Author Archives: rhughes

About rhughes

Robert D. Hughes lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. His professional background is in Web site management and front-end Web development. He also writes about Web development issues and works with Joomla! CMS. When he isn't sitting in front of a computer he's out in the field looking for and photographing birds and other critters.

Short-eared Owl, March 16, 2016

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl (click to see the larger version)

I had a Short-eared Owl at Montrose this morning, March 16. I first saw the bird flying over the lake from the base of the Fishhook Pier around dawn. It circled back and landed for a couple minutes in the Dunes before getting up and flying around again. This is typical Short-eared Owl behavior at Montrose. I didn’t walk through the Dunes so I don’t know if the bird settled down or kept going. Short-eared Owls often show up on days with strong west winds, like today.

Brown Trout (what?), March 11, 2016

Brown Trout

Brown Trout (click to see the larger version)

The birding wasn’t very good this morning but the fishing sure was. A lucky fellow caught this beautiful Brown Trout from the end of the Fishhook Pier just before I got there. Actually, I didn’t know it was a Brown Trout at the time but I did some research and Brown Trout is the best match (it turns out that fish identification can be just as difficult and challenging as bird identification). Brown Trout are native to Europe and Asia but have been introduced to many places around the world, including the Great Lakes. This one was about 2 feet long and 10-12 pounds.

Oh yeah, I also had a first cycle Great Black-backed Gull, so the birding wasn’t a complete loss.

Snow Buntings, March 10, 2016

I lugged my Questar out to Montrose this morning, hoping to see waterfowl and other things on the water or flying by. Lake Michigan was nice and flat and the visibility was good, but except for Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, and a few Horned Grebes I saw little. More interesting and unexpected were 2 Snow Buntings playing around on the Fishhook Pier. Snow Buntings are regular at Montrose from late fall to early winter but are less common in spring. I guess they have to go back north at some point.

Common Loon, March 9, 2016

I walked to the end of the Fishhook Pier at Montrose this morning, March 9, to scan the lake for resting and flying waterfowl. There were a few flocks of Aythya going north, as well as a tight cluster of flying Green-winged Teal. Best and somewhat unexpected was an adult Common Loon in breeding dress boogying north. This is about 2 weeks earlier than I usually start seeing them along the lakefront. I didn’t spend a lot of time birding but I also saw several flocks of blackbirds going north, south and west. South winds in spring rock.

White-winged Scoter and Iceland Gulls, February 24, 2016

Montrose Waves

Montrose Waves (click to see the larger version)

The high winds and resultant high waves drove many ducks off Lake Michigan and into Montrose Harbor today, February 24. Most were Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneye but I also had one White-winged Scoter. Two adult Iceland Gulls were also in the harbor. Here’s a shot of a wave breaking over the fishing pier.