they return back up north for the season. As the society and CPD used spotting scopes and binoculars, I set-up the 8" SCT for direct observation of the Moon and the 80mm Shorty scope for electronic viewing on a monitor, which worked very well.

We were  set-up at the 31st street beach edge and parked just feet away to unload all our gear and a great vista of the lake, Moonrise and the city skyline, ready for Birding across the Moon...

At the beach edge and the city skyline to our north, it was a great setting to meet bird lovers and fans of the Chicago Astronomer. like Zamar, who is becoming a regular at our events..

Here is Zamar's quick lunar capture..

We did catch birds transiting across the face of the Moon and an object that looked like it was tumbling. We wondered what it was...!

  

 [img src=" i.ibb.co/frD90h0/IMG-0021.jpg" src="https://i.ibb.co/1rNBLCR/IMG-0047.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

We spent a pleasant evening asking question about urban astronomy and birding...fun time...and several visitors knew of me and our citywide connection with the cosmos.

A solid night of birds, the Moon and scopes. Astronomy done right.

Astro Joe