A Non-Birding Field Trip!

Yesterday Becky and I went on a day trip to the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History with her sister Maggie, her brother Joe and his girlfriend Yvonne. The main attraction we went see was the King Tut exhibit. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the actual Tut exhibit, but you can find many images of the wonderful ancient treasures we saw on the Field Museum’s website.


Sue the T-Rex

We explored many of the museum’s other interesting exhibits such as the Underground Adventure, Bird Habitats, Lions and Images of Tsavo, Mammals of Africa and North American Birds (think of it like a 3-D field guide). When I found the Skua and Jaeger specimens, it reminded me that the WSO Wisconsin Point field trip is less than two months away.



I really need get the Olsen and Larsson's guide out and study up on jaeger identification soon. Can you identify the jaeger pictured above? Though I love the Field Museum, I can easily spend too much time there and then exhibits tend to run together and lose their impact. That's why I like to keep the visits short and appreciate a few of them at a time, perhaps revisiting only a favorite or two.


Becky, Joe and Maggie

Once our brains were full, we walked to Navy Pier and enjoyed at hearty feast at Joe’s Be-Bop café while listening to a live jazz trio (drums, piano and acoustic bass). As the sun began to sink in the west and the weather cooled, we explored the length of the pier, and finally enjoyed the leisurely walk back through Grant Park to the Field Museum’s parking lot. The five of us had an enjoyable day full of the best sights, sounds and food that a big city like Chicago has to offer.


The Gang at Navy Pier


Chicago in the Evening

All images © Mike and Becky McDowell