Mayor Daley Dedicates Lincoln Park Bird Sanctuary in Chicago

A bird stole the show on April 13 as Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicated Lincoln Park's new Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

Birders gathered at this lakefront refuge had searched earlier, in vain, for the resident great horned owl. But serendipity prevailed: a young Cooper's hawk snagged a starling just before the mayor's arrival. Unperturbed by the crowd of assembled dignitaries, the hawk avidly devoured its breakfast inside the fence, yielding perfect scope views for the mayor and many other public officials, neighborhood residents, the press and Chicago Ornithological Society members.

Eventually, the birders were able to get a scope on the great owl, though not everyone present was able to "see" the bird right away in a far-off tangle of branches. But Daley, all the TV cameramen and every child saw the owl immediately. The mayor talked to birders for quite a while and agreed with their desire to keep dogs off Montrose Beach and out of nature sanctuaries. Congratulations to Terry Schilling, Charlotte Newfeld and the many other volunteers who have made the sanctuary an even better place for birds due to lots of hard work.

— Christine Williamson